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Introduction to Key Concepts in Nelio A/B Testing

Before running your first test, it’s important to understand the core ideas that make Nelio A/B Testing work. The following sections offer a brief introduction to the essential concepts you’ll encounter as you start optimizing your website.

Table of Contents

Tests

In Nelio A/B Testing, a test is an experiment designed to compare different versions of something on your website—such as a page, headline, product, menu, or pattern—to determine which version performs better. When a visitor reaches content included in the test, Nelio A/B Testing randomly assigns them to one of the variants and consistently shows that version throughout the test. The plugin then tracks how visitors interact with each variant so you can determine which one performs best.

Tests can focus on small visual tweaks or major structural changes, depending on what you want to optimize. Each test runs within a defined scope and collects metrics like views and conversions. Once enough data is gathered, you can determine whether one variant clearly outperforms the others and apply the winner to your site.

🔍 Learn more in What Types of Tests Can I Create and What Are They For?

Variants

A variant is an alternative version of the item being tested. All tests include at least two variants: the control (original version) and one or more alternatives that introduce changes. Visitors are evenly distributed among these variants so you can measure how each one affects user behavior.

Variants can represent anything from minor copy or style adjustments (such as a different button color) to completely different designs or layouts. By comparing how visitors react to each version, variants help you identify which ideas lead to higher engagement or conversion rates.

Depending on the test type, variants can be created visually using the WordPress editor, by modifying CSS, or by configuring alternative settings for the tested element.

Conversion Goals and Conversion Actions

A conversion goal defines what success looks like for a test—for example, getting users to subscribe, click a button, submit a form, or visit a specific page. Goals represent the outcomes you want users to achieve as a result of interacting with the tested content.

Each goal is measured through one or more conversion actions, which are the specific interactions that count toward that goal. For example, a subscription goal might include actions such as clicking a sign-up button or submitting a subscription form. A single goal can include multiple actions, allowing you to track different ways visitors achieve the same objective.

Unlike many analytics platforms, Nelio A/B Testing counts every conversion action. If a visitor performs the same action multiple times, or completes different actions associated with the same goal, each one is counted as a conversion. As a result, conversion rates can exceed 100%.

🔍 Learn more in What Are the Conversion Actions and Goals?

Test Scope

The test scope determines where a test applies—specifically, which pages or templates on your site are included in the test. For example, the scope of a page test might be a single URL, while the scope of a menu or theme test could include your entire site. Nelio uses the scope to figure out when a visitor should participate in a test and which variant they should see.

Well-defined scopes ensure that tests only run in the places where the tested changes are actually relevant. They also ensure that page views are only counted where the test is actually running, helping you make the most of your available quota.

🔍 Learn more in What is the “Test Scope” of a Nelio A/B Test?

Segmentation

Segmentation lets you control who participates in your tests by defining specific groups of visitors. With segmentation, you can focus your tests on particular audiences—for example, mobile users, visitors from a certain country, or logged-out users. Each segment is defined by one or more rules, and visitors must meet all of them to qualify.

Once a visitor is assigned to a segment, they remain in that segment for the entire duration of the test, even if their context changes. Segmentation is especially useful when you want to analyze how different kinds of users respond to your variants or run tests that only make sense for a subset of your audience.

🔍 Learn more in What Is Segmentation and How to Use it?

Page Views, Conversions, and Conversion Rates

Every test is measured using three key metrics:

  • Page views, which indicate how many eligible visitors saw the test.
  • Conversions, which record when visitors complete one of your defined goals.
  • Conversion rate, which compares conversions against page views to show how effective each variant is.

A page view is counted when a visitor lands on a page included in the scope of a test or when a specific page-view action is triggered as part of a conversion goal. Page views help establish exposure: a conversion only counts if the visitor has previously seen the tested content.

A conversion occurs when a visitor triggers a conversion action tied to one of your goals. This can be a click, form submission, page visit, scroll depth, time spent on a page, or other tracked events. Because visitors can convert multiple times, conversions provide a detailed look at engagement.

A conversion rate expresses how effective a variant is at driving conversions relative to its total number of page views. Comparing conversion rates across variants shows which version performs best for each goal.

Continuous Optimization

Running a single successful test is only the beginning. Nelio A/B Testing is designed to help you continuously improve your website by suggesting new testing opportunities, tracking your optimization progress, and making it easier to discover what to test next.

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