Basic Questions:
How much technical skill is required to use Vertster?
What is conversion optimization testing?
What is a conversion?
What is a control?
How does testing work?
What is a test participant?
What is the difference between A/B split, URL split and Multivariate testing?
How does Vertster charge?
Advanced Questions:
What are the System Requirements?
Will testing with Vertster affect my search rankings?
Can I test two pages without changing the URL?
Can I use my Vertster account with multiple domains?
Our site is built in .php/ .aspx/ .asp/ .cfm, can we still use Vertster?
What reports are available?
Do you provide installation support?
What is the Taguchi Method and why does it matter?
Do you make sure you show the same version to return visitors?
Do you use first party tracking cookies?
Are URL parameters passed through your services correctly?
Where are the test files hosted, on my server or yours?
Do you have a special agency plan or something for resellers?
What plans our offered for different sized businesses?
What forms of payment are accepted?
How much technical skill is required to use Vertster?
Very little. You need to be able to cut and paste the code snippet into the head of the pages you want to test. Vertster’s WYSIWYG test designer allows you to select and edit elements and add conversion points, all using a point and click interface.
Our advanced user editor allows you to test custom code, change CSS rules, test javascript and much more.
What is conversion optimization testing?
Conversion Optimization Testing varies different elements of your website to determine which produces maximum results (revenue per visitor, form completion, form field fill-out, downloads, clicks, page views, etc). There are always elements which can be improved. This is why you should always be testing your site. You never know when you may spot a trend and be able to capitalize on it before your competition. A slight change in website elements may radically improve results. Like we say here at Vertster: Always be testing!
A Conversion is the process of tracking an intended action across an entire website and reaching a pre-determined goal. A website may have many Conversion points. Conversions can be things like visited a URL, clicked on a button, watched a video, filled out a form, downloaded a whitepaper, emailed your offer to a friend, etc. Most e-commerce companies track sales revenue as a goal. E-commerce sites should also track revenue per visitor (RPV). Lead generation sites commonly track form completion. Informational sites can track newsletter signups and stickiness. Conversions can be any business objective you desire, and tracking any of them is easy with Vertster.
In a test, the original webpage is called the control. New test versions (“recipes”) are then tested against the control. Results are then benchmarked to the control to determine which is better and by how much. Note: you can learn just as much from an under-performing ”recipe” as a winning “recipe.”
You decide which element or elements you want to test to increase website conversion rates based on your business goals. You then make changes in Vertster which are displayed on your website. Launch the test and Vertster tracks your customers and reports on their actions. Remember these changes or “recipes” can be just about anything; buttons, colors, CSS, different calls to action, pictures, graphics, etc. At some point you decide which “recipe” is the winner based on Vertster’s reporting. We recommend running a test for at least two weeks to obtain a statistically valid result. Once you have a winning recipe you can hard code it or vary an additional element on the webpage and try for an even greater improvement.
A test participant is a Unique Visitor who has not seen the active test. If they have been in the current active test their machine has been cookied. This serves two purposes 1) the returning customer will see the same test recipe and thereby avoid confusion or test invalidation, 2) you are only billed for unique visits not returning visitors.
What is the difference between A/B split, URL split testing and Multivariate testing?
A/B Split Testing - Vary just one element on your website at a time to see which variation results in maximum conversion rate. This is best used for homepage and sitewide tests.
URL Split Testing - Test two or more completely different URL’s, this works best for landing pages.
Multivariate Testing - Test multiple elements with multipule variations per element at the same time and see which combination results in maximum conversions.
Published plans: Vertster bills a small monthly tool charge at the first of your monthly cycle and bills test participant usage in arrears. Both these figures are shown in the rate sheet and on the website.
Enterprise plans: Enterprise plans are annual plans billed monthly and vary based on the customers individual needs.
What are the System Requirements?
Vertster is a hosted (web based) application, which means there is no messy CGI script configuration or database installation. It also means the application is completely platform independent. It will work equally well with PHP, ASP, CGI, CFML or static HTML. Our admin tool works best in Chrome and Firefox.
Requirements for tracking code:
You will need access to your website source code to be able to install Vertster code. All web hosts provide this either through FTP, Frontpage, or a web based system. You will need to cut and paste a small javascript code into your pages, we provide you with this code.
Will testing with Vertster affect my search rankings?
No. Vertster’s content swapping engine is designed to allow site testing without having any impact on organic search engine rankings. This is accomplished by modifying your site content with AJAX/DHTML. This essentially leaves your existing page code unchanged, yet shows the user a test version of the content.
Can I test two pages without changing the URL?
Yes. Our tool gives you the ability to identify a test area on any page and change content in just that area, without changing the URL of the page.
Can I use my Vertster account with multiple domains?
Yes. We license our software in a way which allows you to use your account with as many domains as you wish, provided that you are the rightful owner of each site. Agencies should contact our sales department about special agency plans. Agencies may have many domains, but not be qualified to use them under one account because they are owned by different clients.
Our site is built in .php/ .aspx/ .asp/ .cfm, can we still use Vertster?
Vertster relies on all client side code, which means it will work with any server platform. Our software will generate short javascript snippets for you to insert into the pages you wish to test. All you will need to do is be able to insert this code into the html source of your page(s).
