Short URLs are widely spread on the Internet: we see them on social media, emails, offline marketing, and on the websites. The purpose of applying short links is based on improving destination performance.
Using short URLs on the website is caused by testing the recent site changes. It could be a new color or position of a call-to-action button, the length of a title, or the link destinations.
To conclude whether the changes are worth being implemented, the auxiliary tools are needed. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how Short.cm could be useful when testing website changes in order not to rely just on gut feeling.
Conduct Split Testing
A/B testing measures the effectiveness of two variants of web pages, as well as compares their performance success. Split testing assesses how the web page performance changes, for example, after adding new design elements or calls to action. The purpose of using an A/B test is to identify and implement components that increase the page's effectiveness.
A/B Testing allows you to:
learn how new components influence users' behavior;
concentrate financial resources on elements that are engaging for the audience;
improve the conversion of financial metrics (revenue).
Short.cm A/B Testing
Short.cm provides running A/B tests. Now you can test which version of a web page performs better. When clicking a short link, half of the users see the original page, the second half — the variation page.
The advantages of using Short.cm for split testing are:
- You can conduct tests on the platforms where the characters are limited: SMS, social media.
- Along with A/B testing, apply other Short.cm features to strengthen the power of a short URL.
- You just need to specify a variation URL, as the original link is set by default after shortening.
- A/B Testing is included in the Personal Plan that costs 20$/monthly. In addition to split testing, you get other features provided in that plan.
UTM Tags as a Testing Tool
UTMs are parameters you stick to the end of the URLs to get detailed information about the visitors’ journey.
You can set up different UTM values depending on the purpose of a link. In case there is a button, link, or pop-up window on your site, attach UTM tags to track the effectiveness. That will let you estimate the interactions that are made with an element.
The example of a link with UTM tags is: www.brandname.io/main-page &utm_medium=paid&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=launch&utm_content=landing-page&utm_term=keywords
Remember to hide UTM tags as they show your competitors what campaigns you are running. Besides, UTMs spoil a link so that it’s hard to read it. When visiting a website, users prefer clicking on a tiny URL rather than a link that scares them off.
Apply UTMs to Short.cm Links
Short.cm has a free solution. With Short.cm, you create a short link and add UTM parameters on the Short.cm account. There is no additional tool needed. The performance results will be automatically displayed on Google Analytics. All data will be available in the tab: Reports - Traffic Sources - Campaigns.
Let's say you want to test the placement of the call-to-action button. The utm_content parameter comes in handy when testing placement. The first position is on the landing page; the second one is in the menu bar.
In this case, the long URLs will look something like this:
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https://www.brand-name.com/form/?utm_source= brand-name.com&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=button-test&utm_content=landing
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https://www.brand-name.com/form?utm_source= brand-name.com &utm_medium=promo&utm_campaign=button-test&utm_content=menu
The short URLs will look like:
Implementing these links into buttons lets tracking which one is more engaging.
Wrapping Up
The Short.cm tools for testing are easy and cheap to use. You can start applying them now with a 7-day free trial to understand if they fit your needs.
Conduct Website Testing with Short.cm
Get started for freeWhat did you learn?
- websites testing;
- website optimized;
- how to optimize a website;
- optimizing my website;
- website a/b testing;
- utm parameters builder;
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