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	<title>Optimize It!</title>
	<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog</link>
	<description>Building a better mousetrap</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:51:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Blog Repairs Underway</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have tried unsuccessfully to access this blog in the last couple days, we have an unknown problem, which is currently being addressed.  Please check back soon.

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2010/02/blog-repairs-underway.html</link>
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		<title>More efficient and streamlined companies emerge</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After going through this horrible economic downturn (which we&#8217;ll be feeling the effects of for some time) companies have learned different ways to survive.
The companies making it through the economic crisis are going to be more efficient and more streamlined as they have learned to do more with much less, to squeeze more out of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2010/01/more-efficient-and-streamlined-companies-emerge.html</link>
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		<title>8 New Years Testing Resolutions for better A/B and Multivariate Results</title>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Put the shotgun down, website testing is not turkey hunt!
If one thing was made apparent by the WhichTestWon testing awards this year, its that most web marketers are toting around a shutgun, rather than a sniper rifle when it comes to testing. Very few of the entries provided meaningful learnings, beyond &#8220;one page is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2010/01/8-new-years-testing-resolutions-for-better-ab-and-multivariate-results.html</link>
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		<title>Announcing the WhichTestWon 2009 Best Tests Award Webinar- Reserve your Seat Now!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m excited to announce our involvement in the 2009 WhichTestWon Awards!  Next week, I invite you to join me on Tuesday when I reveal the Best       Tests of 2009 at WhichTestWon&#8217;s Awards.  These are not just Vertster tests, but come from many entries and many different testing systems!
I&#8217;m co-presenting [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/12/announcing-the-whichtestwon-2009-best-tests-award-webinar-reserve-your-seat-now.html</link>
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		<title>Conversion Optimization and SEO &#8211; successful together</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A high ranking in search engine results is critical for nearly all businesses. And rightly so: organic users are inexpensive, highly interested, and sustainable. But how should websites be designed so that they are easy to find with search engines?
Simply put, content and internal links are said to be the keys to success. How can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/11/conversion-optimization-and-seo-successful-together.html</link>
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		<title>We&#8217;re collaborating on and sponsoring the WhichTestWon testing awards&#8230; enter now!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WhichTestWon.com is a cool new site built by Anne Holland.  In case you are not familiar with Anne, she was the founder of Marketing Sherpa.  This site is sooo much fun if you are into testing and doing site conversion optimization.  Basically, each week the site features a real test- and asks visitors to &#8220;use [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/11/were-collaborating-on-and-sponsoring-the-whichtestwon-testing-awards-enter-now.html</link>
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		<title>Ecommerce Home Page Test- Featured on WhichTestWon.com</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Think you know what is going to convert the best?  If so, put your ego where your mouth is and head over to WhichTestWon, the new site from Anne Holland (founder of MarketingSherpa) to see how good you are at picking the winner from a selection of split tests.  Even if you have no idea [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/10/ecommerce-home-page-test-featured-on-whichtestwon-com.html</link>
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		<title>Case Study:  Did a headshot help or hurt webinar signups?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In this experiment, a banner campaign was used to drive visitors to sign up for an on demand webinar.  Two versions of the banner were tested, with the goal of increasing sign ups.  One banner included a picture of German analytics and testing expert Dennis Kruger, and one did not.  Also the button &#8220;View Now [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/10/case-study-did-a-headshot-help-or-hurt-webinar-signups.html</link>
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		<title>Thoughts on Optimizing Search Pages</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On-site search is a big deal, especially for e-commerce sites.  Many sites rely on internal search engines to drive thousands or millions of dollar in revenue, yet there is very little written about optimizing them to improve conversion, revenue per visit, or simple click-through rates.  On-site search consists of two transactions of interest, both of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/09/thoughts-on-optimizing-search-pages.html</link>
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		<title>Top 15 Things To Do Before You Launch a New MVT or Split Test</title>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Decide and Document your Goals
Before you ever start testing, you should have an idea of what you plan to get out of it.  You should not be testing just to join the &#8220;cool kids.&#8221;  Going into your testing program you should have a written goal.  It may be broad, but having that goal will [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/09/top-15-things-to-do-before-you-launch-a-new-mvt-or-split-test.html</link>
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		<title>Announcing Some New Features for Online Marketing Agencies</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We just announced some new features for internet marketing agencies, http://bit.ly/15ECOy (press release.) We are excited to bring the Vertster multivariate platform to our agency partners with some major features that allow agencies to deliver A/B and multivariate testing to clients.
1. Private Label &#8211; Skin the software to have your colors, your CSS, your logo, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/08/announcing-some-new-features-for-online-marketing-agencies.html</link>
