Incrementality testing
Measuring the additional outcomes caused by an activity, by comparing a treated group against an untreated control, rather than inferring…
AnalyticsSEO A/B testing
SEO split testing
Testing SEO changes by applying them to a random subset of similar pages and comparing outcomes against a held-back control group.
In full
Because users cannot be randomised into different search results, SEO tests randomise pages instead, which requires a template with enough comparable URLs and enough traffic to detect an effect. Tests must run long enough for recrawling and reindexing, and must not be contaminated by site-wide changes. Search Console clicks and impressions per group are the usual measurement, analysed with a causal impact or difference-in-differences approach.
Example
Adding structured data to a random 50% of 10,000 event pages, then comparing impressions between groups over six weeks.
Related terms
Causal impact analysis
A statistical method that estimates the effect of an intervention by forecasting what would have happened without it, using control series…
Google Search Console
Google's free property-level reporting and diagnostics service covering search performance, indexing status, enhancements, manual actions…
SEO forecasting
Projecting future organic performance from current rankings, expected position changes, demand trends and seasonality, usually as a range…
Algorithm volatility
Day-to-day fluctuation in rankings caused by continuous algorithm changes, index updates and testing, distinct from confirmed named updates.