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A Blog about Conversion Improvement

Are your test results *really* that proprietary?

One of the things I constantly see is clients treating their test results as if they’re the secret recipe to time travel or something. Thing is, are they really that proprietary?

There is no doubt that a well optimized offer page, e-commerce system, etc. can be an incredible competitive advantage. But let’s rewind for a moment and consider what a perfectly optimized offer is…

As I said at SES three weeks ago, optimized offers combine the perfect benefit, perfect amount of risk reversal, perfect amount of scarcity, and perfect unique value proposition for the state of mind the customer is in at the moment they see they offer.

Now unless your offer is identical to your competitors, and your customer’s are the same, your “optimized” offer is going to be different than theirs. The only time offers truly converge is in a commodity marketplace, where nearly every competitor is identical and everyone competes on price.

Now I am not saying to go posting your secret optimized recipes for the world to see, but its food for thought. Do you really need to be paranoid? I think not.

Warm Regards,

Scott Miller, CEO

Author of “The ConversionLab.com,” The worlds first “How to” guide to testing and optimization. Visit http://www.conversionlab.com/ for a special offer!

Filed under: A/B Testing,Conversion,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing —

Is multivariate testing the engine, or the car?

When the first internal combustion engines came onto the scene, they were marketed and sold as “engines.” Engines by themselves don’t do a whole lot, yet that was how manufacturers tried to sell them. You can still go to “engine shows” today where you’ll see old fashioned engines pump and spit and run all by themselves, doing nothing in particular.

It wasn’t until the arrival of the automobile that engines found their place in the world. The engine went behind the scenes and a new tool was born- the ability to get from one place to the next became easy.

We think of multivariate testing as the engine. It is what propels the vehicle- your web site. In the perfect world, this engine would “propel” a web page for each individual visitor. Based on their characteristics, the engine would automatically and seamlessly create a page for exactly what the user was looking for. While many people continue to “test” and “optimize” their sites using things like Taguchi and multivariate testing, wouldn’t it be better if your site were like a car? We think so.

By putting the test algorythm behind the scenes, your site could do it what it was meant to do better. That is get visitors from point A to point B, or in other words, from a lead to a sale.

Filed under: Multivariate Testing —

Free audio interview on split and multivariate testing

I have always wondered about podcasting, and even though I know a very small percentage of the internet listens to these, I had to give it a go. Listen in on this 20 minute interview I gave for Ed Forteau’s Success Rainmaker class a couple weeks ago. In the interview you’ll learn about:

  • The difference between split testing and multivariate testing
  • What things to test first
  • How Vertster got started
  • and more…

Listen to the interview now!

Filed under: A/B Testing,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing —

Factor me this…

In Taguchi Optimization, we call the things we are testing “factors.” The strength of the Taguchi method? You can test multiple factors at the same time. This is opposite of A/B or “One Factor at a Time testing” (abrieviated OFAT)… the fact that it sounds like “Old and Fat” might have something to do with many Taguchi proponents general distaste for A/B testing.

The fact is that AB testing is not disappearing any time soon. Taguchi can show you what things on the page are the most important. Once you know this, using OFAT on them is a smart strategy for “fine tuning” your key elements.

Back to factors… what can you or should you test? Start with the stuff that appears above the fold. Recent research shows that web visitors make a nearly instantaneous decision about your page. Improving your “engagement rate” can have a major impact on overall response. If your page is not engaging visitors, how can it possibly close with a conversion.

Things to consider: Your Logo, Tagline, Headline, Font, Face, Color, Size, Position, Hero Shot, Image Size, Caption, Subheadline, Greeting, First Sentence of Text, Top Bullet Point, First Paragraph, Inclusion of Advertising, Top Navigation Choice, Hackersafe, BBB, search boxes, just to name a few.

Filed under: Multivariate Testing,Page Components,Taguchi Testing —

Katrina in your test results?

Even if you live nowhere near the gulf coast, hurricane Katrina could be having a major impact on your test results. This is a classic example of a huge environmental noise factor, something that can shift the buying sentiments of an entire population. If you live near the affected area, or cater to a local business, this will be obvious.

But what about us who live hundreds or thousands of miles away?

The press coverage has been more than constant- its been downright transfixing. Anyone who knows someone living near New Orleans or who has been through a hurricane probably spent a little extra time watching the news today… and a little less time surfing the web or “taking care of business.” Not to mention the pervasive online news coverage and blogs pulling eyeballs and dollars away from our sites.

To make matters worse, the threat of spiking gas prices has many people hitting the brakes on purchase decisions. We noted a significantly lower conversion rate today on at least a couple of our “key indicator” tests. It seemed more like a Saturday than a Monday.