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		<title>I Don&#8217;t Care How Awesome You Are. Can You Increase My Conversions?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It seems as companies get bigger, their message gets muddier. We affectionately refer to this type of marketing copy as “Corporate Speech” and you may have encountered it in the wild. I don’t know why this happens, but the marketing copy gets really vague and leaves you with a dizzy, lost feeling.
“Did anyone get the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/i-dont-care-how-awesome-you-are-can-you-increase-my-conversions.html</link>
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		<title>Usability Begins with a Plan</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Conversion optimisation is, above all, usability. Only if visitors can find their way around a website easily will the conversion rate (leads, purchases etc.) be high.
However, usability &#8211; which means conversion optimisation &#8211; is not just about testing. Testing is indeed vital and is the fastest way to obtain meaningful information on visitor behaviour. First, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/usability-begins-with-a-plan.html</link>
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		<title>When Conversion Tracking is Impossible, Use a Conversion Proxy!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[There are times when tracking a conversion or even getting a revenue figure into your analytics or optimization platform is simply not possible.  In these cases, you may consider using a &#8220;conversion proxy&#8221; to approximate actual conversions.  A conversion proxy usually represents the last trackable action the user makes before conversion.  Let&#8217;s consider some example [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/when-conversion-tracking-is-impossible-use-a-conversion-proxy.html</link>
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		<title>How A Real Life Test Can Help You Get Your Wallet Back!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We are testing junkies and we do it for a living on the web. But we always appreciate a good multivariate or split test, whether it&#8217;s on the web or not.
This interesting article popped up recently about a test done in Scotland for lost wallets. What variables combine to entice the finder of the wallet [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/how-a-real-life-test-can-help-you-get-your-wallet-back.html</link>
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		<title>4 Ways to Clear Browser Cookies for Just One Site</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Oftentimes when you are &#8220;testing&#8221; a test, you should clear your cookies each time through- to make sure you do not have old values stashed away that could prevent you from seeing your test operate correctly.  Luckily, there are some great extensions available for the Firefox browser that make this a trivial operation.  If you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/4-ways-to-quickly-clear-the-cookies-for-just-one-site-or-domain.html</link>
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		<title>9 Widgets that will Instantly Boost your Conversion Rate</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Adding seals and badges to your e-commerce or lead generation site can provide an instant boost in conversion rate.  In this post, we&#8217;ll take a look at a few of the most common, highlighting a site that uses each one.  As always, it is important to test whether these help or not for your given [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/05/9-widgets-that-will-instantly-boost-your-conversion-rate.html</link>
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		<title>Make Everything Clickable to Convert More!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Your web visitors are trigger happy! That index finger is poised and ready to strike. People love to click things. I get a small amount of enjoyment every time I hear the little &#8220;click&#8221; of the mouse.
Some people like to click on text links and others like to click on images.
Oftentimes I see websites that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/04/make-everything-clickable.html</link>
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		<title>Got traffic? Don&#8217;t waste your opportunity to be a testing radical!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you get a lot of traffic?  Are you taking advantage of it by running more radical tests?
There is a truism in conversion testing- the more radical your tests, the more you stand to gain.  Testing radically means testing widely varying options, and exceedingly different ideas.  Think about testing colors for a moment as color [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/04/got-traffic-dont-waste-your-opportunity-to-be-a-testing-radical.html</link>
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		<title>12 Tools for Getting Better Split and MVT Test Results</title>
		<description><![CDATA[From web development to tools for writing better copy, here is an essential collection of sites and applications for designing, building, troubleshooting, and logging experiments on the web.  I have chosen not to include the testing software itself.  Instead, these are tools and software you can use to help support your testing activities, regardless of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/12-tools-for-getting-better-split-and-mvt-test-results.html</link>
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		<title>The 3 Stage Approach to More Website Conversions</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So you are starting a new campaign? Your team is excited to build the landing page of all landing pages, but the team is divided and can&#8217;t agree on what the message, layout and calls to action should be.
Let them all have a try.
Here is a strategy to move forward and dial in on the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/the-3-stage-approach-to-more-website-conversions.html</link>
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		<title>Yahoo loves (and designs by) testing too</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Shortly after Google&#8217;s Lead designer resigned due to Google&#8217;s fanatical testing practices, along comes this gem from e-consultancy: Yahoo loves multivariate testing
Apparently the new Yahoo home page was the result of testing 141 different versions!  The goal of the testing was to find out which design resulted in the greatest site stickiness.  This makes sense, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/yahoo-loves-and-designs-by-testing-too.html</link>
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		<title>Follow us on Twitter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you using Twitter yet?  I have been personally for a while now.  If you want to follow, here are two accounts that contain Vertster information:
http://twitter.com/optimizeit &#8211; This is the twitter account of Scott Miller (me).
http://twitter.com/vertster &#8211; This is the official twitter account for Vertster, and contains important system announcements and things like that.

