Amazon A/B Testing: Advanced Tactics to Optimize Your Listings

Introduction

Split testing, also referred to as A/B testing, is an effective tactic that enables sellers to make data-driven decisions, optimize their product listings and advertising campaigns, and ultimately increase sales. Running split tests can help you get a better understanding of what appeals to your customers overall so that you can present your products in a way that will pique their interest. The more you can capture the attention of your target customers, the more sales you can potentially make. If you’re ready to take your Amazon business to the next level and leave your competitors in the dust, then keep reading as we show you how to make data-driven decisions, boost your visibility, and increase your sales on Amazon using a variety of split testing tools and strategies.

Does Amazon Allow A/B Testing?

Yes, Amazon does allow A/B testing on your Seller Central account through their Manage Your Experiments (MYE) program, which is a tool that is available through Amazon’s Brand Registry program if you are a Brand Registered seller. This program allows seller to run A/B tests on different sections of your product listing such as images, title, bullet points, description, and A+ content to test what variations have the best sales conversion rate. With MYE, you can compare two content versions over time to determine which performs better. Once your experiment is finished, you can either choose to opt into auto-publishing or post the successful content through regular listing updates.

What Is Amazon A/B Testing?

Amazon A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method used by Amazon sellers within their Seller Central account to conduct experiments using an Amazon’s Experiments tool called Manage Your Experiments. This practice involves creating two or more variations of a product listing, such as the product title, main image, and other product detail page elements, and showing them to different sets of customers for at least two weeks. The goal is to assess which version is more effective in terms of attracting clicks, conversions, and sales. Amazon A/B testing is a vital strategy for optimizing Amazon listings, helping sellers gather valuable data on customer behavior and preferences while gaining a competitive edge in the ever-evolving Amazon marketplace. Whether you’re conducting a few tests or multiple experiments, this approach empowers you to fine-tune your product listings based on real data and customer preferences, ultimately boosting your visibility and sales.

Are Amazon A/B Tests Worth It?

Amazon A/B tests are unquestionably worth it for any dedicated Amazon seller seeking to bolster their success on the platform. This approach enables sellers to make informed, data-driven decisions to optimize their product listings for peak performance. It allows you to gain invaluable insights into what resonates with your target audience, ultimately translating into enhanced competitiveness and profitability on Amazon. By continuously running split tests for elements like the product title, main image, product features, and other aspects of your Amazon listings, you position yourself as a frontrunner in your niche, consistently outperforming your competitors.

One of the most compelling reasons to embrace A/B testing is its potential to significantly boost your revenue. Through methodical optimization of your Amazon listings, you can improve their visibility in Amazon’s search results, thereby increasing your chances of securing the coveted Buy Box. This heightened visibility attracts more clicks and, in turn, improves your conversion rate, ultimately leading to increased detail page sales and higher profits. As an Amazon seller using Seller Central, the ability to manage your experiments and introduce new split test examples means you can continuously refine your Amazon listings, staying agile, and achieving ever-improving results. In sum, the investment in Amazon A/B testing pays off in dividends, making it a strategy that serious sellers simply can’t afford to ignore.

What Is an Example of an Amazon Split Test?

In the below image is a split test example that we ran on Amazon’s Manage your experiments tool on Seller Central because we wanted to optimize our product title. We uploaded two different versions and let the split test run for almost a month. As you can see in the results of the split test, there were 16 more units sold on winning product title than the losing product title. These extra sales are only by running split tests on the title. We can also split test other aspects of our amazon listing such as main image, bullet points, description and A+ Content to optimize our product detail page even more to increase conversion rate even more! Split testing makes selling exciting because it gives you the proper data needed to make more sales!

Another type of split test that can be run can be done through Helium 10 using our Audiences Tool Powered by Pickfu! With Helium 10 audiences, you can split test and get market feedback from your target market. You have the flexibility to split test way more aspects of your listing and business than you can on Amazon. Below is a list of the different split testing opportunities on Helium 10 Audiences.

You can also choose a customer audience that would describe your perfect customer.

The great part about the results of doing split testing on Helium 10 Audiences is that you get written feedback as to why they chose one variable over another. As, you can see in the image below, we asked which was a better main image. The majority chose the middle image and gave us written feedback about their reasoning for picking that particular image. Using Helium 10 Audiences is a great way to start off with an optimized listing without having to run a real time experiment with your product listings.

What Is the Amazon Split Testing Process?

The Amazon split testing process, commonly known as A/B testing, is a data-driven strategy that Amazon sellers use to optimize their product listings. This is done through the ‘Manage Your Experiments tool within Seller Central. Through this method, sellers can compare two or more variations of a product listing, running split tests for at least two weeks, to determine which version performs better in terms of product sales and conversions.

Before initiating a new experiment, sellers must carefully select the specific aspects of their product listings they wish to potentially update, such as product images. These different versions are then evaluated through Amazon’s ‘Manage Your Experiments’ program, where data is collected and analyzed over the testing period. Armed with enough data, sellers can make informed decisions about elements like product titles, images, and descriptions to enhance their listings, thereby gaining a competitive edge in the ever-evolving Amazon marketplace. This strategic approach ensures that sellers have the tools they need to continually refine their product’s features for maximum performance.

How Do I Run an A/B Test on Amazon?

