Like everyone else in direct marketing, I spend a lot of time extolling the virtues of split testing. As well I should, because with ongoing, small improvements, implemented like a bull dog, you can radically change the performance of your whole sales systems.
Unlike everyone else, I urge people to have the patience to do their research and competitive intelligence thoroughly and precisely, so they’ll have the RIGHT INPUTS for their tests, to maximize the probability of results.
But here’s something I haven’t talked much about, which I really should (but Howie beat me to the punch)…
“Testing Juice” is a limited resource. We only have so much traffic and money to pay for it, and every test we do eats some of it for a while. Accordingly, it’s vitally important to PRIORITIZE your tests correctly.
Howie Jacobson, author of Adwords for Dummies, has developed an excellent paradigm for doing just that. In this MP3 interview (and accompanying slides) you’ll hear him walk you through it.
Of course, I won’t hide the fact that this is also a blatant attempt to get you to attend Camp Checkmate via my affiliate link (which entitles you to the EARLY BIRD pricing if you order soon, even though the deadline’s passed). But as always, both Howie and I took extra special care to ensure the content itself should be immediately valuable to you.
Enjoy!
Dr. G 
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post doc!
Thanks Howie!
This has been the subject of considerable debate in our company. This will help me persuade some folks.
I agree that it’s a very helpful post. I especially liked the part where you were talking about the emotional aspect of the ads. Being pretty new to Adwords, I’ve been following the formula of:
Keyword Headline
Benefit
Feature
Website
It’ll be interesting to see what happens to my CTR when I look more towards the emotional conversation going on in my customers’ heads vs. just using their search keywords. My guess is it’ll be positive!
Thanks!
Listen to the entire recording and be sure to click on and follow the slides. You will get a lot out of this recording. Even if you don’t go to this program, if you follow the slides and go through the process, you will improve your business.
I have followed Howie for some time and can highly recommend his other programs. I firmly believe that the value of this program will greatly exceed the cost.
Great post!
I got a question about split testing.
There are many calculators available to determine which variable would generate a better result. However, I have not been able to find a calculator that accounts for additional data, like the actual sales generated during the test. I have run into a the following scenario:
A/B split test
A:
Impressions: 1490
Clicks: 170
Number of sales: 18
Dollar value, total: $1,871.00
B:
Impressions: 987
Clicks: 92
Number of sales: 23
Dollar value, total: $1,403.00
If I only look at the clicks and sales, version B is the winner. However, if I account for the actual sales, then I am not so sure.
Is there a way to analyze this scenario?
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike… the answer is to combine all the metrics into ONE over-riding value
called “profit per impression”. Please watch this short video and be sure to download
the free spreadsheet that goes along with it.
http://www.adwordsmarketingmuscle.com/1001.htm