  [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/follow-us-on-twitter.html</link>
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		<title>The Day that Data Won Over Design</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning I saw the following blog post from Google&#8217;s lead designer,  Douglas Bowman,  on why he is leaving Google:  http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html
It boils down to one reason- Google designs by testing, not by what one (or several) design guru&#8217;s say looks good.  I can appreciate both sides of this story- certainly great design cannot be created by machines- [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/the-day-that-data-won-over-design.html</link>
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		<title>Using a &#8220;next steps&#8221; widget to drive action from all corners of the sales cycle</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you are selling a complex business to business product or looking to increase considered B2C sales, a &#8220;next steps&#8221; widget is a great way to reach across the sales cycle and offer something for people at any stage.  The goal of the &#8220;Next Steps&#8221; widget is to give users a road map of options, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/using-a-next-steps-widget-to-drive-action-from-all-corners-of-the-sales-cycle.html</link>
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		<title>The Top Five Conversion Testing Myths and What to Do about Them</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently I was thinking about the state of testing and experimentation on the web, and realized through talking with customers- there are still a lot of myths out there about testing.  I hope to clear up a few of them here:
Myth #1: Testing will negatively effect my SEO
This concern has been around forever, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/the-top-five-conversion-testing-myths-and-what-to-do-about-them.html</link>
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		<title>And&#8230;. the blog is back!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[You may have noticed that the blog has not been working for the last 2 days.  Previous, the blog was based on Blogger.  We had built a custom template to match our site, but their template markup is a real challenge to get working.  A couple tweaks earlier this week was all it took to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/03/and-the-blog-is-back.html</link>
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		<title>Brand new site design for Vertster.com launches</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Big news! In case you haven&#8217;t noticed lately, we have redesigned.  Finally after way too long, we have built a new site at http://www.vertster.com/ The new site contains some of the same content as the old site, and will feature a lot of brand new stuff as well.

The site has a new look and feel, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/02/brand-new-site-design-for-vertstercom.html</link>
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		<title>Back to the Basics: Freeze your Design while you&#8217;re testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Every once in a while, I realize that there are some basic tenets of testing that are worth revisiting.  One I am going to explore today is the idea of making changes to the pages you are testing, while the test is running.  With only a couple tiny exceptions, this is widely considered [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2008/10/back-to-basics-freeze-your-design-while.html</link>
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		<title>Why it is time for a diet for your landing pages</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For a long time, we have advised our clients that they need to consider a diet.  This doesn&#8217;t refer to getting more exercise, eating less or counting calories.  No, I am referring to their overweight landing pages, and the negative effects of page weight on conversions.
If your landing page takes more than a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2008/05/why-it-is-time-for-diet-for-your.html</link>
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		<title>Slides from Landing Page Optimization Webinar</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are the slides from todays webinar on landing page optimization.  Unfortunately the audio did not make the cut, so the slides will have to suffice.   Thanks for attending!


