Set up a Split URL test

Set up a Split URL test

You can create a Split URL test in PageSense to compare your existing webpage with one or more webpages hosted at different URLs.
Before you begin, make sure the PageSense Tracking Code is installed on the original and variation pages.
Step 1: Create a Split URL test
To create a Split URL test in PageSense:


  1. Navigate to Optimize and select Split URL Test.
  2. Click New Split URL Test.
  3. Enter a name for your experiment.
  4. Enter the URL of the original webpage you want to test.
  1. Click Advanced options to configure URL targeting conditions, including pages you want to exclude from the experiment.

  1. If required, enable Redirect with query parameters to pass the original URL's query parameters to the variation URLs.
  2. Click Next to proceed with the experiment setup.



Step 2: Add variations
Add the alternative webpages you want to compare with the original page.
To add a variation:


  1. Go to the Variations tab.
  2. Enter a name for the variation.
  3. Enter the URL of the alternative webpage.
  4. Click Add to include the variation in your experiment.


  1. Repeat these steps to add more variations, if required.
  2. Click Next to continue.
Note: Make sure each variation URL is accessible and contains the webpage you want to test.

Step 3: Configure goals
Goals help you measure the performance of your Split URL test. Choose a goal based on what you want to achieve and track how visitors interact with the original page and its variations.



Configure a goal

To configure a goal for your Split URL test:
  1. Click Add Goal.
  2. Select the goal type you want to track.
  3. Configure the required settings.
  4. Save your goal.
Once the test starts, PageSense tracks the selected goal to help you compare the performance of the different URLs.

Choose a goal

Select a goal based on what you want to measure:
  • Element clicks: Track clicks on a specific page element, such as a button.
  • Link clicks: Track clicks on links.
  • Pageviews: Track visits to a specific page.
  • Revenue: Track revenue generated through your experiment.
  • Time spent on page: Measure how long visitors spend on a page.
  • Engagements: Track visitor interactions with page elements.
  • Custom events: Track specific actions based on your requirements.
Choose a goal that matches your experiment objective to measure its performance effectively.

How are results compared?

PageSense tracks the selected goal for the original page and its variations, helping you compare their performance. For example, if you test two different landing pages, you can compare their sign-up rates to find which page generates more sign-ups.
Step 4: Configure audience targeting
Audience targeting lets you choose which visitors can participate in your Split URL test. You can target specific visitor groups based on factors such as device type, location, traffic source, and visitor type.
To configure audience targeting for your Split URL test:
  1. Go to the Audience step in your experiment setup.
  2. Set the participation percentage.
  3. Choose a preset audience or create a custom audience.
  4. Configure the required targeting conditions.
  5. Save your audience settings.
  6. Click Next to proceed.

Why use audience targeting?

Audience targeting helps you compare different webpage URLs among visitors who match your experiment requirements. For example, you can target mobile visitors to find which landing page performs better on mobile devices.

Participation: 
Participation determines what percentage of eligible visitors can enter your experiment.
By default, participation is set to 100%. You can reduce this percentage to limit the number of visitors included in the test.



Example: If participation is set to 50%, approximately half of the visitors who match your targeting conditions can participate in the experiment.

Preset audiences: 
Preset audiences let you target common visitor groups without creating conditions manually. You can choose from options such as:

  • Direct visitors
  • Paid campaign traffic
  • Organic search traffic
  • Social traffic
  • Referral traffic
  • Mobile and tablet visitors
  • Desktop visitors
  • New visitors
  • Returning visitors
Create a custom audience:
If the preset audiences don't meet your requirements, create a custom audience using your own targeting conditions.


To create a custom audience:
  1. Enter an audience name.
  2. Add a description, if required.
  3. Select a targeting condition.
  4. Configure the condition.
  5. Add more conditions if needed.
  6. Save the audience.
You can target visitors based on conditions such as URL, traffic source, location, device type, browser, operating system, and visitor type.
Example: Target mobile visitors from India to compare the performance of your original landing page and its alternative


Step 5: Configure experiment settings
Experiment settings let you control how visitors are assigned to the original page and its variations, how results are measured, and when your test runs.

Configure experiment settings

To configure your Split URL test:
  1. Configure traffic distribution.
  2. Select an experiment evaluation method.
  3. Configure the activation mode.
  4. Enable heatmaps if required.
  5. Set the experiment start and end dates, if needed.
  6. Click Next to proceed.

Segment traffic

Traffic distribution determines how eligible visitors are assigned to the original URL and its variations.



Manual distribution:
Use manual distribution to control how traffic is divided between the original page and its variations.
Example: If your test includes one original page and one variation, you can distribute traffic equally so that each URL receives 50% of the experiment traffic.

Auto distribution:
If available for your Split URL test, use auto distribution to let PageSense adjust traffic allocation based on performance.

Set experiment method

The experiment method determines how PageSense evaluates your test results.

  • Bayesian method: Estimates the probability that one URL performs better than another.
  • Frequentist method: Uses statistical significance to evaluate whether the observed differences are meaningful.
Choose the method that best suits your testing requirements.

Statistical significance level

If you select the Frequentist method, choose an evaluation option based on your testing requirements.


  • Quick Trends: Helps you identify early performance patterns.
  • Optimal: Balances testing speed and accuracy.
  • High Accuracy: Requires stronger statistical evidence and may need more time and traffic.

Experiment activation mode

Choose when your Split URL test should start showing the original page or its variations to visitors.


  • Activate when the page loads: Activates the experiment when the page loads.
  • Activate manually: Starts the experiment through a custom implementation.
  • Activate on satisfying a condition: Starts the experiment when the configured condition is met.

Enable heatmap

Enable heatmaps to understand how visitors interact with the original page and its variations. Heatmaps help you identify click patterns, scrolling behavior, and areas that receive more or less attention.

Schedule your experiment

Schedule your Split URL test to control when it starts and ends.


  • Launch this experiment later: Schedule the test to start at a future date and time.
  • Start date: Set when the experiment should begin.
  • End date: Set when the experiment should stop.

 


We’ve designed this documentation to guide you every step of the way. If you need further assistance or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at support@zohopagesense.com - we’re always here to help!