A/B testing on the Web has become incredibly sophisticated in the last few years. New software makes it easier than ever to have a test up and running on your site. Still, a software program can only take you so far, and many marketers find themselves with questions.
In our next Web clinic, statisticians and testing experts from the MECLABS research lab will be answering some of the most common questions associated with online testing:
• Can I test more than one variable at a time?
• What is a multivariate test?
• Is a multivariate testing better than an A/B split test?
• Which page element(s) should I test?
3. Confusion around online testing
• Designing and managing
experiments is listed as the
most significant challenge
4. The MarketingExperiments Library
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5. Today’s Team
Bob Kemper
Senior Director, Sciences
As Senior Director of Sciences, Bob manages enterprise experimentation and
discovery processes for the corporation and for the individual operating companies.
He serves on the Curriculum and Alumni boards for the Executive MBA program of
the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University, and on the board of the
Jacksonville chapter of the National Association of Business Economists (NABE).
6. Today’s Team
Benjamin Filip
Manager, Data Sciences
Ben participates in high-level marketing analytics and optimization including profit
analysis, data mining, customer profile analysis and Web metrics analysis to
determine visitor behaviors in online marketing funnels.
7. Today’s Team
Paul Cheney
Editorial Analyst
Paul works directly with Flint McGlaughlin to study, manage and catalogue the
MECLABS library of case studies and experiments. Essentially, he spends most of his
day scouring over reports and data from the experiments that come through the lab.
8. Today, we are going to answer some of the most
common questions marketers ask about online testing.
10. How many variables were changed?
Treatment
Logo
Logo
Logo
Control
Logo
increase in conversion
Through a more professional design and a clearer process,
the treatment generated 58% more conversions.
58%
11. Logo
Control
Logo
Treatment
How many variables were changed?
increase in conversion
By clarifying the value, reducing friction and mitigating
anxiety, the treatment produced 262% more leads.
262%
12. How many variables were changed?
Control Treatment
increase in conversion
By clarifying the value proposition and simplifying the
form, the treatment generated 189% more leads.
189%
14. When to test more than one variable
Radical Redesigns: The objective is to
challenge the control enough to generate a
significant difference
Focused variable clusters: The objective is to
test the highest performing variables and
increase channel specificity
Single variable testing: The objective is to
determine relative impact by isolating
variables.
Optimal Testing Cycle
15. What you need to understand
1. We should design our tests so they are useful.
2. A variable can be anything the test designer defines.
3. First, define variables that test the category to “get in the zone.”
4. From there, focus on relative impact of individual page elements.
17. Definition: Multivariate testing
Multivariate Testing
A number of approaches for the simultaneous testing of multiple factors (variables), each having
two or more possible levels (values) to determine which composite treatment (combination of
factor values) yields the best overall performance.
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Value 1 of 4
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Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Val
ue
1 of
4
Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Valu
e 1
of 4
Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Valu
e 1
of 4
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Value 1 of 4
Value 1 of 4
Value
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Value
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Value 1 of 2
Value 1 of 2
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Variable
Variable
Variable
• Each combination is
presented to a portion of
arriving traffic.
• The best combination is
detected.
• Other insights about the
relative ‘importance’ and
‘variable interaction’ are
also possible.
18. 1. Multivariate testing (in marketing) is simply an automated way to run many A/B
tests at once.
2. Consider using multivariate testing when:
• You have a large amount of traffic.
• You can interpret complicated test results.
• You have the time to run a longer test.
• You have already tested your way into the best offer category.
What you need to understand
20. 1. Testing with lower traffic levels will always require a trade-off between time,
budget or certainty.
2. With that in mind, there are a few potential ways you can solve the low traffic
problem:
• Test in the channel.
• Lower your desired level of confidence.
• Design more radical treatments.
What you need to understand
24. Where to test in a path?
The Channel
(Ocnn)
The Presentation
(Oprn)
The Product Offer
(Opr)
Opr > Oprn > Ocnn
Wherein:
Opr = Optimization of Product Offer
Oprn = Optimization of Presentation
Ocnn = Optimization of Channel
26. Background: A website that sells retail and wholesale collector items.
Goal: To increase conversion rate.
Primary Research Question: Which version of the second step in the conversion funnel will produce the
highest conversion rate?
Approach: A/B variable cluster split test that focused on reducing anxiety through credibility indicators,
copy and re-organization of existing page elements.
Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Test Protocol Number: TP1305
Research Notes:
Experiment: Background
27. • When we analyzed the metrics, we realized
there were leaks throughout the checkout
process. The credit card submission page
stood out as a low cost opportunity for
immediate return.
• When we analyzed the metrics even further,
we saw this step also had the highest lost
revenue per cart (more than double any other
step).
• From this, we hypothesized optimizing this
step would have the highest potential return
on our efforts.
Fallout Report: New Customers
Experiment: Background
30. Design Conversion Rate
Control 82.33%
Treatment 86.04%
Relative Difference 4.51%
5% Increase in Total Conversion
The new credit card page increased conversion by 4.51%
What you need to understand: While it might seem like a small increase, choosing this specific step
in the sales funnel to test resulted in a projected $500,000+ increase in revenue per year. This
underscores the potential impact of a properly identified research question.
Experiment: Results
31. 1. Knowing where to test requires knowing your data.
• As a general rule, you can use: Opr > Oprn > Ocnn
2. Knowing what to test requires a systematic methodology.
• As a general rule, you can use: C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a
What you need to understand
35. 1. Use a standardized statistical method for determining validity.
2. There are four main validity threats marketers should be conscious of when testing:
a. Sample Distortion
b. Selection Effect
c. History Effect
d. Instrumentation Effect
3. Beware of only relying on a testing tool for validity.
What you need to understand
37. When to stop a testLevelofConfidence
Samples Collected
Stop Test Here
95%
Required Samples
38. 1. It is safe to stop a test when your data meet two criteria:
a) Sufficient sample size
b) Desired level of confidence
What you need to understand
40. 5 Factors to Consider
1. Budget
2. Testing objectives
3. Flexibility
4. Ease of use
5. In-house expertise
41. What you need to understand
Consider 5 factors when evaluating testing platforms:
a) Budget
b) Testing objectives
c) Flexibility
d) Ease of use
e) In-house expertise
44. MECLABS Research Partnership Opportunities
MECLABS conducts rigorous experiments in the new science of optimization.
We apply our discoveries to help leaders optimize the financial performance
of their sales and marketing programs.
Learn more about how you may
be a fit for a MECLABS research
partnership:
• Select Research Partnership
Opportunities on the post-
webinar survey
• Contact us directly
info@MECLABS.com
1-877-635-0565
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