Website Conversion Testing Tools vs. Know-How and Knowledge

Taguchi Testing. Testing and tracking. Split testing. Mulitvariable multivariate tracking. Complete testing suites. All these tools, and the list goes on and on...

There are many buzz words in the marketing world right now. Everyone has a tool or a new program that will magically increase your conversion rates and make you all the money in the world.

Remember this...

People have not changed in the last 3000 years. The only thing that has changed is our ability to:

• communicate faster
• travel faster
• produce more stuff
• store and process more information.

If you dig down, most vendors are just selling you tools and not the knowledge required to use the tools effectively in rapidly changing environments.

This Taguchi method has been around for the last 50 years; the technique itself is not new. But the way that it is being used and understood to increase conversions in this new environment called the internet is a new thing. The best tools in the world are only as good as the people using them.

The question that I ask is “how do you use the testing and tracking tools after you get them to make the money that you are hoping for? Believe me, you can easily do a test incorrectly and learn absolutely nothing. The value is in the learning - not the tool. The tool only gives you a way to increase your sales and conversion process.

When I started doing this, the tools that you have available today did not exist. I had a tracker, a spreadsheet, a page rotator and an html editor. With those limited tools, imagine creating 18 versions of the landing page, placing different code on each one, putting them in rotation and then finding a mistake. I have often said that you can go blind trying to do this stuff manually. But that is where I started with all this. The difference was that I had a teacher to look over my shoulder and tell me what was important. So, let's just say I have a different appreciation for the tools available today.

But again, knowing how to really use the tools and how to make non-statistically based interpretations of the data is a skill.

A carpenter learns to use a manual crosscut saw before he learns to use an electric saw. Although the power saw is quick and easy to use, without the proper know-how the carpenter can easily make an ugly doghouse while the craftsman can make a mansion.

Know and understand what you are doing and the process before you invest in tools.

Tools are leverage for knowledge - not the knowledge itself.

Best Regards,

David Bullock

Results-Squared.com