The Importance of Evaluating and Monitoring Your Digital Marketing Strategies

The Power of Online Testing

Online testing is a process that involves assigning unique identifiers to each test variable, running the test campaign, maintaining records, and analyzing and comparing the results. The winning variable then serves as the benchmark against which future variables are measured. Let's delve deeper into the testing process.

Steps in Scientific Testing

Scientific testing involves the following steps:

• Identifying the elements of an ad or marketing communication that you want to test. (Tip: It's usually best to test only one variable at a time.)
• Creating the test ad(s).
• Assigning each ad a unique tracking code.
• Maintaining accurate test records.
• Running the test campaign.
• Tracking and comparing results to determine the winning test variable.
• Repeating the process, always striving to outperform your existing benchmark.

Tracking responses online can be done in various ways. For accuracy, it's crucial to use a unique tracking code for each test variable and maintain accurate records. The tracking method used will depend on your specific circumstances and the type of response you're seeking.

Tracking Website Traffic

If you have access to your log files or another method to track the number of hits to your site, you can track hits to your web pages by appending a unique tracking code to the URL used in each ad. For example:

Ad #1 could be keyed with this tracking code: http://ProfitInfo.com/catalog/v3.htm?1A

Ad #2 could be keyed with this tracking code: http://ProfitInfo.com/catalog/v3.htm?1B

These tracking codes do not interfere with visitors' ability to access web pages but will appear in the server log files. To determine the exact number of hits that a particular ad generated, review your log files within several days after running it.

Tracking Email Responses

If you have unlimited email aliases available through your web host and want your test ads to generate responses via email, you can use a unique email address as the tracking code for each one. However, be aware that the more email addresses you make publicly available, the more spam you're likely to receive.

Another option for tracking email responses is to ask respondents to include something unique in the subject line, which serves as the tracking code.

Striving to Outperform Your Benchmark

The primary goal of testing is always to identify a more effective variable (headline, offer, guarantee, price, etc.) than your existing benchmark. Whenever tests prove that another variable is more effective than your existing benchmark, it replaces it until a future test reveals an even better one.

Making Testing a Regular Practice

The most successful direct response marketers, with internet marketing being just another form of direct response marketing, tend to conduct a lot of testing. Instead of viewing the testing process as a hassle, consider it a wise investment in valuable information that can help improve the profitability of your marketing. Given the benefits that testing offers, it's clear why it should be a regular practice.

You don't have to settle for mediocre responses to your marketing campaigns, unsure of what's really working and what isn't. If you're not already, start leveraging scientific testing to continually improve your marketing results, avoid repeating the same costly mistakes, and increase your profits. And if you're already benefiting from it, consider taking full advantage of it.