Persado users sometimes ask us if testing new language Variants on their webpages will have any impact on SEO. It’s an important question to ask, as A/B testing involves comparing different versions of a webpage to optimize user engagement and conversions. And while search engines primarily focus on crawling and indexing content, they may not be fully aware of A/B testing variations.

In summary, over our years of testing, we haven’t seen SEO impact to our customers. Even Google describes how A/B and multivariate testing can “often have little or no impact on that page's search result snippet or ranking”—but we still follow the below best practices to be mindful of any impact, especially when making significant changes to HTML tags or website copy.

Persado’s copy is based on the original web page language to ensure we maintain the “spirit of the page,” including keeping main keywords. We are typically only altering the way we say the same message.

As an example, if we’re working on a product page about personal loans, we’ll make sure that the main product characteristics remain (e.g., words like “loan,” “APR,” “credit score”).

It’s important to note, too, that positive changes to webpage content, like increased engagement or reduced bounce rates, can benefit SEO, while negative alterations may have detrimental effects. Persado’s copy outperforms the control message 96% of the time, so we’re likely to drive better engagement overall.

All of the Variants we produce will run through your A/B platform’s javascript for testing and will not alter the root page. This is because changes to HTML tags during A/B tests can directly impact SEO, as search engines rely on HTML structure to understand and rank content.

Altering crucial tags, such as headings or meta tags, can influence how search engines interpret your content and potentially impact rankings. Persado doesn’t change title tags, meta d, h1 tags, internal link structure, copy blocks/associated headers, and breadcrumbs.

When you’re running a Full Experiment, our Exploration phase always runs for less than 30 days and then reverts to the control. This timeframe is another check to ensure that the Variants aren't indexed for SEO.

Note: When leveraging personalization (Dynamic Motivation), the run-time of content may be longer than 30 days, due to the “always on” personalization at play. Persado will still adhere to all the other best practices listed here so SEO is not affected.

No. Our methodologies are crafted to work alongside Google's guidelines, ensuring your SEO remains unaffected.

No! Google actually encourages A/B testing as a means to enhance site functionality and user experience, clearly stating it poses no risk to your search ranking.

We prioritize the preservation of your site's SEO by maintaining the integrity of the webpage's content and structure. Persado could potentially modify HTML elements such as <p>, <div>, or <span> tags through JavaScript to enhance content engagement without directly altering the source code of your page. This approach ensures that crucial SEO elements, especially those impacting search ranking, remain unaffected, allowing for dynamic content optimization while safeguarding your SEO.

Yes. By optimizing for user engagement and reducing bounce rates, our tests can signal quality to search engines, potentially enhancing your SEO.

We avoid altering key HTML elements, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and internal structures, crucial for maintaining SEO integrity.