Week 3: Best of A/B Testing - Kabam

Welcome to week three of our six-part blog series entitled “Best of A/B Testing.”  Every week we will be showcasing a customer A/B test, along with testing results and learning. 

This Tuesday, we are  showcasing an A/B/C test across two traffic sources — Google PPC and Affiliate Marketing. This test was conducted by the ion interactive professional services team for Kabam, an interactive entertainment company that creates free-to-play games for social networks and other platforms.

Which landing page increased lead conversions 95% in PPC?

And 39% in Affiliate Marketing?

Test: Multi-character Game Imagery (Control) vs Female Vampire Head Shot vs Female Vampire Body Shot

Traffic source: Pay-per click, Affiliate marketing

Test Type(s): Imagery, Look & Feel, Form

Hypothesis: A female character image will peak the interest/appeal to the game’s target audience (hardcore social gamers, male, 18-40). Two variations of the female image will be tested to determine whether a head shot or body shot is more effective at driving game sign ups. The test wave is considered an “innovation” wave since additional elements are being tested, along with the imagery (look & feel, form, etc.). An iteration wave will be launched once a winner is determined.

Results: For PPC traffic, landing page C resulted in a 95% increase in sign ups over landing page A and a 35% increase in sign ups over landing page B. For Affiliate Marketing traffic, landing page C resulted in a 39% increase in sign ups over landing page A and a 30% increase in sign ups over landing page B. All tests reached a 99% confidence.

Learning: Hmmm…well, I guess (at least for social gaming) the old adage “sexy sells” remains true. Although we weren’t surprised the vampire hottie won, we were surprised that including a little more body increased game sign ups almost 100% in about 24 hours. Awesome. Next, we test revealing even more…a midriff!