Nov 25 2009
Seven Things to Know for Proper Split Testing Sorta Science-y Stuff
For testing purposes and the examples we give, were going to be using Googles site Analyzer which is a component of Google Analytics. Why? Well, for one, because its free and therefore accessible to everyone ; and secondly, because its a darn good testing platform free or not.
Googles Website Optimizer is free, powerful, convenient. What more could you want? It enables you to perform A / B and multivariate testing.
Why is it free?
Because Google knows that if you improve your conversion rates, youre more likely to invest in more advertising campaigns, users are chuffed because theyre happier with the sites that they find thru searches. Essentially, everyone is cheerful and Google makes more money.
Makes sense when you put it that way, doesnt it?
There are more, paid services that you may use to further your testing, measuring, and enhancing practices. But this series is all about making the most out of what you can get for very little money spent, by focussing on the buyer and conducting your communications strategy in a totally different way. For that reason, with reference to practical applications for testing thatwill be covered in this part of the series, well be concentrating on how best to utilize the free Google tools.
The important thing to remember about the Google Website Optimizer is that it is a tool. It only provides the metrics, it cant tell you what changes to make. You have to infer that for yourself. If you want the tests you run to be pointed and give you the feedback you want to boost your site, then you need to be certain you are going about it the best way, and making the maximum of the free tools that Google gives you.
Later in the series, well be going thru exactly what you should be doing to get you started with testing. Where you take it from thereis up to you.
Before we dig into the nuts and bolts of essentially running a test, there are a few things you need to recollect for any test you run, whether its 1 or 1001 :
- Always start the test with a goal in mind. Know what you would expect the outcome to be ( although you may be wrong very wrong ; thats what youre testing. ) In scientific tests, this is known as the hypothesis. Your goal is the basis and the explanation for the whole test.
- Figure out what you metric of success will be before you start the test. How much better is good enough to be considered a success? 5%? 10% 50%? Only you can decide that.
- Remember not to muddy the waters. If you are testing the colour of the checkout button, dont also change the shape or the font or where it seems on the site. You could get an amazing result, but you wont know what variable was responsible for the change. Be especially mindful of this when testing copy ; any other changes you make, even inadvertently, to the layout or the font or any other side of the display will totally cancel the authenticity of the test on the actual content.
- Remember that youmostly need a control. Even if youre dong multivariate testing, youstill need to use the first version of the page to act as a control, something to compare the test results to.
- Use descriptive names for your tests. You may be able to keep control of the proven fact that Tests 1-10 were about buttons and Tests 11-15 were about announcements, but what about when you are at Test 345? If you give your tests clear, detailed names, itll be simpler for you to find the info and results when you need to refer back to them to plan more tests.
- The tests mean nothing if you dont learn anything from them. Your test isnt actually done ( or of any use to you ) unless youhave analyzed the results and applied the learnings to your site. You then use that knowledge youhave gained as the basis for the next test, because
- And eventually, youre never done testing. There won’t ever come a time when you are able to say Thats it, its perfect, Im done. Even if your website is ideal and performing at its uttermost capacity at that moment, the Net is a fluid, changing thing, and you want to make sure ( through testing ) that you are keeping up with the changes and keeping you and your internet site applicable and maintain your presence on the web as a Trusted Expert.
( This post is a continuation of the series of changing into a Trusted Expert. You can read the previous posts at Become a Trusted Expert Online )
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