 &#124; View &#124; Upload your own



 &#124; View &#124; Upload your own

Warm Regards,
Scott Miller, CEO
Author of &#8220;The ConversionLab.com,&#8221; The worlds first &#8220;How to&#8221; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2008/04/slides-from-landing-page-optimization.html</link>
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		<title>Searchme.com is awesome and could disrupt our notion of what converts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Check this out- Searchme.com visual search results.
If this takes off and gets traction, it has the potential to strongly alter how conversion takes place.  Your loosely controlled meta description will no longer matter at getting people to your site- your actual design will!  This search engine does away with tradition search results and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2008/04/searchmecom-is-awesome-and-could.html</link>
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		<title>Free Webinar on Landing Page Optimization, 4-22-08</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you want to learn how to increase your landing page conversion rate by 48% or more (sometimes much more)?
I am excited to announce we are putting on a free webinar on 4-22-08 at 2-3PM ET in conjunction with the team over at MarketingSherpa.  Before I tell you much more about it, SEATING IS [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2008/04/free-webinar-on-landing-page.html</link>
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		<title>The 3 C&#8217;s of Conversion (Plus One More)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I was in Chicago this week for the Search Engine Strategies Chicago Conference.  While speaking at the session &#8220;Landing Page Optimization Clinic&#8221; I made a comment that seemed to resonate well with people so I thought I would repeat it here for anyone who did not make the session.
When I look at a page [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/12/3-cs-of-conversion-plus-one-more.html</link>
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		<title>SES New York Wrap and Slides</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As some know, I was in New York City most of last week for the Search Engine Strategies 2007 Conference.  It was a great conference, only marred by a rogue Nor&#8217;easter on Thursday (when I left) that turned LaGuardia into a standing room only affair.
I spoke alongside Jamie Roche of Offermatica, Tim Ash from [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/04/ses-new-york-wrap-and-slides.html</link>
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		<title>A useful tool for collaborating on test designs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Every once in a while I come across a 3rd party tool that works really well, and can be used to improve your testing efforts.  In particular, there are a few browser extensions that I love.  Many of these require the Firefox browser to work, so if you haven&#8217;t made the switch yet, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/03/useful-tool-for-collaborating-on-test.html</link>
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		<title>New Articles on Taguchi and Multivariate Testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Today we posted three new articles to our testing resources site.  One of these is an old repeat from the blog, although updated slightly, and two are all new.  If you are wondering about Taguchi based testing, you will find these useful:
What is Multivariate TestingWondering about the buzz surrounding Multivariate testing? Check this [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/03/new-articles-on-taguchi-and.html</link>
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		<title>Test Idea 1006- Testing Highlight Text</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been quite a while since I last posted any testing ideas.  The funny thing is that I went in and edited one of my old posts, and now the &#8220;improved&#8221; Blogger application thinks it&#8217;s a new post  
Hence&#8230; I decided to write a real new post this morning.  Coming up with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/02/test-idea-1006-testing-highlight-text.html</link>
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		<title>Upgraded Blogger Platform Today</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Just a quick housekeeping note:  I upgraded to the latest and greatest version of Blogger today, with moderate success.  It appears all my posts and everything made it over okay, but currently the xml file appears to have a formatting issue that my parsing code doesn&#8217;t like.  In English that means that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/02/upgraded-blogger-platform-today.html</link>
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		<title>Wall Street Journal Article Underlines the Need for Testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In yesterday&#8217;s Wall Street Journal, you may have seen an article titled &#8220;Online Salespeople Get Pushy.&#8221;  The article profiled a number recent shopping experiences which ended somewhat badly as a result of online chat mechanisms.  The premise of the article &#8220;As Web Retailers Ramp Up Live Help to Boost Sales, Customers Start to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2007/01/wall-street-journal-article-underlines.html</link>
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		<title>This time it&#8217;s Yahoo-noia!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The guys at startup Trulia.com can&#8217;t be real happy with this: Yahoo Real Estate Search. Great commentary over at Commerce360 Blog about the likelihood your site may be competing with the &#8220;hand that feeds you&#8221; sooner than you think.
Warm Regards,
Scott Miller, CEO
Author of &#8220;The ConversionLab.com,&#8221; The worlds first &#8220;How to&#8221; guide to testing and optimization. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/08/this-time-its-yahoo-noia.html</link>
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		<title>Are your test results *really* that proprietary?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the things I constantly see is clients treating their test results as if they&#8217;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&#8217;s rewind for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/08/are-your-test-results-really-that.html</link>
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		<title>SES San Jose 2006 Slides</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Its taken me a week of &#8220;getting back to normal&#8221; time to do this, but you can now download my slides from the 2006 Search Engine Strategies San Jose conference.  Use the link below.  I suggest &#8220;right click -> save as&#8230;&#8221; because the PDF is 1.5 Mb.
http://www.vertster.com/SES-SanJose-2006.pdf
Warm Regards,
Scott Miller, CEO
Author of &#8220;The ConversionLab.com,&#8221; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/08/ses-san-jose-2006-slides.html</link>
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		<title>SES Wrapup</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you didn&#8217;t make it out to SES San Jose last week, you missed it. Yup. It was another great conference, met a lot of great people, and had a lot of fun.
Our session on Landing Page Testing and Tuning was great. We filled the room again, and got some great feedback.
Perhaps the worst part [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/08/ses-wrapup.html</link>
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		<title>The Cookie is Dead&#8230; Long live the Cookie!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Cookie is Dead&#8230;
Traditionally, web tracking has been done with a third party cookie.  Within the last couple years, third party cookies have come under increasing criticism due to privacy concerns.
Consider the tracking cookies you certainly have on your system.  Owners of these cookies can essentially track and archive every site you visit [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/08/cookie-is-dead-long-live-cookie.html</link>
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		<title>2006 Search Engine Strategies in San Jose</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Once again, I will be speaking at SES San Jose on the &#8220;Landing Page Testing and Tuning&#8221; panel.  If you go to one SES event, this is the best one of the year, in my opinion.
Definetly the most fun, best weather, and best location. The dates are coming up&#8230; August 7 to 10, 2006. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/07/2006-search-engine-strategies-in-san.html</link>
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		<title>Now Available: &quot;The ConversionLab.com&quot; by Scott Miller</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I am proud to announce the availability of my first book: &#8220;The ConversionLab.com: How to Experiment Your Way to Increased Web Sales Using Split Test and Taguchi Optimization.&#8221;  Whether you are an expert on testing and optimization on your site, or just dipping your toe into the water, this book has something for you. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/07/now-available-conversionlabcom-by.html</link>
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		<title>Is multivariate testing the engine, or the car?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When the first internal combustion engines came onto the scene, they were marketed and sold as &#8220;engines.&#8221;  Engines by themselves don&#8217;t do a whole lot, yet that was how manufacturers tried to sell them.  You can still go to &#8220;engine shows&#8221; today where you&#8217;ll see old fashioned engines pump and spit and run [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/06/is-multivariate-testing-engine-or-car.html</link>
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		<title>New: Taguchi whitepaper shares secrets of getting great results</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have attended any of the big internet conferences like Ad-Tech or Search Engine Strategies over the last few years, you&#8217;ve heard the rallying cry:
&#8220;Test, Test, Test&#8221; they say!
The strange thing is that there has been nary a guidebook or source of best practices information on testing techniques. A huge majority of people have [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/05/new-taguchi-whitepaper-shares-secrets.html</link>
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		<title>Free audio interview on split and multivariate testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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&#8217;s Success Rainmaker class a couple weeks ago.  In the interview you&#8217;ll learn about:

