Webtrends Optimization

Here I’ve highlighted and organized some key posts that hopefully will become a resource where anyone can learn more about optimization and testing.  I recommend starting with the articles listed under essential reading first.

-Updated 7/13/09-

Essential reading:

• Billy’s Optimization Guide:
  • Part 1: A/B split testing
  • Part 2: Introduction to multivariate testing
  • Part 3: Using multivariate testing
• An Essential Primer on Full and Fractional Factorial Test Design
• How to pick a page to test and optimize
• How to do efficient optimization
• Google Optimizer is slow (or Not all Multivariate Testing is the same)
• 5 rules for quality landing page design

Getting started:

• Why Test? -The logic behind testing
• Two types of tests (and I’m not talking MV or Split) – Defining template and in-place tests
• 5 quick tips to effective A/B and split testing – Defining A/B and split testing
• Multivariate testing: a quick primer -A rundown of multivariate testing
• Test nothing and get results – How showing less can lead to more conversion
• How to do efficient optimization – An easy 3 step test plan
• Gamble with your conversions to raise them – The risk and reward of optimization

Landing Pages:

• 5 rules for quality landing page design – A few basics of creating solid landing pages
• Why always optimize landing pages? – The reasons landing pages are so easy to test

About testing:

• Getting Cultured in Testing – Test everything, beyond individual tests
• What can your data really tell you? – Why testing is different from other marketing data
• Testing + SEO = Friends – Does testing affect SEO?
• 4 reasons to test your web pages – Four reasons (that I didn’t come up with!) to test
• Increase SEM spend or optimize your page? – A look at why optimizing your page is a better deal than increasing SEM spend
• How multivariate testing can change your whole business – Looking beyond making better pages and getting real information from testing data
• Find success in every test: Looking beyond conversion rates – Asking questions and getting answers for testing.
  

Advanced Topics:

• An Essential Primer on Full and Fractional Factorial Test Design – A simple explanation of two core ideas that testing relies on
• 5 tips to maximize your holiday campaign – How to keep seasonal differences in mind when optimizing your page
• Google Optimizer is slow (or Not all Multivariate Testing is the same) – An explanation of why Google’s full factorial testing is not up to par with Widemile’s fractional factorial test design
• What is Taguchi? How does it relate to testing? - An explanation of the Taguchi method and its misuse in multivariate testing
• 3 difficult optimization results and what you can learn from them – Discusses test results no one looks forward to and the best way to manage them
  1. Highly mixed data
  2. Original page beats new variations
  3. No stabilization

Widemile:

• 225% Lift Marketing Sherpa Case Study – A landing page optimization project we did with The Weather Channel
• Case Study: Smartsheet.com – One optimization project helped improve their whole site
• Doubling conversion rates: MarketingSherpa case study – MarketingSherpa covers the Smartsheet.com case study