Vertster provides a full suite of graphs and reports detailing the activity of a specific test or test recipe. Nearly all reports may be filtered by start and end date, and give the option of viewing data daily, weekly, or monthly. Reports and Graphs include:
Campaign Dashboard Reports:
The campaign dashboard is designed to keep you “in the know” about any running tests. The central feature of the campaign dashboard is a graph which depicts your results over time. The success metric can be toggled between conversion rate and RPV, and the success event can be set as well.
Data presented includes:
- Campaign Dashboard
- Graph of Conversion Rate by Date
- Graph of RPV by Date
- Graph of Sales by Date
- Filter Reports by Date
- Filter Reports by Conversion Point
- Filter Reports by Visitor Segment
- Conversion Rate per Segment
- Best Recipe per Segment
Flow reporting shows you the penetration of visitors through a series of pages (or steps) en route to the final conversion event. This helps you judge the relative effectiveness of each page in a registration funnel, for example:
Predictive Reports show you the relative importance of each variable you have tested, along with the best overall recipe.
- Predicted Best Recipe
- Element/Variable Contribution
- Option Contribution
Heatmap Reporting:
- Click Activity per Recipe
- Visual Overlay on your Site
Executive Archive Report:
- Boardroom Quality Rollup of all Campaign Reports
- Includes Activity Log
Do you provide installation support?
Yes we do. If you are having difficulty getting set up we would be happy to assist you. Please contact our support department via email at support@vertster.com.
We also provide consulting services per incident, managed, full service, and can design a custom package to meet your specific needs.
What is the Taguchi Method and why does it matter?
The Taguchi method is able to look well beyond techniques like A/B testing by investigating multiple variables in a system at the same time. Through sophisticated analysis of the results, the experimenter is able to learn the relative impact of each variable, including how important it is to the overall output of the experiment.
This is important for online marketing because it allows us to optimize an entire page or set of pages, testing many variables simultaneously. It becomes possible to do large scale tests of thousands of possible combinations in a short amount of time. This would be impossible to accomplish through standard split testing.
Do you make sure you show the same version to return visitors?
Yes, our software makes certain that returning visitors (whether its during the same session, a different day or a different week) will be shown the same version originally seen. By default, Vertster sets a cookie which insures the user will continue to see the same version for one year, or until they delete their cookies. The cookie lifetime can be adjusted.
Do you use first party tracking cookies?
Yes. Since its creation, Vertster has always used first party tracking cookies. This results in the most accurate data possible, and also helps prevent “cookie deletion” issues caused by many popular anti-spyware applications removal of third party tracking cookies.
Are URL parameters passed through your services correctly?
Yes. This is really only an issue with a split url tests, where traffic is diverted between two or more URLs. Our software was engineered to push any URL parameters through the test without incident.
Where are the test files hosted, on my server or yours?
You will host all files related to your test, and all remain in your main domain. This includes pages being tested, as well as content being used for the test itself. You do not need to make DNS modifications, install another server, add host records, or do any tricky configurations to use our software.
Do you have a special agency plan or something for resellers?
Yes. We offer a competitive agency/reseller plan and provide priority support to agencies. Agency’s are also able to completely whitelabel the Vertster solution. Please contact sales@vertster.com for more information.
What plans are offered for different sized businesses?
Vertster offers six different plans to fit your business needs:
Free Trial: This plan allows you to test and evaluate all of Vertster’s features and functionality for 30 days. This trial is FREE and includes 10,000 test participants. You can participate in this trial plan only once so test like crazy for 30 days! When you exceed 10,000 consumed test participants you will want to step-up to regular plan to continue testing.
Entrepreneur: This plan includes our WYSIWYG test designer, A/B/n and URL split testing (no MVT) and is designed to provide an economical way to increase your conversions through testing. The price for this plan is $15 per month with no contract and $.007 per test participant in excess of 5,000 participants included each month. When you start testing over 10,000 test participants per month you should step-up to our Small Business plan.
Small Business: This plan includes our WYSIWYG test designer, A/B/n testing, URL split testing, and is designed for the small business wishing to test in an economical manner. The price for this plan is $50 per month with no contract and includes 10,000 monthly test participants. Test participants above the monthly allowance are billed at $.006 per participant. When your testing exceeds 10,000 participants per month you should move to our full featured SMB plan.
SMB: This plan includes our WYSIWYG test designer, A/B/n and URL split testing and Multivariate testing. The price for this plan is $75 per month with no contract and $.006 per test participant in excess of 20,000 included monthly participants. When you start testing over 20,000 test participants per month you should consider stepping-up to our Large Business or Enterprise rate plan.
Large Business: This plan includes our WYSIWYG test designer, A/B/n and URL split testing and Multivariate testing. The price for this plan is $250 per month and includes 250,000 monthly test participants and $.005 per each additional test participant. This plan is month to month NO contract and comes with email support.
Enterprise: This plan includes our WYSIWYG test designer, A/B/n and URL split testing and Multivariate testing and a dedicated account representatives. The pricing for enterprise customers is customized to your needs and require an annual contract. Please email sales@vertster.com for details and a demonstration.
What forms of payment are accepted?
Vertster requires a valid credit card for all our rate plans. The following credit cards are accepted:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Discover
- American Express
Enterprise accounts may arrange prepayment by check or electronic funds transfer. Please contact sales@vertster.com for details. A credit card is still required for security purposes.
