Your Content Strategy Is Based on Assumptions. Time to Test Them.
"Long-form content performs better for our audience."
Does it? Did you test it? Or did you read a blog post that said so and assumed it was true?
Most content strategies are built on assumptions. Content experiments replace assumptions with evidence.
What to Test
Headlines. Run two versions. See which gets more clicks from search results and social.
Content length. Publish short and long versions on similar topics. Compare traffic and conversions.
Content formats. Lists vs. guides vs. how-tos vs. opinion pieces. Which format resonates?
CTA placement and copy. Top of post vs. bottom vs. inline. "Sign up free" vs. "Get started in 30 seconds."
Publishing frequency. Does publishing 4x/week beat 2x/week? Or does quality suffer?
How to Run Experiments
Step 1: Hypothesis. "We believe [change] will result in [outcome] because [reasoning]."
Step 2: Variables. Change one thing at a time. Otherwise, you don't know what caused the result.
Step 3: Sample size. Run experiments long enough to get statistically meaningful data. Usually 2-4 weeks minimum.
Step 4: Measure. Pre-defined success metrics. Not after-the-fact cherry-picking.
Step 5: Document and apply. Win or lose, document the results. Apply winners to your strategy.
The Testing Culture
Teams that test regularly outperform teams that don't. Period.
After 500+ campaigns, the best results always come from teams willing to test their assumptions. For a more structured approach, check our guide on A/B testing content for SEO.
Test your content. Optimize your pages. SEO Checkup -- 113 tasks, 4 checklists, free, 30 seconds.
Use Google Search Console to measure click-through rate changes when testing title tags and meta descriptions.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.