Test your site and remove the guesswork

NOV 06

Your web site has an objective, right? Of course it does. And furthermore it'll have a clear goal that you can measure. If you are selling products or services online then that's easy to define - you need to convert those visitors into sales. Maybe your web site is for lead generation? OK, you have a contact form, you want visitors to fill in that form. Goal! Or subscribe to your email newsletter? You need to make sure your web pages lead people to that goal with a clearly communicated and defined call to action. That's where design, layout, content and usability all meet. If they are all in harmony there's a good chance  you'll convert those visitors into sales, leads or sign-ups. <strong>Remove the guesswork - know what works</strong> If you're a small business just starting out you can't afford to leave it to guesswork. You need to know what works best. Testing is an important part of optimising your site to achieve those business goals. Fortunately Google offers a free tool called <a title="Website Optimiser from Google" href="https://www.google.com/analytics/siteopt/exptlist?account=2129774&amp;hl=en" target="_blank"><strong>Website Optimiser</strong></a> that allows you to set up simple A/B and 'multivariate' testing experiments. <strong>A/B testing <span style="font-weight:normal;">Test two or more versions of your page, with different graphics, content and layout. Visitors will land randomly at one of the pages then you can analyse the results to see what works best to maximise your goal conversions.</span></strong> <strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><strong>Multivariate</strong> Many different combinations of layout, graphics and content can be tried within different pages. Essentially your visitors are voting with their clicks for what they prefer.</span></strong> <strong>Testing, testing</strong> Used in conjunction with <strong><a title="Google Analytics" href="http://www.google.com/analytics" target="_blank">Google Analytic</a></strong><strong><a title="Google Analytics" href="http://www.google.com/analytics" target="_blank">s</a></strong> it's an invaluable tool to gain insight into what is working on your site. Your money goes into your online marketing so you need to know what's working and what isn't. Testing is important in understanding what your customers are responding to and what is the most effective way you can ensure that you achieve those goals. <strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong>

Written by Steve Morris

Test your site and remove the guesswork

Your web site has an objective, right? Of course it does. And furthermore it'll have a clear goal that you can measure. If you are selling products or services online then that's easy to define - you need to convert those visitors into sales. Maybe your web site is for lead generation? OK, you have a contact form, you want visitors to fill in that form. Goal! Or subscribe to your email newsletter? You need to make sure your web pages lead people to that goal with a clearly communicated and defined call to action. That's where design, layout, content and usability all meet. If they are all in harmony there's a good chance  you'll convert those visitors into sales, leads or sign-ups. Remove the guesswork - know what works If you're a small business just starting out you can't afford to leave it to guesswork. You need to know what works best. Testing is an important part of optimising your site to achieve those business goals. Fortunately Google offers a free tool called Website Optimiser that allows you to set up simple A/B and 'multivariate' testing experiments. A/B testing Test two or more versions of your page, with different graphics, content and layout. Visitors will land randomly at one of the pages then you can analyse the results to see what works best to maximise your goal conversions. Multivariate Many different combinations of layout, graphics and content can be tried within different pages. Essentially your visitors are voting with their clicks for what they prefer. Testing, testing Used in conjunction with Google Analytics it's an invaluable tool to gain insight into what is working on your site. Your money goes into your online marketing so you need to know what's working and what isn't. Testing is important in understanding what your customers are responding to and what is the most effective way you can ensure that you achieve those goals.
Written by Steve Morris on November 06, 2009

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