What is testing?

In marketing, testing refers to the process of running alternative versions of campaigns to find the best approach. During these, you will need to monitor all the variables so you can work out what’s working, and what needs improvement.

A lot of tests focus on creative elements, particularly; copy, imagery, layout and calls to action. However, tests can be run across any variable in a campaign.

Whatever test you choose, there must be the opportunity to take advantage of the result by adapting the future activity. This can be achieved through a process known as ‘test and roll-out’. Here, a small proportion of the total campaign (often 10%) is run as a test. Once the result of that test is known, the best performing version is rolled out for the rest of the campaign.

New marketing tools have taken a lot of the hard work out of running tests. Programs can now help you set up tests, analyse the results, draw conclusions and select the best version to run.

Join the Discussion

Which elements of an online marketing campaign do you think are most important to test before roll-out? e.g. the images? The text? How could you test these elements? Write your ideas below.