There are two types of A/B test variants: micro and macro variants.

Micro variants

Micro variants are minor adjustments to your page's copy, creative, or layout. These are small, quick changes. One of the most common examples is changing the color of a CTA button, or even the copy inside that button.

These minor changes are unlikely to have a huge impact on conversions, unless you combine several micro variants together. In which case, you’re making significant changes to your page, which is where macro variants come in.

Macro variants

Macro variants are significant rethinkings of your page. Changing up the style completely, the ordering of your content, or targeting an entirely new audience.

Prioritize macros over micros. That’s where you’ll see the biggest return on investment.

Not only that, but micro variants tend to only deliver small wins (small relative to the business outcomes you care about).

In the short-term, this may not seem important. But, in the long-term, it may introduce unforeseen funnel consequences that can be difficult to pinpoint in hindsight.

We see it all the time.

Macro variants require considerable effort: It’s hard to repeatedly summon the focus and company-wide collaboration needed to rethink your page.

But macros are the only way to see the forest through the trees.

Because the biggest obstacle to testing macros is committing to them, we recommend creating an A/B testing calendar.

Create a recurring event for, say, every 2 months. On those days, spend a couple hours brainstorming a macro variant for a pivotal page or product step.

Hack: the cheap, easy macro test

There’s one type of macro variant that doesn’t take much effort: testing a new group of header, subheader, and image on your landing page.

This is the one type of test that can drastically change conversion — because so many people leave a site after skimming the top of the page. With the right combination of copy and image in your hero section, you can get them to stick around much longer.