SEO Split Test - Setup Instructions
This article will show you how to set up and run an SEO split test in SEOTesting. The article will also explain the split test group configuration tool and SEOTesting’s ability to run group tests alongside split tests to give you more opportunity for analysis.
On your SEOTesting dashboard, click the ‘SEO Tests’ link on the left-hand navigation bar:
Click on the ‘Create a new SEO Test’ button located at the top of the screen:
Click on the ‘Create Split Test’ button:
Enter a name, description, and (if applicable) any tags for your new split test:
Enter the date the change was made to your test group of pages, along with the control URLs and the test URLs:
You can run back-tests by moving the change date into the past.
Your ‘control’ URLs will not be edited for your SEO split test. Your ‘test’ URLs are the URLs that will be changed during your SEO split test.
When configuring your control and test URLs, keep in mind:
The pages should have similar traffic levels.
The pages should come from the same template, such as PDPs/PLPs.
There should be no ‘outliers’ such as pages with unusually high or low traffic.
Our Split Test Configuration tool will help you put together the test and control groups.
Enter the period you want to run the test for. We suggest leaving the default option checked for “Create Group Tests” (it helps with results analysis), and include a country code if needed.
If you're going to run the test across all locations, leave the country code section blank. Finally, select whether you want an email to be sent to you when the test has been processed and when the test is complete:
Click the ‘Create’ button at the bottom of the screen:
You will be redirected to the date confirmation screen. These are pre-configured based on the “Date change was made” and “Test period” initially chosen on the first screen.
If you have just made the change, leave these boxes untouched, as SEOTesting will have automatically configured the dates to work based on the timeframe selected in the first stage.
Finally, click on the ‘Save and Start Test’ button:
When running split tests in SEOTesting, you can also create group tests for your control and test groups simultaneously.
This will help you analyze your results at the end of the test.
The split test result will show you how the test group of pages has performed compared to the control group.
The time-based group test will allow you to see how the test group has performed separately on a before & after basis i.e. by what percentage have the clicks in the test group gone up.
While on the split test creation screen, leave the check the box labeled ‘Create Group Tests’ ticked:
Once the test has finished processing, you will see new group tests appear with for your split test control and test groups:
You can use these group tests to dive deeper into the performance of your control and test groups.
How to Set Up an SEO Split Test
On your SEOTesting dashboard, click the ‘SEO Tests’ link on the left-hand navigation bar:
Click on the ‘Create a new SEO Test’ button located at the top of the screen:
Click on the ‘Create Split Test’ button:
Enter a name, description, and (if applicable) any tags for your new split test:
Enter the date the change was made to your test group of pages, along with the control URLs and the test URLs:
You can run back-tests by moving the change date into the past.
Your ‘control’ URLs will not be edited for your SEO split test. Your ‘test’ URLs are the URLs that will be changed during your SEO split test.
When configuring your control and test URLs, keep in mind:
The pages should have similar traffic levels.
The pages should come from the same template, such as PDPs/PLPs.
There should be no ‘outliers’ such as pages with unusually high or low traffic.
Our Split Test Configuration tool will help you put together the test and control groups.
Enter the period you want to run the test for. We suggest leaving the default option checked for “Create Group Tests” (it helps with results analysis), and include a country code if needed.
If you're going to run the test across all locations, leave the country code section blank. Finally, select whether you want an email to be sent to you when the test has been processed and when the test is complete:
Click the ‘Create’ button at the bottom of the screen:
You will be redirected to the date confirmation screen. These are pre-configured based on the “Date change was made” and “Test period” initially chosen on the first screen.
If you have just made the change, leave these boxes untouched, as SEOTesting will have automatically configured the dates to work based on the timeframe selected in the first stage.
Finally, click on the ‘Save and Start Test’ button:
Running Group Tests on Control & Test Groups
When running split tests in SEOTesting, you can also create group tests for your control and test groups simultaneously.
This will help you analyze your results at the end of the test.
The split test result will show you how the test group of pages has performed compared to the control group.
The time-based group test will allow you to see how the test group has performed separately on a before & after basis i.e. by what percentage have the clicks in the test group gone up.
While on the split test creation screen, leave the check the box labeled ‘Create Group Tests’ ticked:
Once the test has finished processing, you will see new group tests appear with for your split test control and test groups:
You can use these group tests to dive deeper into the performance of your control and test groups.
Updated on: 12/11/2024
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