The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/04/free-audio-interview-on-split-and.html</link>
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		<title>Get your questions answered, Free!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have some burning questions about multivariate testing design or split testing techniques, now is your opportunity! I am soliciting questions from readers like you, and would love it if you emailed me at scott@vertster.com . I will then take the best questions and answer them in the blog. Thats it, very simple, so [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/03/get-your-questions-answered-free.html</link>
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		<title>Do benefit headlines still work?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bob Bly had an interest post to his blog, reporting that the best headlines may no longer involve strong benefits.  Since we strongly advocate the importance of testing headlines, this should definetly be food for thought.

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/03/do-benefit-headlines-still-work.html</link>
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		<title>Looking for things to test?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Many people struggle figuring out things to test on their sites.  It takes a keen eye to break a page down into its most elemental components.  Lets take a couple common test elements and see how they can be further refined.
1. Headline:  We normally test different versions of text for the headline, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/03/looking-for-things-to-test.html</link>
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		<title>SES NY Report and Slides Link</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week was the Search Engine Strategies New York conference, where I was speaking alongside Jamie Roche from Offermatica, Tim Ash from Sitetuners, and Allan Dick of Vintage Tub and Tile.  The show was great.  Attendence was huge, probably the biggest ever, and the weather was good too, provided you got out of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/03/ses-ny-report-and-slides-link.html</link>
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		<title>See me speak at SES New York</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ll be in New York at the end of this month to speak at the Search Engine Strategies Conference.  Once again, I&#8217;ll be speaking on the Landing Page Testing and Tuning session.  If you are thinking about starting some optimization of your pages, this session will help you dramatically.  We&#8217;ll cover things [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/02/see-me-speak-at-ses-new-york.html</link>
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		<title>Is the web the ideal medium for Taguchi?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The answer&#8230; it just might be.  Marketers have been playing around with Taguchi methods for a few years now, and during that time, we&#8217;ve learned a number of things.  Taguchi DOE was developed for manufacturing environments where almost all external (noise) variables can be identified and controlled.  This means things like temperature, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/02/is-web-ideal-medium-for-taguchi.html</link>
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		<title>Scientific advertising comes to your TV Set?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Wired Magazine has an interesting article on using scientific advertising principles with TV commercials.  It&#8217;s definetly worth a read if you are interested in AB and Multivariate optimization of your web marketing.  On TV, the classic problem has been tracking response accurately.  Now it appears some pioneers have found ways to do [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/02/scientific-advertising-comes-to-your.html</link>
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		<title>Factor me this&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In Taguchi Optimization, we call the things we are testing &#8220;factors.&#8221;  The strength of the Taguchi method? You can test multiple factors at the same time.  This is opposite of A/B or &#8220;One Factor at a Time testing&#8221; (abrieviated OFAT)&#8230; the fact that it sounds like &#8220;Old and Fat&#8221; might have something to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2006/01/factor-me-this.html</link>
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		<title>Best of 2005</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Since its the end of the year, I thought I would post a review of what I thought were the &#8220;best of&#8221; blog posts in Optimize It! this year.  If you haven&#8217;t read these, you should make a point to have a look at them.  In no particular order, here are my top [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/best-of-2005.html</link>
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		<title>Blog Layout Updates</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you view our blog on the web using Firefox, you&#8217;ll know there have been some formatting issues in the last few months.  With the 1.5 release of Firefox, the problem got significantly worse.  The cause? An unknown change to the way Blogger publishes pages that inserts an empty &#8220;clear&#8221; div tag was [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/blog-layout-updates.html</link>
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		<title>More on Google Landing Page Relevancy Algorythm</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Affiliate marketing expert Jeremy Palmer, of QuitYourDayJob.com just posted an analysis of the new Google Adwords algorythm.  Of particular interest is how using dynamic keyword insertion to make your landing pages more relevant appears to actually result in higher costs:
*  The ad group that used dynamic keyword insertion recommended a minimum bid of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/more-on-google-landing-page-relevancy.html</link>
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		<title>SES Chicago Slides</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have just put online my slides from the Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago. You can download the powerpoint by clicking here.

