By Neil Patel

A/B testing is brilliant. It lets you compare two or more versions of the same page element, paid ad, or another variable to see which one performs the best. In other words, it’s a key way to improve your content, increase user engagement, and boost conversion rates across your site. What’s not to like?

Additionally, with A/B testing, the results are clear and speak for themselves. For example, if you test two versions of a newsletter, it’ll be obvious from the results which version “worked” best based on the numbers.

How do you know why either version A or B performed best, though, and how do you gain deeper insight into your campaign performance?

This is where secondary goals can help you out. Let me show you why secondary goals matter in A/B testing, and how you can use them in your own marketing development.

Primary Vs. Secondary Goals in A/B Testing

Before we get started, let’s be clear on what’s meant by “primary” and “secondary” goals in A/B testing.

A primary goal is, quite simply, your main objective. It’s the priority goal of your campaign or the goal you’re hoping to achieve when you run an A/B test.

For example, say you’re a personal trainer. You have a notice on your landing page, encouraging people to sign up for a free sample week or taster session. Maybe it looks something like this from My Soul Sanctuary:

Your primary goal might be identifying how many people click through to complete this form because you’re trying to increase your sign-up numbers.

Secondary goals, on the other hand, give you more insight into user behavior and how people interact with your website. They help you reach your primary goal by providing a detailed insight into your A/B test results.

For example, the personal trainer might also want to know how many people share their content on social media, or sign up for their newsletter while on their website:

Knowing the answers to these questions offers additional insight into how well the content is performing—rather than tracking submission form sign-ups alone.

If you want to increase conversions, grow your business, and improve your ROI, you need to track primary and secondary goals. Otherwise, you only have half the data you need to market your business effectively.

7 Secondary Goals to Track in GA for A/B Testing

Ready to track some secondary goals? To help you get started, here are seven metrics I suggest you measure as part of your A/B testing.

1. Add-to-Cart Actions

Tracking the “add-to-cart” metric allows you to identify how often customers add items to their cart and which pages get the most traction. Knowing how many …read more

Source:: Kiss Metrics Blog