Hi Jeremy, what about split testing automation?

Submitted by zpivat on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 02:33.

With so many ads to test and track for many affiliate programs across different PPC engines, it's next to impossible to split test all of them and keep track of everything.

So, do you know of any automation tools that can help speed up the process, or at least make it more efficient?

Also, when you've found winning ads, you've to update all of them in those different PPC engines, which may be tedious. Any automation tips or methodologies to share?

Cheers!

Good question! I don't know

Submitted by Jeremy Palmer on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 04:35.

Good question!

I don't know of many commercially available tools that provide this type of functionality for affiliates. The only one I can think of is made by DirectTrack - http://www.directtrack.com/affiliate-ppc-bid-management.html

Most of the top paid search affiliates I know have developed their own scripts/tools to handle this. Others use the 95/5 rule and focus on the keywords, ads, ad groups, and campaigns that make the most money.

Best,

Jeremy

Appreciate the response

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 16:46.

Appreciate the response Jeremy!

You said "Others use the 95/5 rule and focus on the keywords, ads, ad groups, and campaigns that make the most money."

and I assume this is the technique that you personally use as well? (Or do you have custom scripts? I mean, you have a programming background afterall.)

Cheers!

Some parts of my business

Submitted by Jeremy Palmer on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 17:29.

Some parts of my business are 100% automated, others are pretty low-tech. I haven't developed a tool that automatically updates/tunes campaigns based on ROI - yet :) I use Optimize My Site (my PPC tracking software) to do all of my tracking and ROI calculations, then I make decisions and take actions based on the numbers. Generally speaking, I manage my entire business using Pareto's Principle.

I forgot to mention... I've

Submitted by Jeremy Palmer on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 17:34.

I forgot to mention... I've tried automated bidding tools in the past (e.g. GoToast -now Atlas Solutions and KeywordMax) but I found that rules and logic for managing an affiliate ppc campaign were too complex for these systems.

Back to split testing

Submitted by dupatta on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 23:53.

Hi Jeremy:

I think you posted a link to conversionlab.com's (by Scott Miller)
manual on testing methodologies. In it was discussed the cons of using
Adword's split testing tool as a poor man's split testing tool on pg 45.
ie counting all views against all conversions lead to flawed data when
one customer doesn't buy on the first visit and another one does.

Also Google does not " provide a means to show returning visitors the
same creative recipe they were exposed to on the first visit".
So if we can't use google then what would you or Amit suggest
for a simple A/B split test if we can't afford something like Vertster
or offermatica, or any of the other tools suggested by Scott Miller?