Split Testing Explained

By Scott McKenzie

Simple language differences and tiny changes in presentation can be the difference between an extremely effective marketing campaign that nets you millions and a complete and utter failure.The Internet marketing world is a world of subtlety.

Because these changes are so small, it is often difficult to tell what it is you need to change in order to have a more effective marketing strategy. That is where the idea of split testing comes in.

Split testing is a sales tactic that tests two different sales pages, keywords, PPC copy and other online sales tools using an equal number of impressions/views to see which one converts more effectively. It is one of the few research tools that an Internet marketer has at their disposal that actually guarantees more conversions " rather than simply implying that more conversions are supposed to occur.

Here is an example: Imagine that you are buying advertisements through Google adwords in hopes that you will be able to maximize your hits per day. Start two ads at equal rates and put small differences in them. Add something subtle to one such as "money back guarantee" and leave the other one as it is.

Allow your advertising campaign to run for a short period of time, then evaluate the results to see which one was the first to reach 40 or 50 clicks. That particular ad should be considered your best. Split testing will tell you that for example, money back guarantee type advertisements got you the most clicks. Naturally then you will want to go with that, however, where in the ad would the line be most effective? Try again now by placing the line at the beginning and the end and then compare your results once more.

When you have completed this, you will have your highest preforming ad. This technique can also be used for sales copy, newsletters or anything that will increase your conversations. Some people rotate their sales pages using software and see which one gets the most sales. Through this they will eventually find the perfect sales copy. It will have a high enough conversion rate to almost guarantee success in internet marketing.

Internet marketing is still in an infant stage and much of what has been learned has been through personal stories, not science. Split testing uses large sample sizes to ensure the methods of advertising you are using is the most efficient way to garner sales. They use this science to guarantee the advertising campaign gives you the best conversion rate possible.

Because of this, it is those marketers that are willing to use Split testing that tend to have the most success in the field. In many ways, the best marketers never stop split testing, as they continue to look for the pinnacle of ad copy in an ever changing online world.Split testing is one of the few effective research tools that you can use on your own work. - 32621

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