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/ses-chicago-slides.html</link>
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		<title>Optimize your PPC by improving your landing page?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Google quietly announced a modification to the Adwords quality scoring system last week, that could have far reaching implications for anyone using landing pages.  The algorythm purportedly looks at the &#8220;relevance&#8221; of the landing page as part of the score.  A more &#8220;on topic&#8221; landing page should facilitate higher PPC position, and lower [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/optimize-your-ppc-by-improving-your.html</link>
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		<title>MEC Labs (MarketingExperiments.com) Webinar on Multivariate Testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, MarketingExperiments.com held their long awaited webinar on multivariable testing. I was invited to participate to bring some real expertise onto the call. It went well, with a couple of great questions. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a tough time because I had so little sleep after my quick trip to Chicago for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/mec-labs-webinar-on-multivariate.html</link>
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		<title>SES Chicago Wrap Up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This past week was the 2005 Chicago Search Engine Strategies Conference. Once again, I was invited to speak on the Landing Page testing and tuning panel. I found out that the session achieved &#8220;4 Star Rated&#8221; status after the first ever production in San Jose, which was cool to hear. It showed because the room [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/12/ses-chicago-wrap-up.html</link>
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		<title>SES Chicago coming up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a while since I last blogged. I guess I needed to recharge my &#8220;blog batteries&#8221; for a little bit. Also, I got hit with some huge (personal) distractions which have kept me from getting to this. The good news is that I am through the worst of it, and should have more time [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/11/ses-chicago-coming-up.html</link>
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		<title>Still time to test for the Holidays</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you want to get a serious boost from the holiday season this year, we suggest you start testing immediately.  Early shoppers will be out in force in the next couple weeks, with the season really ramping up in November.  Many experts expect e-comm sales to be especially strong thanks to high prices [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/10/still-time-to-test-for-holidays.html</link>
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		<title>September Newletter now online</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We just squeaked in under the wire this month. Our September newsletter went out on Friday the 30th. It is a good one too, with a big article about testing your homepage.
You can view it here: http://www.vertster.com/newsletter/newsletter.asp?newsletterID=18

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/10/september-newletter-now-online.html</link>
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		<title>New GPS for web design, tells you how to build your site</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A question I frequently get from companies that are new to testing and optimization is&#8230; &#8220;What is the difference between your company and a web analytics vendor?&#8221;
The answer is rather simple, and here is my favorite metaphor.  Web Analytics is like looking in your rearview mirror for the turn or business you just missed. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/09/new-gps-for-web-design-tells-you-how.html</link>
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		<title>Winning Results with Google Adwords- an early review</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Andrew Goodman&#8217;s new book, &#8220;Winning Results with Google Adwords,&#8221; is out, and looks like a winner. (no pun intended.) This book looks to be the defacto resource on Google Adword advertising&#8230; the bible of sorts. I haven&#8217;t had a chance to read much of it yet, but it appears to be very comprehensive at 352 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/09/winning-results-with-google-adwords.html</link>
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		<title>New! 14 Day FREE Trial of all Vertster subscriptions</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;ve been considering subscribing to our hosted software, this may be the opportunity you&#8217;ve been waiting for.  For a limited time, we are offering a 14 day, no strings, fully functional trial account, absolutely FREE.  If you have bought within the last 14 days, you&#8217;ll automatically be opted into this program, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/09/new-14-day-free-trial-of-all-vertster.html</link>
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		<title>August 2005 Optimizer Newsletter Now Online</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The 2005 edition of our conversion rate optimization newsletter, dubbed &#8220;The Optimizer,&#8221; is now online here.  If you not not receive it via email, check it out.  If you would like to subscribe, please visit http://www.vertster.com/newsletter/

