Google is set to introduce A/B testing for Android developers at its I/O Conference (reports Amir Efrati at The Information). This will allow developers to run multiple variants of an applications profile in the Google Play store to test which choices offer the best results.
Why is it secret? Because it remains invisible to the end-user, who will only see one listing. Being able to run two different styles of listings to different users will allow developers to discover factors that influence the volume of downloads and sales. This could be through tweaking the order of screenshots, where to place user quotes in the accompanying text, or by trying out different prices to see if a higher price and lower volumes is a better approach than lower price and higher download volumes.
The impact on A/B testing may not be confined to download numbers. With the volume of applications available in the Google Play store continuing to rise at a phenomenal rate, maximizing the potential of a listing to be found through searches both in the store and on the wider web will be an important skill to expose an application to the public.
The current methods of testing would see a developer try a listing for a fixed period of time, before manually changing the listing and tabulating the result. This doesn’t take into consideration short-term spikes of traffic, say from a popular Twitter account mentioning the app, which could pass unnoticed. This is where A/B testing will be able to provide accurate figures to developers.
It’s a win for Google as well, because the more applications are downloaded, the more opportunities there are for developers to monetize their code, be it through paid for downloads, downloadable content, or mobile advertising (Google wold probably quite like to see the latter boosted as much as possible).
Full details will be announced at I/O, and it will be interesting to chart the gains that could be made by developers going through the process.
Source : - forbes
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