Tag Archive for 'WebsiteBiz'

Multivariate Testing - Big Results from Small Changes

Published
by
Eric Dudley
on September 5, 2008
in Online Marketing
. 0 Comments

Multivariate testing can drive big results from small changes.  In a recent Google Blog post, examples of Google’s search experiments are shown and some are surprisingly small.  For example, take a look at the two pages below:

Multivariate Testing - Big Results from Small Changes

Multivariate Testing - Big Results from Small Changes

Can you tell the difference between the two?  I couldn’t.  Turns out, the difference lies in the amount of white space in the first search result, making the first result in the Picture 2 a bit more visible.  This test is designed to determine if these types of changes help you search faster and if it makes results more prominent.

Here’s another example of a recent Google experiment:

Multivariate Testing - Big Results from Small Changes

Multivariate Testing - Big Results from Small Changes

If you can spot the difference in these two pictures, you’re visually astute.  The difference is the the thickness of the plus box next to the stock quote.  It’s difficult to determine if one is “better”, because results of the tests have both positive and negative effects.  Searchers might click on the the thicker box, causing them to possible ignore other helpful results.

So, what?  Subtle differences can make a big impact on results.  Multivariate testing helps marketers to test even the most minute details to determine which has the greater impact.  Without the use of multivariate testing, the findings could take lots of time, man hours or just never be determined.

At WebsiteBiz, we use Omniture Test & Target as well as Google Optimizer.  We have expertise using these tools and are leveraging technology in our partnerships.

Facebook Marketing Strategies, Food for Thought

Published
by
Tom Dressler
on July 30, 2008
in Branding, Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, Lead Generation, Online Marketing and Social Media
. 0 Comments

Facebook Marketing Strategies, Food for ThoughtWe as Interactive Marketing professionals, consumer market research professionals, and eBusiness & channel strategy professionals look for solutions that meet the needs of today’s online environment. When posed with this question, Facebook comes up over and over again. So what should we do about it?

As described by Forrester,

Facebook is a media, community, and application platform that offers an existing thriving ecosystem, scalable growth, and quick word-of-mouth marketing. The ability to understand users, their preferences, networks, and helps web applications to quickly segment and rapidly grow.

WebsiteBiz FacebookWow, what does that mean? First off, as a community the opportunity to study your prospects are huge. Are they engaged on Facebook and/or Social Media as creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, or inactives? I find this information to be surprising at times. If your market is using Facebook it provides a targeted advertising platform unlike any we have ever seen before, the ability to provide messages segmented by location, gender, and/or preference gives us the ability to accurately market effectively.

Ideas to be considered when evaluating Facebook Marketing

  • Demographics and trend data
  • Word of mouth and viral growth using Newsfeeds and widgets
  • Groups, sponsored groups, and other community features
  • Harness personal and network information
  • Contextual and targeted advertising opportunities
  • Monetizing your efforts
  • Case studies of success and failure
  • Understanding costs, and strategies to measure ROI

While this can seem intimidating at first, proven strategies do in fact deliver positive results. But a more coherent approach is to start with your target audience and determine what kind of relationship you want to build with them, based on what they are ready for.

Please provide your thoughts and impressions of Facebook Marketing.