We use the term noise to refer to any uncontrollable factor that can affect the outcome of our tests, whether it is a positive or negative change. Split testing helps to disperse the effect equally within the test battery, but it doesn’t always eliminate an uncontrolled bias from entering the test results.

Take for example, a site that sells flood insurance. If this was you, today was probably a great day for sales, perhaps even record breaking. Would today be a good day to get repeatable test results? I think not. The winning creative today probably would be the one with the shortest and easiest order form. Today, many people wouldn’t need much convincing. Normally, the best pulling message might be a completely different appeal altogether. Basing your test results on today’s data, even if statistically significant, would lead you to erroneous assumptions.

Filed under: A/B Testing,Conversion,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing,Test Design,Testing 101 —

Live Taguchi Optimization… part two: The levels

A couple days ago I posted the first installment of a live full service optimization of a client landing page. Well we are almost ready to go, but first I wanted to provide a little more information on the test design. Last time I mentioned the factor (variable) selection.

For this test, we are using an optimization type which we only make available for Full Service optimizations. In this case, it provides for up to 6 headlines, 3 images, 3 headers, 3 form placements, 3 greetings, 3 body copies, and 3 urgency appeals. This means there are over 4000+ combinations we will be able to look at!

One of the things I try to emphasize is that no matter what optimization system you are using, if you put garbage in, you are going to get garbage out. This means that a truly great creative writer can probably do more with A/B testing than an ordinary person could do with any of these advanced methodologies. So much of the ultimate success of an optimization campaign is controlled by the quality of the creative inputs.

Factor selections and level selections can be broadly divided into two categories- “creative” and “mechanical.” Mechanical variables are things like font size, color, background color, image size, etc. Creative variables are those like headline copy, ugency type, or call to action. In this case, improved copy will be a key to the optimization. Looking over the factor list, most of the factor selections are of the “creative” type, rather than the “mechanics” type. There is one notable exception- The form position.

Here is our test design, flushed out with the level selections:

Headline

  1. Why watching this DVD could be worth an extra $10,000 a year

  2. Before your next performance review, make sure you’ve watched this

  3. How watching this DVD could keep you off the pink slip list… for good.

  4. How to get a raise on your own terms

  5. Starting -date- get paid what you’re worth

  6. At last a surefire tactic to get a raise on -date-

Image

  1. DVD only

  2. Lifestyle- Woman

  3. Lifestyle- Couple

Logo Header

  1. UAC Logo only

  2. PB Logo only

  3. Both Logos

Form Position

  1. Right Side

  2. Left Side

  3. Bottom

Lead In

  1. Here is what…

  2. Dear Bookkeeping Professional…

  3. None

Body Copy

  1. CONTROL

  2. Show you first

  3. What you will learn first

Urgency Appeal

  1. Limited Time Offer

  2. Free for a limited time

  3. None
Filed under: Case Studies,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing —

Live Taguchi Optimization Blogged!

We are ready to begin blogging our first live taguchi optimization. This is a “Full Service” Optimization whereby we provide the test design, creative, and test analysis service, bringing back a fully optimized ad. We guarantee a 50% increase in response rate on full service optimizations, so we’ll see if we get it this time.

Over the coming days we will share some of our thoughts and strategy as we optimize this landing page using the Taguchi Method, and post live results to our blog. Our goal is to increase the lead conversion rate of the landing page at http://www.bookkeepingbiz.com/knowaccounting/ Currently it performs at a relatively anemic 15.5% on traffic from Google Adwords. (This is the conversion rate to date since 6/1/2005).

Using the Taguchi Method, we have identified 7 variables or “Factors” on this page design which we will test:

1. Headline
2. Image
3. Header
4. Form Position
5. Lead In/Greeting
6. Body Copy
7. Urgency Appeal

Check back to this blog regularly, as we reveal some of the secrets of increasing conversion rates, and what we learn on this optimization. In the next post, we’ll find out about level selection for the test!

Filed under: Case Studies,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing —

The Worst Thing About Best Practices

MarketingProfs published a scathing attack on best practices written by Michael McLaughlin in todays issue. His article describes the use of best practices in sales presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed it and think most of what he has written definetly applies to Landing Pages and online optimization.

Here are Michaels top 4 reasons for why best practices suck:

1. They rarely work
2. It’s a followers strategy
3. Change comes from within
4. They don’t come with a manual

One of the fascinating things we learn through testing sites is how wrong the “best practices” are in many cases. Every site, sale, or offer is unique, and the only way to know what really works is to test it and find out!

Filed under: A/B Testing,Internet Marketing,Landing Page Optimization,Multivariate Testing,Taguchi Testing —
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