Marketing teams have opinions.
Lots of them.
“Make the button green.”
“Put the form at the top.”
“Shorter subject lines perform better.”
“I think people will like this headline more.”
Cool.
But what does your audience think?
That’s where A/B testing comes in.
Instead of sitting around a conference table debating which idea might work better, A/B testing lets your actual audience help decide.
At We Are Kymera, we’re big believers in creativity backed by data. Because a good marketing idea is great, but a good marketing idea that you can prove works?
Even better.
So, let’s talk about what A/B testing is, what you should test, and how to use the results to make smarter marketing decisions.
What Is A/B Testing?
A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) is a way to compare two versions of something to see which performs better.
You create:
Version A: Your original
Version B: One variation
Then, you show the versions to different portions of your audience and compare the results based on a specific goal.
Maybe you want more people to click.
Fill out a form. Open an email. Make a purchase. Book an appointment.
Instead of guessing which version will perform better, you let the results tell you.
Simple concept. Powerful information.
What Can You A/B Test?
Almost anything your audience interacts with can potentially be tested.
Email Marketing
You can test:
- Subject lines
- Preview text
- Calls to action
- Images
- Send times
- Email layouts
Think “Learn More” will outperform “Get Started”?
Test it.
Landing Pages
Try different:
- Headlines
- Hero images
- Form lengths
- Page layouts
- Offers
- Calls to action
Sometimes a seemingly tiny change can influence whether someone sticks around or leaves.
Digital Advertising
Ads are practically begging to be tested.
Compare:
- Ad copy
- Headlines
- Images
- Videos
- Offers
- Calls to action
Testing different creative can help you understand what actually gets your audience’s attention instead of assuming you already know.
Website Content
You can also test elements of your website, such as:
- Headlines
- Buttons
- Forms
- Page layouts
- Product descriptions
- Calls to action
Your website shouldn’t be something you launch and forget.
It should evolve based on what you learn.
Why A/B Testing Matters
Marketing is full of assumptions.
A/B testing replaces some of those assumptions with evidence.
And sometimes, the results are surprising.
The headline everyone on your team loved?
Version B beat it.
The giant red button you were convinced would increase clicks?
Nope.
The shorter form?
Winner.
That’s the beauty of testing.
Your audience gets a vote.
Over time, those insights help you understand what motivates your customers, what messaging resonates, and what experiences make people more likely to take action.
But Don’t Test Everything at Once
Here’s where A/B testing can go sideways.
Let’s say Version A has:
- A blue button
- A short headline
- One image
- A five-field form
And Version B has:
- A green button
- A completely different headline
- A video
- A two-field form
Version B wins.
Great!
Except…
Why did it win?
Was it the button? The headline? The video? The shorter form?
You have no idea.
If you want useful information, test one meaningful variable at a time whenever possible.
Change the headline. Or the CTA. Or the image.
Then measure what happens.
Otherwise, you’re replacing one guess with another.
Start With a Hypothesis
Before running an A/B test, know what you’re trying to learn.
Instead of:
“Let’s try a different button.”
Try:
“We believe changing the CTA from ‘Learn More’ to ‘Schedule a Consultation’ will increase qualified conversions because it gives visitors a clearer next step.”
Now you have a reason for the test.
You also know what success looks like.
That’s the difference between experimenting strategically and changing things just to change them.
Pick the Right Metric
A test is only useful if you know what you’re measuring.
If you’re testing an email subject line, you might care about opens, but you may also want to look further down the funnel at clicks or conversions.
If you’re testing a landing page CTA, conversions probably matter more than page views.
If you’re testing an ad, a higher click-through rate might look great, but those clicks aren’t particularly valuable if nobody converts afterward.
Don’t automatically optimize for the biggest number.
Optimize for the metric that actually supports your business goal.
Give Your Test Enough Time
We know. Waiting is hard.
Version B gets five clicks in the first hour and suddenly everyone wants to declare a winner.
Not so fast.
Small samples can be misleading.
A meaningful A/B test needs enough data to determine whether the difference between versions is likely meaningful rather than normal variation.
How much data you need depends on things like your traffic, baseline conversion rate, expected improvement, and desired statistical confidence.
Translation?
Don’t crown a winner after 12 people see the test.
Let the data develop.
A Losing Test Isn’t Actually a Loss
This is one of our favorite things about testing.
Sometimes Version B loses.
That doesn’t mean the test failed.
You learned something.
Maybe your customers prefer direct messaging.
Maybe a shorter form didn’t improve conversions.
Maybe that clever headline wasn’t as clear as you thought.
Those insights can influence the next campaign, landing page, email, or ad.
The point of A/B testing isn’t to be right every time.
It’s to learn every time.
Small Wins Can Become Big Wins
A/B testing isn’t necessarily about finding one magical change that doubles your sales overnight.
Often, it’s about incremental improvement.
A stronger headline improves conversions a little.
Then a better CTA improves them a little more.
Then a simplified form improves them again.
One small improvement might not feel groundbreaking.
But stack enough smart improvements together?
Now you’re building momentum.
That’s optimization.
Don’t Forget the Human Behind the Data
Data is incredibly valuable.
But it isn’t a substitute for strategy, creativity, or understanding your audience.
If you blindly chase whichever variation produces the highest number, you can lose sight of the bigger picture.
A/B testing should help answer questions.
It shouldn’t make every decision for you.
The strongest marketing combines human insight, creative thinking, and real performance data.
You need all three.
The Kymera Take
Marketing shouldn’t be a never-ending series of:
“Maybe this will work.” Launch. Hope. Repeat.
A/B testing gives you a smarter cycle:
Create. Test. Learn. Optimize. Repeat.
You don’t have to completely reinvent your marketing every time something underperforms.
Sometimes you just need to ask a better question, and give your audience the opportunity to answer it.
At We Are Kymera, we use data to inform creative decisions, uncover opportunities, and continually improve marketing performance.
Because your marketing strategy shouldn’t be built on whoever has the strongest opinion in the room.
Stop guessing. Start testing.
Ready to find out what your audience actually responds to?