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Conversion Testing | Cardinal Pathwww.CardinalPath.com
between page elements. (For example, an image may be
more effective when paired with a certain headline.)
The limitation of A/B and A/B/n testing is that since you’re usually changing a number of variables, you will not find out how the variables interact. It’s possible that in the winning version, some of the changes you made actually hurt performance.
The downside of Multivariate Testing is that you first need to have a well-defined page structure. (That is, placement of elements on the page is fixed; radical redesigns are not possible.) Also, much more traffic is needed to generate results in a reasonable time.
Too often, web designs and redesigns are approached in a very unscientific manner: experts and owners implement what they “think” will work best. They guess.
Conversion TesTing Takes The guesswork ouT of design. By using the scientific methods of A/B and Multivariate testing, you can know which approach works best.
Here’s a quick overview of A/B and Multivariate Testing:
• In A/B testing, the original version of a page is tested against another, revised version. Typically, the redesign will be dramatically different to maximize impact. That is, it will include several (sometimes radical) changes from the original.
• A/B/n tests are the same, except instead of one alternate version, two or more alternate pages are tested against the original.
• Multivariate Testing is very different: the page is broken down into sections (simple example: a photograph and headline) and different combinations of elements are tested. This allows you to determine the interaction
Take the guesswork out of design.
Conversion TesTing
The TesTing CyCleA single test may bring noticeable increases in design performance and profitability. However, for truly exceptional results, you need to follow a rigorous testing methodology that will optimize your site/page completely. Conversion Testing should be a process of continual
refinement, not just a “one off” event.
A procedure we often recommend is to begin with A/B testing, making radical changes to determine the best overall page structure. Once A/B testing has revealed a high-performing baseline page, we migrate to Multivariate Testing to refine the page.
At this point we can optimize step by step, testing multiple small changes and their interactions, enabling us to understand exactly what convinces your visitors to convert.
YouTube, founded in 2005, started out as the poster child for Web 2.0. In the years since it has gone on to become one of the Web’s largest, most ubiquitous brands. The unrivaled leader in online video sharing and one of the largest social media websites, YouTube has massive traffic demands, ranked the third most visited site by Alexa.com.
Eager to promote their A/B & Multivariate testing initiatives, Youtube sought to engage its staff in the largest Google Website Optimizer test ever performed. And instead of going in house, they sought out VKI Studios—now Cardinal Path—to design their initiative.s
Thanks to YouTube’s massive traffic capabilities, we were able to produce a test with over 1,000 variations, and so much traffic that Google was unsure of its own infrastructure’s ability to handle it. It was the largest Google Website Optimizer test ever run.
The result was a 15.7% increase in sign ups under our scheme, as well as proving that Google Website Optimizer was robust enough to handle nearly any website.
“I’ve worked with VKI on several projects. They are always great to work with. In particular they provide a deep expertise in landing page optimization and know the intricacies of using Google Website Optimizer. I highly recommend them to any company looking to optimize their website and improve overall site performance”
—Curtis Lee, product marketing manager, YouTube
Case sTudy: youTube
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Conversion Testing | Cardinal Pathwww.CardinalPath.com
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