Multivariate Testing Software – Fast and Easy Testing to Maximum Profit

Testing is essential for business success. If you have been an internet professional for any length of time you probably already know that continual testing of ads, sales pages, and landing pages is crucial to continued success.

 In the most common form of testing two ads are created. The first is the control copy and is published as is. The second is published with one element changed. This process can be long and laborious since only one element is tested at a time. The type of testing that I am describing here is call A/B or split testing.

 Thank goodness that there is now a newer and faster way to test. Multivariate testing allows the internet professional to test as many elements of their sales page as they like …at the same time. Multivariate testing is much quicker than the antiquated split testing method. If you really want to optimize your sales materials quickly then a multivariate testing software package is a must have.

 Before jumping off into the deep end and grabbing the first multivariate testing software that you see there is one thing that you should know. Software packages range in cost from free to several thousand dollars. Just remember the old adage “you get what you pay for.” Free or low cost might seem attractive but chances are that the software is quite limited in its functionality. Here are 5 points to consider when deciding on the proper multivariate testing software package.

 

 1.) How easy is it to use?

 You are purchasing a multivariate testing software package to save time. How much time are you saving if you have to spend a few weeks learning how to use it properly? I suggest that you stick to packages that offer windows based control panel. We all use windows every day and are very familiar with it.

 

2.) Installation woes

 Some of these packages can be quite complicated to install if you are not well versed in database usage and scripting languages. When purchasing a multivariate testing software package try to find one that offers free or low cost installation.

 

3.)  Speed

 Multivariate testing software can cause your website to become very busy as it does its job. You want a package that is fast and does not slow the loading of your pages. My suggestion here is that you stick with one that uses PHP and mySQL. These packages tend to be very fast with minimal impact on load speed.

 

4.) Number of Variables

 Lower end multivariate testing software is usually limited in the number of variables that you can test simultaneously. This gets back to getting what you pay for. To optimize your sales page as quickly and efficiently as possible you must be able to test many variables at once.

 

5.) Seamless integration

 The multivariate testing software that you choose must be invisible to your customer. It must be capable of using cookies to ensure that should a customer leave without converting and return later they will be presented with the same sales page.

 Multivariate testing software can save valuable time by conducting numerous tests all on the same page. There is no need to create multiple sales pages. Using this software is a very intelligent way to optimize your sales page continually and increase conversions. As an internet professional how can you go wrong with multivariate testing software?

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Landing Page Optimization – 4 Easy Tips to More Cash

Do you want to earn more cash? Every time that I ask that question of an internet business person the answer is always yes. Let me rephrase that. The verbal answer from the individual is always yes, but when I look at their landing page it is screaming “NO.”

Have you ever heard the old adage “You only get one chance to make a great first impression?” That adage is true in both the real world and in the virtual world of the internet. In the real world you can influence that first impression with a smile, firm handshake, and body language. In the virtual world you do not have that ability. All that you have is your landing page.

Here are 4 easy tips that will help with landing page optimization and making a great first impression.

1.) Where your prospective customer lands.

The entire objective of a landing page is to convince the prospective customer to purchase your product or join your list.

Do not send visitors to the main index page of your website. Create separate landing pages for each of your campaigns. In most cases your main page is going to have numerous links in the form of a navigation menu. This gives your prospect too many choices. Your goal is to get the conversion and too many choices means indecision. You visitor may wander all over your site and then leave without converting.

I cannot stress this enough. Give your prospect only 2 choices. They must either convert or hit the back button to leave. This is why you must send prospects to specifically designed landing pages.

 

2.) Creative Keyword Usage

Select you keywords carefully and use them in the text of your landing page. I am not saying that you should stuff the page full of them, after all you wrote your landing page for humans to read not to rank higher in the search engines. The entire purpose of your landing page is to gain conversions proper use of keywords in the text will help you achieve this purpose.

 

3.) Neat and Clean

The message that you are trying to convey to your prospect should be clear and easily understood. If you use too many large paragraphs or technical jargon your page will appear to be for the lack of a better term, “cluttered.” Most people do not like their lives to be full of clutter and this includes any landing pages that they might read.

 

4.) The Funnel Effect

Think of your landing page like a funnel. At the top we have the large opening of the headline. It is used to gather interest and deliver it to the next part of the funnel process, the sub-headlines. Use 2 or 3 progressively smaller headlines to lead or funnel your reader into the introduction paragraph. Use each element of your landing page to direct your reader to the next part.

Landing page optimization is essential if you want to get conversions. Create individual pages for each of your campaigns, use keywords correctly, keep your landing page neat and clean, and create a funnel effect and your conversion rate will improve dramatically.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Increase Conversion by Testing 5 Areas of your Sales Page

Is your sales page converting like you think it should? If not you should be testing to increase conversion. The internet is rather impersonal when it comes to salesmanship. You cannot look your customer in the eye or give them a winning smile and firm handshake. The only way that you have to persuade a customer that they want to purchase your product or service is through your sales page.

 Your sales page is one of the most important pieces of your internet business and it should be continually tested and improved. If you sales page is not getting results then you can increase conversion by testing the following items listed in order of importance.

