Split Testing Strategies

Split Run Testing... What is it?

Split run testing is a marketing technique for comparing the effectiveness of multiple variations of an ad, offer, or list.

In a split test, the audience of a marketing message is apportioned between two or more variations. Real time tabulation of the results provides immediate feedback.

This powerful technique gives marketers the truest performance comparison between different messages.

Uncontrollable factors can cause severe fluctuations in the performance of marketing and advertising messages. Testing simultaneously eliminates the influence of these external factors on test results.

What should you test? Make sure you check out [To really improve your results, you have to know what to test] (/split-testing-strategies/to-really-improve-your-results-you-have-to-know-what-to-test)

Ongoing result fluctuation can be caused by seasonal factors, world events, economic conditions, even the weather! Splitting your audience exposes everyone to the same external factors, resulting in the most reliable comparison data possible.

Split testing is not new in the marketing industry. However, it is fairly new to the internet. Traditional direct marketers have been using split marketing methods for years, primarily through direct mail.

Online split testing is commonly done with email. In this case a portion of the email list is sent one creative, with a separate part of the list receiving a different message. A newer technique involves splitting web traffic between multiple variations of a landing page or website.