Multivariate Testing Methods for Better Online Business Conversions

Most online entrepreneurs lament on investing too much effort in building their site and not receiving well-deserved traffic and conversion. Contrary to the misconstrued principle of holding business in the Internet, lapses in visitor flow and profit cannot be blamed solely on SEO methods.

Sometimes, it’s the ineptness of web developers in integrating specific preferences of the niche in building their website.

Truth is, it is not too difficult to pinpoint the elements that need to be embedded in a website design. Traditional surveys in the guise of digital questionnaires, forums, and feedback solicitation can do the trick. Nonetheless, only multivariate testing can give you the most unbiased information when it comes to audience inkling and purchase motivation.

Importance of Multivariate Testing

Multivariate testing, as the name suggest, involves the examination of web design elements’ effectiveness in driving traffic and conversation rates. The process is characterized by a data-oriented approach in online marketing as it gather information from an experiment with due participation of website visitors.

The data gathered from the test can be the basis for implementation of designs and site structure that can walk entrepreneurs’ marketing campaigns a mile.

(Courtesy of Scott Schram)

Suffice to say, multivariate testing shows how simple adjustments on a website’s content, layout, aesthetic appeal, and call to action can affect the number of hits and purchases made online.

Multivariate testing can be highly beneficial to websites with high bounce rates (number of visitors that leave the website upon browsing the homepage), low audience engagement, poor lead generation, and dwindling level of sales.

Some businessmen may be blinded to the inherit benefits of multivariate testing, but many entrepreneurs attest to the advantageous nature of the process, especially after gaining competitive edge in the market.  In fact, there’s an endless claim that a simple multivariate testing can indeed double a website’s revenue because of the spike in conversion rates.

Simplest Way to Perform Multivariate Testing for Higher Conversions

Starting the multivariate test entails a careful assessment of the website’s sub pages. As you go along, it is imperative to determine the major components that are contingent upon your goal to heighten conversion rates. Doing so does not only guarantee that you are traversing the right direction in the process, but also ensures that you can attain the most accurate data from the experiment.

Among the elements that can be tested in multivariate testing for conversion rates include:

– Headline/ heading

– Text body (theme/topic, length, layout, font size)

– Length of subscription/membership forms

– Call to action buttons (placement, text, colors, sizes)

– Photographs (placement, size, content)

You have to keep in mind that not every page (or component) of a website can give equal contribution in the quest to increase conversion. It is a must to come up with wining combinations through the following steps:

1. Lay out your goals

Getting visitors to notice your offers and motivate them to act requires a different set of testing element than convincing audiences to sign up for subscription. Through multivariate testing, you can choose to:

–          Improve sales

–          Reduce bounce rates

–          Increase leads

–          Convince more consumers to sign up for free trial

–          Earn deeper consumer engagement

Even when multivariate testing allows you test more than one element at a time, it is best to address one goal at time.

2. Make a Smart Guess on What is Affecting your Conversion

There are usually three major reasons for having low conversions. First, the website may not be compelling enough to catch a visitor’s attention. Second, your analytics tool may not be producing the right search keywords that can be used to craft interesting insights (visitors may have a notion that your offerings is not related to what they were searching for). Lastly, your website may fall short in being “usable” and functional (you can determine the usability of a website by using usability testing software).

You can also check the whether:

–          The sign up form is too long, and shortening it can lure more visitors to sign up

–          Call to action buttons are not attention-grabbing

–          The headline is too ambiguous or laden with terms not familiar to audiences

–          Landing pages contain no instruction on steps that can be taken.
The success of multivariate testing actually depends greatly on your ability to pinpoint the factors that affect your website’s conversion rate. In the end, this process merely serves as a tool to confirm your hypothesis. It is still important to retain your grip on consumer demands to have the most ideal starting point of multivariate testing. I hope this guide clears out any confusions about the multivariate testing methods that are commonly overlooked. Maxymiser are a good resource for multivariate tests and split testing, so any confusions can be cleared at their website if necessary although with introductory guides for those that need a refresher on the subject.

Ruben Corbo is a freelance writer and writes for a number of online marketing websites including those that help online businesses improve A/B testing techniques to increase sales conversions. When Ruben is not writing, he’s producing or composing music for short films or other visual arts.