As per the latest stats reveal, there are more than 2.7 billion smartphone users globally and over 2.8 million apps on Google Play Store.
Now, it's a fact that the number of mobile users is increasing at outstanding speed, and so is the name of apps on Google Play Store.
But does all the apps success to make a difference? No, but just a handful of having stood out and gain popularity.
For instance, there are several games on the Play Store, but why only Candy Crush, Subway Surfers and Angry Birds topped the charts while the other games struggle for even ten downloads.
The trick is to provide the players with what they want, and in turn, the response for such apps is tremendous.
However, at this point, when the competition is very high, it's challenging to come up with something new that can stand out from the crowd.
It's crucial to create a brand name so that people can talk about it.
So, if you're someone who is struggling to get his/her app noticed, but it is still lagging, it's time to revisit your app strategy and modify it as much as possible.
But how can you do?
Get yourself into your customer's shoes and try to dig out why isn't your app working. What do your customers need? And in this approach what's going to help you is- A/B Testing.
What is A/B Testing?
Most of the people misunderstand A/B testing as just method to make some minor tweaks to headline, colors, or call-to-actions, but in reality, it's way more profound than that.
To put, A/B testing is a method of understanding which design, functionality, or content is more successful among your app visitors. It lets you test a variation of your page that may affect the behavior of your customers.
It is also called "split" testing because you can show version A of an app to one half of your users and the version B to another.
Why do you need A/B Testing?
The benefits of running A/B tests for mobile apps are similar to those of running tests on the web.
It allows you to test various hypotheses for experiences within your mobile app and modify it based on actual data instead of gut instinct.
A/B testing will enable you to determine the right option with statistical confidence regarding what the impact of changes you make will have & measure accurately how much impact will be.
By regularly running tests on your mobile app, you will continuously be able to modify the app and improve the experience of your app as well as conversion metrics.
That's the reason why giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon keep running A/B tests for their mobile apps.
Tips And Tricks For Conducting A Successful Mobile Apps A/B Testing
Pick Just One Variable To Test
As you start optimizing your app's elements, you might find that there are several variables you wish to test.
But to evaluate how effective a change is, you'll want to isolate one "independent variable" and measure the performance.
If you optimize several elements at once, you might not understand which one was responsible for the change in performance.
You can test more than one element for an app but make sure you're testing just one at a time.
Look at the different elements and their possible alternatives for design, layouts, and wording.
Keep in mind that even minor changes like changing the colors, call to action buttons, button positions, page content can also drive significant improvements.
Identify Your Goal
Although you will measure several metrics for each test, you need to choose a metric to focus on before you start the test.
To choose the goal to think about where do you want this variable to be at the end of the split test. You can state a correct hypothesis and examine the results based on those predictions.
If you don't set the goals before starting, then you might not be able to test most effectively.
Test Your App Store Description
Your app store description is one of the most important things that your users would check. And they way you describe your apps using words can make a significant difference in conversion.
You can start your app description from a marketing message or with your customer reviews and ratings. Try different approaches from time to time and check what works the best for your app.
Ask For Feedbacks From Your Users
Your users here are your priority, you need to know what they like and whatnot, after all this what A/B testing is all about.
A/B testing has a lot to do with quantitative data, but that won't tell you why users take a specific action after other. While you're running your A/B test, why not asking for feedback from the users?
The best way to do that is by conducting surveys and polls. You might add an exit survey on your app asking your users why didn't they click on some specific CTA.
This small step will allow you to understand what your users like and what can get changed in your app.
Keep It Up To Achieve The Long Term Goal
Whenever we go for a change, we often tend to overlook the holistic outcome. We tend to focus on the short term results more than the long term results.
It is evident that your primary goal is to increase the conversion rate for your app immediately, but you might not be able to achieve it all just after the first test you run.
Sometimes, it takes more time than the expected time to get the desired results. So, you must keep up the good work as there's always room for optimization when testing a mobile app.
Take Actions Based On Your Results
If one change is statistically better than other, you have got your winner. If neither of the change is statistically better, you need to mark the test as inconclusive.
In such situations, stick the older version or run another test to explore opportunities. You can use the failed data to figure out a new modification for your further analysis.
While A/B tests help any Mobile Application Development Company to affect outcomes on a case by case basis, you can also apply the lessons you learn from the previous criteria and apply it on the future ones.
Conclusion
When app developers build apps, add functionalities, various colors, or design call to action buttons, it can be tempting to use their gut instincts to predict what would make users engage, converts and revisit.
However, basing development decisions off an "instinct" can be pretty detrimental to the outcomes. Rather than merely guessing to make such decisions, it is advisable to run A/B tests and determine what works best for the app.
In the beginning, it may seem like a daunting task, but with time, you'll start to explore possible ways of improving user experience, getting more leads and conversions.
