What Are Jeb Bush & Others A/B Testing?
(Not that anyone cares)
Update for 2020: How 2020 Candidates Use Behavioral Science to Convert Visitors into Donors
This is quick follow-up to What is Bernie Sanders A/B Testing? in light of the GOP Debate tonight.
As I did previously, I took a look at the GOP candidates’ websites for any signs of A/B testing. Found some!
Here’s what Jeb’s been up to:
“Visible GW” vs “Not-so-visible GW”
Well, this is awkward. As part of a signed baseball offer, Jeb’s team tested a full-color photo of GW vs one where he’s a lot less visible, as seen above. Okay, let’s focus on the form. It’s the form they were testing. Putting more focus on the form.
Jeb had another experiment worth mentioning, focused on the creation of a password during the donation process:
Password creation explanation text
This one is interesting, for a change. Jeb’s team is looking at whether clarifying that creating a password is optional helps or hurts.
Also, worth mentioning, Jeb’s been running geo-targeted tests looking at creating messaging specific to different states. Good thinking by this team.
Ben Carson
Found a couple more a/b tests on BenCarson.com…
Book vs Hat Offer
The above test appears to be looking at what free offer works best to motivating donations on the landing page. Is it Carson’s book, “Gifted Hands” or a campaign hat?
“Donate $2” vs “Donate $25 + Hat”
In this experiment, a few things are being tested: The copy below the headline is asking for $2 in one variation, and $25 in the other, offering a free hat. This is close to being an interesting pricing test. There is another variable in the second variation, which is in the pricing table ($15, $25 instead of $10, $20, $35), making the result of this experiment difficult to interpret.