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
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
http://testingblog.widemile.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=298