Running a split test on Amazon using Manage Your Experiments (MYE) is very simple. First, go to Manage Experiments in the side menu on Amazon Seller Central under the Brands Section on the toolbar.

Next, click on “Create a New Experiment,” and choose what type of experiment that you want to do. You have the option to choose A+ Content, bullet points, product images, product description, or product title.

Once you have chosen the element of your listing that you want to split test, you will then need to choose which ASIN you wan to split test.

Once you have chosen the ASIN that you want to split test, then you will need to add in the second variable that you want to test. For example, we have an image that is already up on Amazon, and I am adding in a second image to see if the second image leads to more conversions than the first.

Once you add in the second variable to test, you can click on “Schedule Experiment” to get your split test up and running.

What Elements Should I A/B Test on Amazon?

There are quite a few different aspects that you can test on your Amazon listing that can potentially help you increase sales. On Amazon, you can split test A+ Content, Images, Bullet Points, Titles, and descriptions with a tool called Manage Your Experiments. Other types of split testing such as price testing and split testing PPC is a manual process on Amazon because those elements are not included with the Manage Your Experiments tool.

Product Titles

Your product’s visibility and click-through rates (CTR) on Amazon can be dramatically impacted by A/B testing your titles. The higher CTR we can get, the higher conversion rate we can potentially get on our product listings. We demonstrated in a prior example through the Manage Your Experiments tool on Amazon that we were able to sell 16 more units than the competing title. This showed to us the importance of changing our title in order to benefit from the rise in sales brought about by the product title split test. It’s critical that product titles are appropriately optimized for Amazon customers because they have the power to make or break your listing.

Images

A/B testing images on Amazon is a strategic approach to make your listings more visually appealing, improve conversion rates, and stay competitive. Even the smallest changes to your images can make a huge difference in click through rates as well as conversion rate. For main images, some sellers might add packaging or different wording on the packaging to make their product stand out. They might also display all of the accessories that come with a product. There are a lot of ways to differentiate your main images and split testing can show you which main image can be most profitable.

Bullet Points and Product Description

A/B testing your bullet points on Amazon is a proactive strategy to optimize your product listing content. There are customers who like to read more details about a product and the bullet points and descriptions are a great way to deliver more information. Split testing what information you provide in these sections is a crucial part of converting the more investigative types of customers.

Pricing

A/B testing pricing on Amazon is important but it will be a more manual process on Amazon. Sellers will need to raise or lower their prices for different periods of time to see if it increases their sales or causes them to decrease. Pricing is usually a very important part of conversion so pricing your products correctly is extremely important.

PPC Ads

A/B testing PPC ads on Amazon is a great way to improve your ACOS and reduce TACOS. This type of testing is going to be more manual on Amazon for things like headline ads, but taking the time to see what types of creative convert at a higher rate could increase your sales dramatically.

How Long Does It Take To Get Amazon A/B Testing Results?

The time it takes to get your Amazon A/B testing results back with the winning content can vary but it is typically best to perform A/B testing for several weeks, or even months. You can perform A/B testing for less time if you want results back quicker, but keep in mind that the longer you run split tests, the more data you collect which helps you make better business decisions. You can simultaneously compare different aspects of your listing because you can run multiple experiments at the same time in the Manage Your Experiments tool.

If you are testing elements that directly impact click-through rates, such as product images or titles, these areas tend to have more immediate effects, and you can gather data relatively quickly. However, if you’re testing changes that affect conversion rates or other metrics that take longer to materialize, you may need to wait longer to see statistically significant results.

Keep in mind that Amazon’s algorithms and customer behavior can vary by product category and seasonality. What works for one product may not apply to another.

How to Analyze Amazon A/B Testing Results

Analyzing Amazon A/B testing results is a critical step in the optimization process, as it provides valuable insights into which variations are resonating with your audience and driving better performance.

To begin, you should decide what metrics are most important for your product listing so you know what to look for in all the data you have collected. These metrics can include click through rate or conversion rate to name a couple.

Next, you will want to digest the data you have collected and determine if there is any significant data points which you can use to improve your Amazon listing, or PPC ads. If there is data that shows certain changes can be made to improve your click through rate and/or conversion rate, then now is the time to implement those changes.

It is important to note that Amazon A/B testing is not a one and done thing. You should continue to monitor your performance on Amazon and be prepared to make more adjustments because the Amazon marketplace is always evolving.

Conclusion

The road to success in the world of Amazon A/B testing is paved with data-driven insights, giving sellers an exceptional opportunity to optimize their product listings to maximize sales. Amazon encourages sellers to explore the details of their listings with the Manage Your Experiments feature in Seller Central available through brand registry. This split testing method which includes product titles, photos, bullet points, and descriptions, offers an enormous amount of insightful data that all helps to increase the conversion rate of purchases. Pricing and PPC ads also play crucial roles in generating sales, albeit they may necessitate a more manual approach.

A/B testing requires patience. The length of time it takes to get results can vary, but the subsequent data-driven decisions are well worth the time commitment. The information you compile will help you determine the best course of action for optimization, whether your goal is to increase click-through rates and/or conversion rates. Analyzing the data as it comes in will help you make adjustments to your listings and PPC advertising for better results. The process doesn’t end there, though, because Amazon’s dynamic marketplace necessitates ongoing optimization. The Amazon marketplace is constantly evolving, and the sellers that embrace A/B testing as an ongoing strategy are the ones who will consistently thrive on Amazon.