Dumb SEO Questions

(Entry was posted by Rob Baker on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 01/12/2014).

A/B testing - is there anything I should be concerned about from a SEO perspective?

In conducting A/B testing in experiments to try improve conversion rates, is there anything I should be concerned about from a SEO perspective (ie could changes which result in higher conversions negatively impact rankings)??
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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

  • Rob Baker: In conducting A/B testing in experiments to try improve conversion rates, is there anything I should be concerned about from a SEO perspective (ie could changes which result in higher conversions negatively impact rankings)?
  • Brent Wildman: Depends on the changes you make. Changing copy, headings and too much of the layout could negatively effect rankings. That being said I would A/B test on a different channel, I.E. adwords, where there a lot less variables that might skew your testing.
  • PK Group: Hi Rob, great question. Im no expert, but as long as you keep the same useful information on your page (and stick to SEO guidelines with headings etc) I can't see why A/B testing would negatively effect your SEO efforts. As long as the content remains useful and relevant, page layouts shouldn't be too much of a factor. We use Optimizely for our A/B testing, and haven't seen any drop in our rankings.
  • Rob Baker: Thanks ;+PK Group.  ;My concern is that A/B testing results in the booking engine becoming more and more prominent and the content less so. ;
  • PK Group: +Rob Baker Perhaps it would be best to monitor all variations from an SEO perspective during your experiments. If its simple visual changes you're doing, there's a useful article here from Visual Website Optimizer (another A/B testing program). http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/impact-of-ab-testing-on-search-engine-optimization-seo/. They conclude that visual A/B testing has no affect on your SEO efforts. Hope it all works out, keep us posted if you find any other developments! PK Group
  • Rob Baker: +PK Group ;Thanks. I wasn't thinking of problems arising from the testing process, but rather that the result (big booking engine at the top of each page displacing content) may be an issue.
  • W.E. Jonk: From the expert panel in this weeks SEO Questions hangout on air on 01:40:00 into the YouTube video: https://dumbseoquestions.com/q/ab_testing_is_there_anything_i_should_be_concerned_about_from_a_seo_perspective
  • Rob Baker: +W.E. Jonk ;tx

View original question in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 01/12/2014).

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