What to test and how to test it.
© John Taylor

As I'm sure you will appreciate, I get asked a lot of
questions about testing and tracking and the most frequently
asked question is: What should I track? This is closely
followed in popularity by How should I test it? And, the
third most popular question is: What is the best testing and
tracking tool available?

Well, the answer to the first question is easy: Everything!
Seriously, I mean it, you should test everything; and I
don't simply mean your web page. You should test your entire
sales and marketing process from start to finish.

Test you ezine adverts, your banner ads, your Pay Per Click
campaign, everything. Test every single element on your web
page, especially your headline and the first 250 words or
so. You only have a limited amount of time to grab the
attention of your visitor and to draw them into your web
page so that first impression must be a good as you can make
it.

Test your pop-up windows, your pop-under windows, your order
form and every part of the payment process. I read an
article by Marty Foley this morning and he has discovered
through testing and tracking that at least 40% of people
abandon the purchase even up to the point of entering their
credit card details!

How to test it...

The simplest way of testing is to implemet a split run test.
If you are testing two ezine ads then you might sedn one ad
to half your list and then send the other ad to the other
half of your list. You could then track the responses to see
which ad generated the most click throughs.

Similarly on your web site you could use a simple script to
swerve two web pages alternately so that 50% of your
visitors see page "A" and the other 50% see page "B".
Obviously, the page that generates the most ezine sign ups
or product sales can then be made your default page.

The best testing and tracking tool...

I'm going to give you the "consultant" answer to this one!
It depends, on your budget, what you want to test, if you
want to use an external testing and tracking service or if
you want to install your own script. There are lots of
alternatives and its own strengths and weaknesses.

The most important question is...

When are you going to make a start with your testing and
tracking campaign? I managed to test and to tweak my web
site to increase my sales conversion by a staggering 317% in
less than three weeks. If you are not testing and tracking
you are missing out on lost sales.

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Copyright © John Taylor 2003.

About the Author:

John Taylor is the author of "Learn over Twenty ways To
Improve Your Conversion Rate and Multiply Your Profits" - A
Special Report that contains a wealth of information on
professional testing and tracking techniques that can boost
your conversion rate and generate increased profits. To
learn how testing and tracking can boost your profits click
this link now: http://www.test-and-track.com
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