 

1.) The Headline

 In the real world you only get one chance to make a first impression and it is the same in the world of internet marketing. In the internet marketing world the headline on your sales page is all that you have to make that valuable first impression, so you have to make the most of it. A well constructed headline will clearly inform the prospective customer of the largest benefit(s) that is offered by your product or service. It should tell your viewer exactly what they are going to get.

 

2.) Call to Action

 Call to action (your offer) is the section of your sales page that asks for the sale. You may have a killer sales page but if your call to action is not just as powerful you are losing sales.

 

3.) Lead in

 The lead in is the first paragraph beneath your headline and is the third most important part of your sales page. This paragraph rivals the headline for power. It should be written to basically grab the visitor by the collar and scream “look at this.”

 

4.) Benefit and Bullets

 Use bullet points to describe how your product or service benefits the prospective customer. List these benefits in a descending scale. Use the most powerful benefit first and then work your way down to the least powerful.

 

5.) Graphics and Load Speed

 Graphics can both help and hinder your sales page. While some graphics may instill the desire for your product or service they must be delicately balanced. Too many graphics will slow down the load time of your site. To increase conversion you want you page to load with blazing speed so keep the graphic elements to a minimum.

 

6.) Professional Look

 There was a study conducted by Stamford University that found that 46% of all web sales are lost because sales pages lack a professional look and elements that build value and trust with potential customers. Trust building logos might be just the ticket to increase conversion. These logos include BBBOnline and VeriSign as well as others.

 Constant testing is a must in the ever changing world of internet business. To become more successful you must increase conversion on your sales page. Use the 6 elements discussed in this article to guide your testing efforts and maximize your profit.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Chose Automated Testing Software that is Right for You

Every seasoned internet professional understands that split testing is a necessity to improve sales page conversion rates. Most of them also know that this can be a long laborious process as well. If you want to free up more of your valuable time then automated testing software might be just what you need.

 Automated testing software comes in every price range from free for very simple versions to more than a couple of thousand for the most advanced. With automated testing software, much like any other product, you get what you pay for. Free and low priced versions may only allow A/B type testing with only one or two variables while the higher end packages which fall into multivariate testing allow as many variables as you would like.

 I have conducted thousands of split tests and here are some of the things that I would look for when considering automated testing software

 

1.)  It must be invisible

 I do not want my customers to know that I am split testing. The automated testing software must be capable of using cookies to ensure that should a customer decide not to buy at this time and return later, they will be presented with the same page they viewed earlier.

 

2.) Number of variables tested

 The automated testing software that I would choose must allow unlimited testing. This type of software is usually used in multivariate testing and I need to be able to test as many variables as needed.  To purchase a software package with limited tests is simply tossing money out the window.

 

3.) Coding

 My pages tend to get a large amount of traffic so I want an automated testing software package that can handle this. Packages that use PHP and mySQL tend to be very fast and would be the ones on the top of my list.

 

4.) Ease of Use

 If I purchase an automated testing software package it is to save time. I do not want to spend a large amount of time learning the software. A package with an easy to use and familiar windows based control panel would make the learning curve much easier to handle.

 

5.) Installation

 While I can install scripts and have done so in the past I prefer that those who are familiar with the setup and operation of the script install it for me. A good automated testing software package should offer either free or low cost installation.

 There you have it, the five things that I would look for when determining which automated testing software to purchase.

 Automated testing software can save time by performing time intensive tasks giving you more time to work on other aspects of your business. While prices for this type of software can range from very inexpensive through a couple of thousand dollars you should always remember that you get what you pay for. When considering the purchase of a software package you should consider the visibility to customers, the number of variables that it can test, how it is coded, ease of use, and installation. Use automated testing software to free up your valuable time.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Multivariate Testing can be used to Optimize Profit

Do you know how to quickly increase the conversion rate on your sales page? If I could show you a method that will let you test all of the attributes of your sales page at one time would you be interested? Of course you would. In this article we will discuss multivariate testing and how it can help boost your bottom line.

 Split testing has been around for a very long time and all successful internet marketers use it. This method allows you to test one page element at a time to determine what is more successful. The major drawback to split testing is the amount of time involved. Testing one element then another, and another can be very time consuming. Multivariate testing will allow you to test as many elements as you wish at the same time thus saving valuable time.

 Multivariate testing software is set up on your server and you supply the program with a number of variations for each element of your sales page that you want to test. This can be as simple or as intricate as you desire. The attributes that you might test are headlines, lead in paragraph, font, layout, color, border, and price just to name a few. The list is almost endless.

 

After you supply the software package with all of your variables it will dynamically generate your sales page and track the corresponding results. For instance you will discover if the white or pale blue background produced more sales etc.

 If you are seriously interested in conducting the most testing in the least amount of time then multivariate testing is the answer you have been looking for. Imagine simply testing a headline using the A/B split testing method. How long would it take? In most cases I usually gave my test at least one week to build statistics. Then I would compare the two pages. If I had been using multivariate testing I could have tested twenty or more attributes in that amount of time and we all know that in our business time is money.