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/august-2005-optimizer-newsletter-now.html</link>
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		<title>Katrina in your test results?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/katrina-in-your-test-results.html</link>
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		<title>More from our Blogged Optimization Campaign</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We are getting really close to releasing some results from this thing.  Its been running for a while, and is setting up nicely.  In the meantime, here is another brain challenge for you:  We tested three different images.
1. Displays the free DVD that you will receive.2. Shows a successful and happy couple.3. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/more-from-our-blogged-optimization.html</link>
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		<title>Just found this!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bob Bly has an interesting blog post this morning, asking folks to choose which of three direct response offers would get the highest response.  Check it out and cast your vote!

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/just-found-this.html</link>
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		<title>Back from SES for a week, and I am still buried</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Well I returned back to Salt Lake City last week, but I have been completely buried from spending 3 days outside the office.  Now my folks are in town for a couple days, which is a further distraction from giving you guys the quality blog information you have come to expect.  Thus, I [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/back-from-ses-for-week-and-i-am-still.html</link>
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		<title>Update from Search Engine Strategies</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I am still out here in sunny San Jose, at the 2005 Search Engine Strategies conference.  So far its been a great show, with huge numbers of people here, and lots of great sessions.  The landing page testing and optimization session was a huge success, with standing room only.  
Last night at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/update-from-search-engine-strategies.html</link>
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		<title>Live Taguchi Optimization- it&#8217;s back</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Well its been a few days since I posted an update on this project.  We are now running and starting to collect results.  However, before I show those (this will come on another day,) I wanted to focus on a couple of the interesting factors we are exploring.  One of the most [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/live-taguchi-optimization-its-back.html</link>
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		<title>A/B Testing Secrets Revealed!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dr. Flint McGlaughlin and his crew at MarketingExperiments.com did a real nice job at providing an overview of split testing tactics today.  You can listen to the audio portion here and view the visual materials that went along with it.  
The webinar started off with an audience interactive &#8220;vote for the winner&#8221; comparison [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/ab-testing-secrets-revealed.html</link>
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		<title>SES San Jose is next week</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Next week at this time, I will either be- testing the handheld voting devices we are using for the Landing Page Testing and Tuning session, hanging out at the Yahoo! party, or sitting by the pool in San Jose.  
The operative word in that sentence of course is San Jose!  Search Engine Strategies [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/08/ses-san-jose-is-next-week.html</link>
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		<title>Live Taguchi Optimization&#8230; part two: The levels</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/live-taguchi-optimization-part-two.html</link>
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		<title>Live Taguchi Optimization Blogged!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We are ready to begin blogging our first live taguchi optimization.  This is a &#8220;Full Service&#8221; 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&#8217;ll see if we get it [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/live-taguchi-optimization-blogged.html</link>
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		<title>July 2005 Newsletter is online</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our July 2005 Newsletter has just been published, and is available online.  This month we take a look at 3 different testing methodologies in an exclusive article (not seen before.)

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/july-2005-newsletter-is-online.html</link>
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		<title>Speaking at SES San Jose</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ll be speaking at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose on Landing Page Testing.  This session is on August 9, although the whole conference goes from the 8th to the 11th.  If you are going to be there, drop me a note.

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/speaking-at-ses-san-jose.html</link>
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		<title>Advertising costs keep climbing higher</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Search Engine Watch and Fathom Online reported today that search ad prices had gained another 3% in June!  This is on top of the 3% lift from May&#8217;s figure.  With the cost of ad space on a never ending rise, itsn&#8217;t it time you start optimizing your creative for improved conversion?
There are two [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/advertising-costs-keep-climbing-higher.html</link>
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		<title>Did you know there are two types of A/B Testing?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When most people think of A/B split run testing, they are thinking in a &#8220;classic&#8221; sense.  Change one thing at a time, and you will be able to understand the results of your change.  Good or bad, you will learn some useful nugget about your marketing.
There is another strategy.  This is one [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/07/did-you-know-there-are-two-types-of-ab.html</link>
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		<title>New Forum for better conversion rates launches</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We are excited to launch the new Landing Page Optimization forum on our site at http://www.vertster.com/forum.  The forum will cover topics ranging from test designs and methodologies to the best way to design pages for conversion. The forum will be frequented by a some of the top experts in the industry, so if you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/new-forum-for-better-conversion-rates.html</link>
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		<title>New Article on Landing Pages</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Came across a new article posted in GlobalSpec&#8217;s &#8220;Marketing Maven&#8221; newsletter.  The article titled: &#8220;Landing Pages: Three Ways to Improve&#8221; was referenced by the B2B Blog, which is how I found it.  The article makes another good case for Landing Page use, and offers up some solid tips on improving yours!  Its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/new-article-on-landing-pages.html</link>
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		<title>The Worst Thing About Best Practices</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/worst-thing-about-best-practices.html</link>
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		<title>June Newsletter is now online</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our June edition Vertster Optimizer is launched this morning and is now online here.  This month, we are testing out a different email service provider named Vertical Response out of San Francisco.
I have always questioned the deliverability of our other provider StreamSend.  So this is a test, and we&#8217;ll find out which works [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/june-newsletter-is-now-online.html</link>
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		<title>Tuned up the Resource Center</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week it came to my attention that some of the articles in the Conversion Rate Marketing resource center were not formatted very well.  Believe me, this was not done on purpose, but rather through some bug in our content management system.
At any rate, this has now been fixed.  Additionally, a couple of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/tuned-up-resource-center.html</link>
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		<title>Renamed the blog</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I decided that &#8220;Optimize It!&#8221; was a more descriptive name for what we are doing these days.  Optimizing marketing response.  Rather than focus on just split testing&#8230; &#8220;Optimize it!&#8221; describes the whole mentality, not a specific technique.  You can look forward to an increased emphasis on things you can do to your [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/renamed-blog.html</link>
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		<title>3 Things that will improve your conversion rate</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Today I am going to give you three simple tactics that can greatly improve your conversion rates.  Nothing too new here, but taking a quick look around the web, I see many people fail to follow them:
1. Self Interest rules on the web:  People want to know whats in it for THEM, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/3-things-that-will-improve-your.html</link>
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		<title>Lose the navigation&#8230; or not?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you start doing some research on landing page design, sooner or later you will come across &#8220;The Rules of Thumb.&#8221;  I am not sure whose thumbs were used to create TRT, but believe me they exist.  
&#8220;TRT sayeth thou shalt remove all navigation from thy landing page.&#8221;  
Okay good idea- in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/06/lose-navigation-or-not.html</link>
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		<title>What is Taguchi Multivariate Testing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So you&#8217;ve heard the buzz.  But if you are like a lot of people, you are probably wondering what Taguchi is all about.  Today is your lucky day- because I have a (relatively) complete explanation for you&#8230;
Before you will understand multivariate testing, lets review some facts about statistics and testing.  In science [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/05/what-is-taguchi-multivariate-testing.html</link>
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		<title>Taguchi in the Press: Article featuring Dr. James Kowalick&#8217;s work in Forbes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The latest issue of Forbes Magazine features an article titled &#8220;Reengineer that Ad&#8221; about Dr. James Kowalick and his pioneering work using the Taguchi method for ad optimization. Although the article does not deal with website optimization, it does give some pretty compelling results from direct mail and email.

    

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		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/05/taguchi-in-press-article-featuring-dr.html</link>
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		<title>How to double your Conversion rate- May 18th Teleseminar</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Join certified Kowalick-Taguchi Blackbelt David Bullock and Vertster CEO Scott Miller as they discuss new techniques in scientific website optimization. This event has limited space, so please register soon to reserve your spot!

You&#8217;ll learn the answers to these questions and more:

What are the &#8220;hot areas&#8221; of your site where you can get a big bang [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-double-your-conversion-rate-may.html</link>
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		<title>Vertster Featured in Larry Chase&#8217;s Web Digest for Marketers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you don&#8217;t read the Larry Chase&#8217;s &#8220;Web Digest for Marketers,&#8221; I suggest you start.  It is a weekly newsletter that features a timely marketing topic, highlighting some of the best free and paid services on the web.  This week&#8217;s issue was all about Direct Response Marketing online, and I am proud to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/04/vertster-featured-in-larry-chases-web.html</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>AD:TECH 2005 Gets underway</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I arrived in San Francisco this morning to attend the AD:TECH conference.  My initial impressions were WOW, there are a lot of people here.  The keynote was pretty much standing room only, and I thought it was very well done.  John Costello, Executive VP of Mechandising and Marketing for The Home Depot [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/04/adtech-2005-gets-underway.html</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Meet me at AD-TECH</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In two weeks, I will be attending the AD-TECH convention in San Francisco.  Although not exhibiting, I will be there.  If you are around and feel like meeting for a handshake, drink, lunch, coffee or discussion, email me here.  I will be out from Monday morning the 25th, to Tuesday night (26th.)

 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vertster.com/blog/2005/04/meet-me-at-ad-tech.html</link>
			</item>
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