When you invest in marketing, the big question is always the same: Will this actually bring in more customers? For many business owners, the frustration comes from trying new tactics, redesigning websites, or running ads, only to be left wondering if the changes made any real difference.
A/B testing solves that problem. Instead of relying on what you think might work, it lets you test two versions of a page, an ad, or an email side by side and use the data to see which one works better.
This is important because even small changes, whether a headline, a button, or the way a form is laid out, can dramatically affect how many people choose to contact you. One of our clients increased their conversion rate from 0.5% to 3.5% in under two years by combining structured A/B testing with conversion reviews. That’s a seven-fold increase in leads, achieved without needing to double their traffic or ad spend.
In this guide, we’ll show you how A/B testing works, where to use it, and how to avoid common pitfalls. You’ll see how it fits into a broader marketing strategy and how, done consistently, it can help you generate more leads, improve ROI, and grow your business.
If you want your website, emails or ads to generate more leads, you need to know what actually works. That’s where A/B testing, also called split testing, comes in. At its simplest, A/B testing means comparing two versions of something, for example, a page layout, a call-to-action button, or an email subject line, to see which one gets the better response.
Think of it like running a science experiment on your marketing. You start with a clear objective, make one change, test it with part of your audience, and then measure the outcome. Over time, you keep building on the small wins: a clearer headline, a stronger call-to-action, a cleaner design, and those incremental improvements can add up to a big increase in enquiries and sales.
The power of A/B testing is that instead of relying on gut feel or copying competitors, you use real data to guide your marketing decisions. And unlike multivariate testing, which looks at multiple changes at once and can be complex, A/B testing keeps things simple, focusing on one change at a time so you get clear, reliable results.
In short, A/B testing gives you the confidence that the changes you’re making will actually help you generate more leads and sales.
When you’re investing time and money into marketing, you need to know that it will deliver results. A/B testing gives you the evidence you need to make smarter decisions. Instead of relying on gut feel or what your competitors are doing, you get hard data that shows which option works best.
This matters because your website, ads, and emails are often just one small change away from generating significantly more leads. By testing headlines, layouts, or call-to-actions, you can discover what really resonates with your audience and what drives them to take action.
At JDR, we see this every day. For example, one client saw their conversion rate jump from 1.49% to 3.92% in just six months after we tested and rolled out a new page design. Another achieved a 7x increase in conversions over two years through continuous A/B testing and reviews. These aren’t small uplifts. They’re the difference between struggling for enquiries and having a steady pipeline of new business. You can see these and other examples of conversion rate optimisation results here.
A/B testing helps you:
Over time, this culture of ongoing optimisation gives you a stronger brand, with better and more predictable results.
A/B testing works best when you treat it as an ongoing cycle, not a one-off experiment. Each test gives you a clearer picture of what works for your audience, and those insights guide the next change. Over time, the small improvements add up to big results, such as more leads, more enquiries, and ultimately more sales.
The process itself is simple:
Then you repeat the process, using what you’ve learned to inform the next test. This is what we mean by iterative testing: a continual cycle of learning and refining that keeps your marketing agile and effective.
The key is to keep moving forward. Every test, whether it wins or not, teaches you something useful about your audience. Over time, this builds into a much deeper understanding of what makes people enquire, trust you, and buy from you.
You have two main options when you test: A/B split testing and multivariate testing. Both help you improve results; they just suit different situations.
A/B Split testing compares two versions that differ in one key element, for example, a headline, a call to action, or a form length. It is quick to set up, easy to understand, and ideal when you want clear answers without tying up lots of budget or time. In our experience, most early wins come from simple A/B tests, because you isolate one change and see its true impact.
Multivariate testing changes several elements at once on the same page, for example, headline, image, and button text, to learn how combinations perform together. It is powerful when you are optimising an entire layout or template, but it needs higher traffic and more time to reach reliable conclusions. It also demands tighter planning and analytics, which is why we usually use it on high-traffic pages during larger redesigns.
By choosing the right method for the job, you get meaningful results faster, you reduce risk, and you keep improving conversion rates without wasting budget.
A/B testing isn’t limited to one part of your marketing. You can apply it anywhere you want more enquiries, whether that’s on your website, in your emails, or across paid ads. The key is to test the elements that have the biggest influence on whether someone becomes a lead.
Your landing pages are where visitors decide if they’ll take the next step. Small tweaks here can have a big impact. For example, testing different headlines, layouts, or call-to-action buttons can reveal which version persuades more people to fill in your form.
Email is still one of the best tools for reaching prospects. With A/B testing, you can try different subject lines, send times, or call-to-actions to see what gets more opens and clicks. Even a small lift in click-through rate can mean dozens of extra leads every month.
Every click on your ads costs money. Testing ad headlines, descriptions, and display URLs ensures you’re only paying for the versions that bring in the best results. By refining ads this way, you can lower your cost per lead and make your budget go further.
Your website should guide visitors towards taking action. Testing button wording, colours, or placement helps you identify what gets more people to click.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook are competitive spaces. Testing images, headlines, or engagement prompts helps you stand out and attract more of the right people. The data quickly shows you which ads are worth scaling up and which to drop.
The beauty of A/B testing is that it works across all these channels. By running small, simple tests in each area, you can steadily improve performance everywhere, getting better ROI from your marketing as a whole.
One of the challenges with A/B testing is knowing whether your results are reliable or just down to chance. This is where an A/B test calculator comes in. It’s a simple tool that takes the guesswork out of interpreting results, so you can make confident, data-driven decisions.
If you’ve made a change and enquiries go up, you want to be sure it’s the change that caused it and not just a random spike. A calculator checks the statistical significance of your test, in other words, whether the improvement is real and repeatable.
The benefits are straightforward:
How it works, step by step:
A quick example:
Let’s say one of your landing pages gets 1,000 visits. Version A generates 10 enquiries, Version B generates 18. At first glance, B looks better but an A/B calculator will confirm whether that increase is statistically significant or could have happened by chance. If the calculator shows 95%+ confidence, you know it’s worth rolling out Version B across your site.
A/B testing can transform your marketing when you follow the right approach. Done properly, it gives you reliable answers about what works, and helps you turn more of your existing traffic into leads and sales.
Many business owners try A/B testing but get poor results because of simple mistakes. Avoid these traps and you’ll get far more value from your efforts.
Treat A/B testing as a discipline. Follow the right process, avoid shortcuts, and let the data guide you. Do that consistently, and you’ll see stronger results across your website, ads, and emails.
A/B testing is one of the simplest but most powerful ways to improve your marketing results. Instead of relying on gut feel, you make decisions based on real evidence – so every change you make brings you closer to generating more leads and sales.
The real value comes when you embed testing into your wider marketing strategy. That’s why at JDR we don’t just run tests in isolation – we combine them with our full 6-step system. This means your website, ads, content, and sales process all work together, guided by data, to consistently attract and convert more customers.
We’ve seen clients transform their results through A/B testing, from doubling enquiry rates in just a few months, to achieving 7x more conversions over two years. And the same approach can work for you.
Now it’s over to you.
Book a free call with our team today and find out how we can help you improve your website’s conversion rate and generate more leads.
Or, if you’d like to learn more first, download our free guide: How To Get More Leads From Your Website. It’s full of practical strategies you can apply straight away.
Either way, don’t leave your website performance to chance – take the first step now and start turning more of your visitors into customers.