 Multivariate testing is convenient in that it allows you to test as many variables as you like at the same time and all on the same sales page. You do not have to construct multiple sales pages to test each element and worry about distributing traffic to each page equally. You do not have to make changes to your advertising in order to facilitate the test, everything continues as normal.

 While multivariate testing is the easiest way to test your sales page elements it has one drawback over A/B Split testing and that is cost. Split testing really only cost the internet professional some time whereas multivariate testing will cost them a few bucks. In the Low End (sub $500) price range there is really one one good option: The <A HREF=’http://www.evosplittester.com’>Evolutionary Split Tester</A>. If you want a more robust, more capable program, be prepared to shell out several thousand dollars.

 Multivariate testing has distinct advantages when compared with the traditional A/B split testing methods that so many of us are used to. Multivariate testing saves time by allowing you to test multiple variables at one time and is convenient in that there is no need to set up multiple sales pages. Everything is done on one page. The drawback to this form of testing is its price. Internet professionals who are just starting out may find the price tag somewhat discouraging. Multivariate testing will help you increase your profit by constantly testing the variables on your sales page. You can then keep the good and toss the bad.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

How to use AB Split Testing to Increase Conversions and Profitability

Have you ever wondered how the six figure guys get to be six figure guys? The first thing that any internet professional will tell you is “the money is in the list.” That might be true but to convert members of your list to paying customers you need a powerful sales page that motivates, entices, and convinces them to actually open their wallet and get out their credit cards. How can you build sales page that can do these things? Easy, AB split testing.

 In a nutshell AB split testing is the process of testing the conversion capability of one sales page against another. AB split testing is a very powerful way of increasing both the conversion rate of your sales pages as well as the profitability of your business.

 In order for a business to be successful in the internet market place it is important that AB split testing be used in an ongoing basis. Successful business people constantly test their sales pages. What may have been a very successful page a few weeks past may not retain its conversion power as time goes on. By continually testing your sales pages you will be able to adapt as needed to a changing market.

 

Here is a 5 step process that will show you exactly how to AB split test.

 

1.) Sales Page (A)

 Create a complete sales page for your product or service.

 

2.) Sales Page (B)

 Create an identical page that you will use to test against the original page.

 

3.) Change an Attribute

 On sales page B you must decide which of the attributes that you want to change. You might change the headline, opening paragraph, teaser text, graphics, page layout, your bonus offers, or even the product price. The key is to change only one attribute.

 

4.) Split Test

 Determine the length of your test. I recommend 7 days as a minimum duration. Send equal amounts of traffic to each of the pages that you are testing.

 

5.) Analysis

 Compare the statistics for these pages at the end of the testing duration. The page which converted the most sales is the winner.

 

 You are not done, now you start the process over again using the winning page from this test as the base page for the next. Change a different attribute this time. If the headline was better on the first try changing the lead in paragraph this time. Continual testing will allow you always have the most powerful profit pulling sales pages possible.

 AB split testing of your sales pages should always be an ongoing process. You may be quite surprised at how a small change to your sales page and marketing message could have a large impact on your profit margin. AB split testing will give you the sound statistics that are needed to make educated decisions for your business. 

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Use AB Testing To Transform Your Wimpy Sales Page Into A Profit Monster

If you have been in the internet marketing business for any length of time you should understand that your sales pages must have a high conversion rate for success. Your sales page must entice the reader to open up their wallet and get out their credit card.

 There are many successful sales pages but most likely they did not start out that way. A truly successful sales page should always be a work in progress. What worked wonderfully a few weeks ago may not be converting at a rate that is satisfactory now.

 To super charge your sales pages you should be AB testing them. AB testing, also known as split testing is a process whereby you create multiple sales pages for the same product or service and track which of the pages has the higher conversion rate.

 In order to be a successful internet professional you must convert visitors to customers. The internet is very impersonal in that you do not meet a prospective customer face to face or even have a conversation with them on the phone. All you have is your sales page to persuade a potential customer to buy. AB testing can be the difference between a sales page that converts one or two sales per week and one that converts 10, 20, 50 or more sales per day.

 Here is an example of how I AB test my sales pages:

 

 1.) Creation

 I begin with a new sales page that I have created and then create two alternate pages. On these alternate pages I change a single attribute. On the first I may change the headline and on the second I reword the first paragraph.

 

2.) Traffic

 Once the pages are ready I start sending equal amounts of traffic to each page. In most cases I run the test for 7 days.

 

3.) And the Winner Is

 The page that had the best conversion rate was the one on which I changed the headline. This is the one that I will keep. The other two I keep in a folder on my computer so that I can review them occasionally.

 

4.) Repeat

 This time I start with the page that had the best conversion rate in my previous AB test. Again I write 2 new pages and change a single attribute. This time I will not change the headline because it was the winner in the last text. Then I run my process again.

 

 The key to developing an exceptionally powerful sales page is constant testing. When I have tested all elements of the page I begin the process again. This constant cycle of testing will increase both sales and profitability.

 If you are not AB testing then you basically saying “I don’t care about how many sales I make.” If you are saying something similar to that statement, you do not belong in the internet marketing business. Now that you understand the process you can start testing and start creating a profit pulling monster where you wimpy sales page used to be.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , ,