Most advertisers and marketers, because they don't test and track response of various marketing activities, are flying blindly, with little or no idea of what’s working - and what isn’t. Proper testing and tracking can give you most accurate and reliable answers to virtually any marketing question that arises. You can then make important marketing decisions based on facts, instead of theory or guesswork.
Online Testing Strategies
In a nutshell, online testing involves keying each different test variable with a unique identifying code (so each desired response can be tracked to its source), running test campaign, keeping records, and tabulating and comparing results. The winning variable then becomes control, or bench mark, which future ones are measured against. Let’s look at testing in more detail...
Scientific testing involves following steps:
1) Determining which element(s) of an ad or marketing communication that you want to test. (Tip: It's usually best to test only one variable at a time.)
2) Creating test ad(s).
3) Keying each ad with a unique tracking code.
4) Keeping good, accurate test records.
5) Running test campaign.
6) Tracking and comparing results to determine which test variable is winner.
7) Repeating cycle, constantly attempting to beat your existing control.
Keying ads and tracking responses online can be done in a variety of ways. For accuracy, be sure to use a unique tracking code for each different test variable and keep accurate records. The tracking method used will vary based on your circumstances and type of response you want.
Tracking Web Page Hits
If you have access to your log files or another way to track number of hits to your site, you can track hits to your web pages by placing a ? after URL used in each ad, followed by a unique tracking code. For instance:
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
Links with 1A and 1B tracking codes in URL don’t adversely affect ability of visitors to access web pages in any way, but will show up in server log files.
To determine exact number of hits that a particular ad generated, look at your log files within several days after running it. (Check with your ISP or web host for access to your log files.)