Split Testing Software

Luke

Finding decent split testing software or even a basic split test script seems like a simple enough goal. In fact, with all the promoters of internet marketing goods out there it would seem that by now there should be hundreds of available solutions on the market…as it turns out that is not the case.

Looking for split testing software? Let me save you some hassle.

I’ve now spent hundreds of dollars on broken scripts, buggy software and hosted solutions that like to die and leave your page loading up…nothing. As you can imagine, that last one isn’t really great for sales.

The split testing setups I’ve tried have ranged in price from $17 to over $200 and almost all of them have been garbage. Some of them flat out failed to work, some of them crashed browsers, some counted visitors to the conversion page twice (an obvious problem) and finally as an added insult some of them had their Adsense ads on the pages on MY server after install. WTF? Support was also nonexistent.

Oh, and almost all of them came with "100% money-back guarantees" although as of this writing not one has refunded my money or responded to my very polite refund requests. Buyer beware.

However, I did find two exceptions to the above scenarios. Those of you who know me know that I don’t promote crap and will rarely suggest a product unless I’ve had personal experience with it. Thus the two products listed below have passed my test with flying colors. They actually work and the publishers actually provide support. Both of them are currently installed on my servers and have been running without a hitch since purchase.

The first program will meet the needs of probably 90% of the people reading this. The marketing gurus will have you believe that you have to use multivariate testing but honestly, I really feel basic a/b split-testing is quicker and more effective for most people testing basic headline variations and the like. In the amount of time it takes you to define all the variables and edit the html all the while fighting with the split-testing software or script- you could have just banged out two versions of the page in your favorite web page editor and loaded them into your a/b split testing software.

With that in mind, the first software I recommend is Split Testing Pro.

If you want to get started quickly and easily with some split-testing software that actually works, this is what I recommend. It’s VERY easy to use, it’s fast and it will accommodate pages of all sizes and lengths (a lot of the software out there chokes on the average size sales letter).

Once installed, all you need to do is create the multiple variations of the page you intend to test and then upload them to the appropriate folder. Next, replace the page to be tested with the split-test code and you are good to go.

Additionally, they also answered my support email to them in about 12 hours. Woohoo! Real support.

It’s a little more of an investment than the $17 scripts out there but take it from me- those ones suck. This is what you want, unless you like wasting time. Go ahead and grab Split Testing Pro.

Next up is some software you need to grab if you do want to dive into the more advanced multivariate testing. As I said above I HIGHLY recommend starting with the previous split testing software before you move to multivariate testing. If you don’t, you may just end up doing more harm than good.

Once you are an a/b testing guru, it will be time to grab Easy Multitracking and get to work.

This is a very easy to use and effective multivariate testing script that will allow you to simultaneously test many aspects of your sales or landing page. The html code is loaded up to the script’s interface and then the appropriate snippets of code are added to your sales page. Upload it as usual and you are ready to go. The creator of this script is very active in adding new features and is quick to respond to support requests. And best of all, it actually works!

Just like the other split testing software mentioned, once the pages are up and running all you need to do is login to check which version or combination is converting most effectively. Then you can make more changes or decide to run with the winner.

Go ahead and grab Easy Multitracking if you are ready to get serious.

So there you have it, go ahead and grab another split-testing script or software setup (hosted or not) but don’t blame me when it doesn’t work and you can’t get a refund. I’ve been through that already for you.

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3 Comments »

Comment by Glenn
2008-02-03 15:48:25

Hi Luke,

Can EasyMultitrack be used to do the simple A/B testing at first, and then progress to multivariable later?

That way I don’t have to toss out $100 on Split Test Pro, and then another $150.

Glenn
http://www.mobility-scooter-reviews.com

 
Comment by Luke
2008-02-07 01:40:10

Hi Glenn,

Sorry for not responding sooner, I just saw this comment.

Yep, you can do simple testing with easymultitrack but it’s a little different.

Rather than just creating 2 versions of the same page (like page1.htm and page2.htm) you’ll create one page with a “token” that will then be replaced by your variations.

For example, you’d have a page with a “headline” token that would rotate 2 separate headline texts.

The only issue I have with this is that if you are testing more than just text (for example a new headline with a new font and size or color) this can cause issues especially if you are using CSS. It can be a bit of a challenge to get it all to display properly.

I still use both scripts here but honestly find myself using the A/B split tester a lot more because it’s just so simple to use. My biggest complaint is that it does not allow multiple concurrent A/B tests.

Maybe I should make one myself…I’ve thought about it.

I hope that made sense. ;)

-Luke

Comment by Glenn
2008-02-15 16:51:06

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the response.

I ended up going with EasyMultiTracking.com software and so far I like how it works.

Your review was very helpful in making my decision.

Cheers,

Glenn

 
 
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