| Too often, when people think about multivariable testing and optimization,
they think about just one discipline: analytics. To be sure, multivariable
testing is predicated on advanced mathematical and experimental design
principles, and analytics is required to measure and evaluate success.
But to be truly successful at continuously optimizing an entire site,
you need a seamlessly integrated interactive marketing system, one that
marries the content creation process with the testing and optimization
process.
Content creation has two components. As with television, it starts with
great writers, in this case copywriters, web designers, and others experienced
in creating persuasive web content. But a successful multivariable optimization
program also requires sophisticated content creation technology. True
multivariable optimization is much more than just multiple variables (e.g.
a main image, a main headline, a submit button) being tested simultaneously
in individual silos. True multivariable optimization also involves rearranging
the layout of pages, changing the order of elements on a page, manipulating
style sheets, and other fundamental changes to the user experience. In
order to do this successfully, it is critical that the testing and analysis
functions are intimately connected to the content creation process.
So where does analytics fit in? Well, returning to the analogy, analytics
are like the Nielsen ratings – without them, you have no way to
gauge the effectiveness of the content manipulation you are doing. And
fortunately, unlike in the TV world where the networks are at the mercy
of the omnipotent AC Nielsen company, in the online world there are numerous
companies with great solutions for measuring and analyzing your audience.
But just being able to measure effectiveness is not enough. These learnings
need to flow back into the content creation process or success will be
short-lived.
Returning to television, just look at the predicament that faced the
first successful scripted show of the strike-impaired television season,
Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. It got solid Nielsen ratings,
which meant more advertising dollars for the Fox network. But with the
writers on strike, Fox couldn't fully leverage its success – they
couldn't create new episodes, and they couldn't add scenes to focus on
characters or plotlines that seemed to resonate. Without fresh content,
or optimized content that leveraged what worked with the show, they lost
momentum, and certainly didn’t maximize the potential benefit of
a hot new series.
The same holds true on your website. For success in multivariable optimization,
analytics is essential, but it’s just one piece of a much larger
puzzle that needs to be mastered. Without a strong mechanism for flexible
content creation and deployment, your successes will be short-lived, and
you’ll never have a continuously optimized website. In a nutshell,
without a fully, integrated content creation and optimization system,
your website will never quite be ready for prime-time.
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