Many dream of breaking through the race to the top on YouTube; however, very few YouTubers are truly able to do this. Have you ever wondered what the reason behind this could be? Lack of consistency? Probably, lack of hard work?  Well, I would recommend you include the lack of an appropriate approach in the list, too.

So, next time, when you feel exasperated owing to the poor performance of your YouTube videos, time and again, conduct A/B testing. Why? It is because it is not only the poor content that can affect your video’s performance but also the lack of split testing. 

Do you want to know what A/B testing is and how you can conduct it? Just swipe down to get answers to all your queries.

What is A/B Testing on YouTube?

A/B testing, also called buck-testing or split-testing, involves testing two versions of your content to determine what works and what doesn’t. Let me give you an example of how it is done in the case of YouTube. 

Picture yourself creating two thumbnails or titles for the same content. After that, you perform A/B testing to see which title or thumbnail attracts more views or, better say, click-through rate (CTR). The one with better clickbait will be your final choice. 

Importance of A/B Testing on YouTube

I know the question that must be popping up in your mind is: Why is there a need to perform A/B testing on YouTube when many channels are thriving without it, just by utilizing their subjective analysis for making decisions? To be honest, I would say you are not one of those channels, and each channel’s content strategy differs widely. That is why it is better to be practical and consider all factors—be they objective or subjective—when crafting your YouTube channel’s strategy. Indeed, objective facts will guide you through troubled waters wherever your subjectivity fails. 

Enough talks! Let’s discuss some obvious benefits of relying upon A/B testing for strategic decision-making of your YouTube channel:

• You can improve user engagement by using the headings, imagery, or call-to-actions that are most likely to optimize your content for success. 
• A/B testing provides valuable information about user behavior, helping you update the content with winning changes. 
• A/B testing helps you improve the quality of your content to match your targeted audience’s interests. 
• It will help you reduce the bounce rate while increasing the conversion rate of your content.
• A/B testing guides you in making well-informed decisions based on data, reducing the chances of risks, negative gain, or fall-out of the content.

How To Do A/B Testing on YouTube?

There are multiple ways of conducting A/B testing on YouTube. YouTube itself has a feature called Test and Compare that allows you to test the best from the three thumbnail options at a time. However, unlike other tools, you can’t test the viability of titles here. For titles, you can also resort to tools like TubeBuddy. 

How to Use Test and Compare Feature on YouTube?

It is important to mention here that YouTube’s “Test and Compare” feature allows you to test the thumbnails only based on the measurement of the watch time. To perform the test, you have to go to the details page after uploading your video (well, you can even go to the thumbnail area). Whatever the case, click the three-dot menu available on the thumbnail to start performing A/B testing in the “Test and Compare” feature. 

As I told you before, you can analyze a maximum of three thumbnails here. To do that, click the same three dots on your thumbnail and view the test report. Another way to check is to go to the Reach tabs that you see on your video info. From there, go to the thumbnail test section to see the report. 

How to Check the Report’s Outcome?

You must be wondering now: What metrics decide the report’s outcome? YouTube, to your knowledge, shows you comparative results based on the percentage of the watch time generated by the options you gave. This means the options with the highest percentage are the options that have the potential to provide you with maximum results.

Other Tools for A/B Testing on YouTube

YouTube’s “Test and Compare” feature’s A/B testing is based on a quantitative analysis of watch time, so for creators who are interested in making decisions based on other metrics like click-through rates (CTR), there is a need to search for alternatives. The best alternative tool to do A/B testing is TubeBuddy. This tool is flexible enough to allow YouTube content creators to conduct A/B testing for click-through rates, engagement levels, and views. It even provides the option of customizing metrics to analyze the performance of different options.

What’s more, this tool even allows you to test the performance of different titles on YouTube, a feature that is not present in YouTube’s “Test and Compare.” But remember that while testing metadata titles, Google may reindex the video, which can hurt the video if it is attracting good traffic.

Final Thoughts

If you want to improve the performance of your YouTube videos and reach a wider audience, A/B testing could be a great asset in your hands. This approach will test your different titles or thumbnails on different kinds of audiences before concluding which one will work best. 

So, are you interested in giving your stagnant views new momentum? If that is so, you must now be interested in utilizing A/B testing for this purpose. However, the major impediment to realizing this goal might be your lack of awareness of how to make the best use of data-driven strategies. 

As a professional YouTube management agency, we understand your concern about this limitation really well. But with UnityFilms’ partnership, you no longer need to fret about this constraint. We can, indeed, help you craft a strategy tailored according to your channel’s specific needs and your audience’s interests. 

What are you waiting for? Avail the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to free yourself of all shackles restricting your journey to boundless YouTube success by contacting us now!