Wednesday, December 10, 2008

How to Start Split-Testing Your Web Pages

In working with a friend recently, it soon became evident that we each had different thoughts on what would work best for his incorporate selling campaign. I suggested he make some split-testing and axial rotation out the "winning" combination in his full-scale program.

Jim was initially concerned that the clip and disbursal of split-testing would never pay off. If these are the same concerns that are holding you back from split-testing your ain web marketing, let me to alleviate your fears.

First, it's quite apprehensible that many sellers believe split-testing is both time-consuming and expensive. In fact, Future Now, Inc. have identified over 1,100 pieces that lend to a successful transition funnel. And if you take into consideration your assorted prospect characters and different emotional motivators, factor in your numerous offerings and multiple all that by the figure of your landing pages... yikes, I'm already flooded just thinking about it!

But if we interrupt the testing procedure down into actionable steps, it goes much easier to look at web land site split-testing arsenic just another necessary sprocket in the cyberspace selling wheel.

The first measure in split-testing your web page actually haps before your page is ever created - and believe it or not, this is a measure that many sellers lose altogether. The first measure is deciding what you desire your page to do.

It might sound silly, but in our web land site review procedure we often run across web pages that make not have got a clearly defined goal. Before you can better conversions, it is necessary to define exactly what a transition is.

Once you've decided the overall end of the page, you must find how it will be measured. Are you looking for an overall number? Percentage of visitors? Action within a specified timeframe?

Next, settle down on the chopine that volition be used for testing and measuring. Volition you be using your criterion web logs to mensurate traffic? Your shopping cart programme to mensurate conversions? How will you feed different versions of the page to your visitors? Volition you be using timed tests, replacing your page with a new version after a pre-determined time? Or will you simultaneously expose different page versions to alone visitors? Volition you be using the free Google Website Optimizer or the robust Offermatica or Optimost platforms? Or your ain software system and database program?

If you're not certain where you would wish to begin testing, why not place your least effectual web page. Simply reexamine your traffic logs to find which page is receiving the last transition charge per unit based on the figure of visitants it gets.

And finally, it's clock to place the elements that tin influence the transition process. Volition you be testing graphics? Text and copy? Placement of different elements? A combination of the above?

Some of the elements you should see testing include:

  • Calls to Action

  • Security Indicators

  • Product Narratives

  • Buy Button Text

While it might look a small intimidating, the cardinal to testing is to just acquire started. If you "make a mistake" and land on an component that lessenings conversion, it's easy to travel back to square one and diagnostic test something else.

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1 Comments:

At December 11, 2008 at 8:13 AM, Blogger Doug said...

I agree, it seems almost silly to mention the first step as... "deciding what you want your page to do." However, it is so basic that many organizations overlook it and thus don't get past the first step in web optimization.

It may also help to know that Offermatica was rebranded as Test&Targer in early '08. The interface is much the same with feature/functionality enhancements due to product releases.

 

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