Amazon is a marketplace that has gained tremendous success through innovation and improvement, sometimes giving merchants headaches because of constant changes. Sellers who operate on Amazon are encouraged to do the same: To increase sales and improve customer experience, they are expected to be open to implementing efficient scientific methods.
The wait is finally over for brands selling on Amazon. Amazon recently announced its new “Manage Your Experiments” (MYE) feature. With this new tool, sellers can perform A/B tests on their A+ content to make data-driven decisions that can increase sales.
According to Amazon, “You can statistically find the most effective A+ content for your listings, improve future content, and increase sales with experiments.
What is to manage your experiments?
In Manage Your Experiments, you can run A/B tests (also referred to as split tests) on your brand’s listings content. With experiments, you can compare two versions of content side-by-side to see which one performs better.
In the words of Amazon:
With A+ content on your brand’s listings, you no longer need to test multiple product marketing strategies over months. Manage Your Experiments allows you to test two versions of A+ content simultaneously, and shows the results in an easy-to-understand dashboard. By running A/B tests, you can determine which version of the content resonates best with Amazon customers.
You can review which content version performed better at the end of an experiment, then publish the best version. By running experiments, you can learn how to develop better content that appeals to your customers and helps you drive more sales.
What is A/B or split testing?
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is an experimental way to find the design, content, or functionality that works best for your shoppers and makes their experience simple and straightforward.
Amazon doesn’t allow you to just copy someone else’s listing design or content, as it may not work for your product, so you have to optimize your own listing based on consumer behavior.
But how do you know what your shoppers like or dislike? The only way to determine what content, layout, or design, works best for your buyers is to test a variation of your page (or element on a page) and experimentally discover which one convinces them to make a purchase decision.
Why run A/B tests on Amazon listings?
Identifying which element of your listing is a game-changer and has the potential to drive thousands of customers to your product page is one of the major driving factors of A/B Testing.
You might be having a decent conversion rate currently, but there is always room for improvement. You can’t know for sure if your listings have the potential to drive even more sales than now. It could be that your listing SEO is not that great and whatever you are spending on your ads is only burning a hole in your pockets. This is why Amazon A/B Testing is of utmost importance.
What elements of your Amazon listings can you run A/B tests on?
- Images
- Title
- Price
- Bullet points
- Description
Who can manage your experiments?
To run A+ Content split tests through MYE, you need to be a selling partner that:
1. Owns a brand registered with Brand Registry
2. Has high-traffic ASINs
3. Has published A+ content on those ASINs
The warning that appears in Seller Central or Vendor Central if you do not meet these requirements is as follows:
How do you create A/B tests?
From the dashboard, click the button that says Create a New Experiment, and Amazon will let you select which A+ Content, Product Title, or Main Image to run an experiment on.
This is also where you can check the status of your Active Experiments.
A workflow will then appear once you select an item to test, which will guide you through the steps for setting up your experiment. After you complete this step, you will have two versions of your element.
Whatever item you are creating an experiment for, there will be a box requiring you to enter an Experiment Name, a Hypothesis, and a Schedule.
For your own convenience, the Experiment Name is provided. Make it clear and easy to distinguish if you are running multiple experiments at the same time.
In our example, we also included a hypothesis, which is basically what your experiment is all about-Changing [X] into [Y] will lead to [Z]. Amazon provides a couple of examples, so make it as simple as possible.
The last step is to set the time frame for your experiment. Somewhere around 8 to 10 weeks is ideal.
For the Main Image, you’ll simply be pitting a new image against the one you are currently using, but remember to make it varied enough so that your results actually mean something. Here’s what the setup page looks like:
If you want to run an experiment with your Product Title, there’s an option to copy the title you are currently using into your Version B. You can then just make changes to come up with your alternate Title. For meaningful results, make very specific and isolated changes, instead of changing, say, a string of several words at a time.
And here’s the setup page for the A+ Content
Then schedule the experiment, leave it to run its course and come back when it’s done to check on the results.
One tip is to try out alternate images that are easier to understand and more info-rich than the one you currently have.
Once done, your experiment will be up for manual review by Amazon. Follow all the steps and make sure your Version B complies with Amazon’s guidelines to avoid any do-overs.
How long should you run Amazon A+ Content experiments?
Manage Your Experiments allows you to choose a duration between 4 and 10 weeks. During that period, you can cancel your experiment at any time.
However, just as in the best practices section above, a/b testing is meant to get as much data as possible before making a decision. In order to get the most reliable results, you should let your experiments run as long as possible.
The ‘Manage Your Experiments’ feature is a helpful tool that takes the guesswork out of optimizing your A+ Content, the Product Title, and the Main Image, as well as testing different variables to create the highest converting listings.
Your brand’s position will determine whether it’s worth the time and effort – if you’re just beginning, there may be lower hanging fruit that provide a better ROI.
However, if you’re a more established brand, testing certain elements under this tool could give you the data to help you make the most of your listings.
