A test is defined as "the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial," and testing in LiveBall is the means by which our clients continuously improve their online conversion rates.
Whether you're new to LiveBall or are already a post-click rock star, here's a crash course in LiveBall Testing 101.
1) Let's get started!
To begin testing, create two (or more) landing pages. Beforehand, I recommend laying out a testing plan. Determine what segmentation strategies and other variables you would like to test, and also create a tentative testing schedule.
Here is an example of two separate landing pages I created for our paid search.
The A test segmented by whether the respondent was an Online Agency or an Online Marketer, and the B test segmented by the type of fulfillment.
2) Landing page —> traffic source
Input your separate landing pages into a traffic source. (Make sure that the messages of your ad(s) match the message & tone of your landing pages.) A traffic source can be an individual adgroup, banner, email — or any online experience where you want to use your landing page (I post some on Facebook!).
You can input as many landing pages as you'd like into a traffic source. The number of landing pages that you should input into a traffic source is dependent upon the amount of traffic you're driving. For example, if a specific traffic source is expected to generate only 100 clicks a month, I would stick to testing only two landing pages. If, on the other hand, a specific traffic source is expected to generate 100,000 clicks, go ahead and test multiple landing pages (the sky's the limit!). The more clicks you're generating, the sooner LiveBall will be able to determine a landing page winner.
3) Now open!
Open the traffic source. Wait for some happy respondents to start clicking your ads. If you used LiveBall's auto-optimize feature, sit back and relax. Once LiveBall has determined a winner based on statistical significance, it will take the poorer performing landing page out of rotation.
4) Different strokes for different folks
Are you advertising on more than one search engine? Perhaps you've placed a banner ad on a major website. LiveBall lets you test your landing pages at the traffic source level.
For example, let's say you're advertising (insert product or service) on Google, Yahoo, and InformationWeek.com. You can create 3 separate traffic sources in LiveBall — and test to see which landing page converts best on Google, Yahoo, and InformationWeek.
What works well on InformationWeek.com may not work as well on Google or Yahoo. ion calls this RTP matrix testing. I just like to call it smarter testing.
5) There's always room for improvement
Once LiveBall has determined a landing page winner, it's time to start iterating — and increasing your conversions!
Take the landing page winner, and improve it. You can update the graphics, copy, fulfillment, or segmentation strategy — whatever factors you think will improve your conversions. Input the previous winner and your new, updating landing page(s) into LiveBall.
Input. Test. Increase ROI. Repeat.
Conclusion
By rapidly creating, testing, and improving your landing pages, you can continuously improve the effectiveness of your online marketing spend — in real time.
Remember, thou shalt leave no landing page live without testing it.
Class adjourned.
-Megan Leap
