Split Testing Software — What You Need To Know.
Split testing works. Use it well, and you will improve your conversion rates, and, thus, your profits. And, if you are advertising, or have significant product costs, raising your conversion rate just a little can raise your profits a lot. But there are many different kinds of split testing software out there.
I can’t discuss every feature of every testing tool out there, but I can give you a major overview of the different kinds of split testing software.
One big distinction is between single variable and multiple variable (multivariate) testing.
Simple split testing is easy. You’re just “trying stuff” one thing at a time. You want to try a different headline? Split test it. When that test finishes, you want to “try” something else? Split test that. You can test one alternative version or many. As long as it’s a single element of your page you’re testing, that’s simple split testing. All you need is a tool that rotates the different versions of the headline (or whatever) on your page, and keeps track of which one produces the most sales.
Google offers a single variable split testing tool, but you have to have an Adwords account to use it.
With multivariate testing, you can test many factors at the same time on your page. So, instead of just testing your headline, you can test your headline, your offer, the P.S. statement, and your lead image all at the same time. And with multivariate testing, if it’s set up right, you can use the same amount of traffic testing many variables that you would use to test a single variable.
So there’s the main distinction between single variable testing and multivariate testing. But once you get into the realm of multivariate testing the options seem to multiply again. One difference among multivariate tools is between tools that are hosted on someone else’s server, and ones that you install on the same server as your webpages. Hosted solutions can be slower, and more expensive, but you don’t have to install any software.
Hosted solutions include Google’s Website Optimizer, and Vertster. Installed solutions include the Split Test Accelerator and Kaizen Track.
Taguchi testing is only one kind of multivariate testing. There are also “full factorial” tools, and random independent rotators. When you run a Taguchi test, you run only a small fraction of the possible combinations of your factor levels. You might, for instance, run only 18 pages to test 4374 combinations. This is made possible by orthongonal arrays. This allows you to find the best combination with out running through all of them. You do have to be careful about your factors interacting negatively with each other, but if you take care as you design your test, you can avoid the bulk of the problem with these. The Split Test Accelerator, Vertster, and Kaizentrack are Taguchi testing tools.
Full factorial tools allow you to cycle through all the combinations for your factors. So if you have 3 headlines, 3 offers, 3 P.S. statements, and 3 images you’re testing, you will cycle through 81 pages. One advantage of full factorial testing is that you don’t have to worry as much about interaction effects. Good and bad interactions should show up in the data. However, if you want to receive this advantage, you have to run many times the traffic through your test as you would with a Taguchi test. You also can’t run as many combinations. Google’s website optimizer is a full factorial tool.
Some multivariate tools randomly serve the options for each factor independently from what is served for the other factors. This can lead to more flexible test design, but also to more interaction effects and other statistical noise, leading to longer tests.
There are other distinctions and features worth noting. And each solution has a different mix of pros and cons. But this should get your oriented a bit before you make your decision.