MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas

LiveBall is a template-driven testing tool that allows users to set up a test in as little as three clicks. It provides great templates, but leaves little room for “out-of-the-box” testing.

Despite that drawback, based on our past experience with them, we can say that their team is very responsive and flexible when new templates or changes are needed. But, that’s a minor issue that can be solved if you have someone on staff who is HTML-savvy; since they’ll most likely be able to modify the templates themselves.

One the best features of this system is its advanced rules engine, which can be used to test different offers based on several factors, including location and campaigns. This form of routing or personalization is based on geolocation.

LiveBall was launched in 2007. Its clients range from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses. Here are a few points to consider if you’re thinking about implementing LiveBall… Read more…

Visual Website Optimizer is a very simple split testing tool. To use, it’s as simple as adding a URL to the interface, waiting for it to copy the page, and then clicking the page sections they want to test. There’s virtually no involvement from IT. Users only have to insert a code snippet once and then can create an unlimited number of tests. The JavaScript code snippet you insert on your pages contacts the Visual Website Optimizer server whenever a visitor lands on your page.

Visual Website Optimizer was founded in 2009 and has more than 1,200 marketers, including Rackspace and 99designs.com, that trust it with their online testing. Here are a few points to consider if you’re thinking about implementing Visual Website Optimizer… Read more…

SiteSpect is not a tag-based solution, which is perfect for non-intrusive testing. In other words,you don’t have to add snippets of code to your site that a vendor claims won’t (but we all know occasionally do) mess up your pages.

Also, no content is stored on the SiteSpect system itself, just variations for testing. And soon, SiteSpect claims you will be able to store page variations within your own SiteSpect install.

SiteSpect can be a great solution, as long as you have the staff necessary to fully utilize it.

What’s great is that this tool works for marketers with or without a designer, because for simple treatment variations you can use the WYSIWYG editor and even upload HTML designs.

Founded in 2004, some major marketers (Staples, Tivo, Walmart) trust SiteSpect with their online testing. Here are a few points to consider if you’re thinking about implementing SiteSpect as well… Read more…

We’re often asked by our audience…”I know I should be testing, but which platform should I use?” There is no one right answer to this question, so I’ve been writing a series of blog posts with quick guides to online testing and optimization solutions.

This latest post will be our quickest quick guide because it is not about any specific branded tool ,per say, but rather internal proprietary tools…which vary widely. That said, I wanted to cover a few basic considerations.

When does it make sense to use internal proprietary tools for testing?

Here are a few points to consider… Read more…

Whenever one is evaluating a testing tool – or any tool that claims to help “non-IT” people post Web pages of any kind – the key question becomes, “What do these pages do?” In other words, is it just a static page that asks the user to simply click a link and then move on to other parts of the site? Or is there detailed functionality in the site?

This is a key question because all online testing and optimization tools have limitations, at least from the marketer’s perspective. Many tools will allow you to post content without IT involvement. But these tools will not allow you to magically create significant functionality without IT involvement. By “functionality,” I mean things like login/logout features, the ability to capture and transmit data, or the ability to display data on the page from within the company’s database.

Marketers need to ask themselves, “Am I trying to capture/transmit data (like form submissions) or am I trying to tie into interactive functionality that already exists on the rest of my site?” If the answer is, “Yes”, then all of the online testing tools we are covering in our quick guide blog series might require IT involvement.

Of course, that involvement varies from tool to tool. For this post, we reviewed the Drupal split testing plug-in. Some other content management systems (CMS) may have a testing plug-in as well. Read more…

Unbounce is a great tool for to create templated landing page tests, but this tool isn’t built to test complex multi-step paths/carts. What’s even better is as I was reviewing the tool I found that the guys and gals behind the tool are super committed and open to feedback. If there’s a feature you’d like to see added, just ask and they’ll do what they can to get it added.

In the latest of our quick guide to online testing and optimization solutions series right here on the blog, we take a look at Unbounce … Read more…