mathematics-

Rocket Conversion Rates With Multivariate Testing

Multivariate testing can accelerate landing page conversion by 300% in one test by making it possible to evaluate multiple page elements at the same time.

If someone claims to be able to improve landing page conversion by this amount using other means, they are either very skilled at guesswork or lying.

The only full-proof method is by applying statistical techniques to the test process. By testing, I mean changing different elements that make up a web page and web site and testing to see if the conversion rate has increased or decreased.

This may sound straight forward enough but for anyone who has done even simple A/B split testing will know what a time consuming process it can be.

With simple split testing you could have to wait many weeks before being able to gather enough data from visitor actions and then use your own judgement or rule of thumb as to which version of the landing page proved to be better.

If you stop a simple split test when you think you have enough results and what you think is enough difference to show one page is better than the other, any mathematician will tell you the results may not be statistically significant.

This means you may not have gathered enough data and the differences in the resulting actions taken by visitors on each version of the landing page may not be enough to satisfy well established statistical sampling techniques.

Statistical sampling techniques have been around a long time and are applied routinely in the design, development, manufacture and quality testing of virtually all modern day products and processes.

Many of the current quality techniques and methodologies were developed for manufacturing by the Japanese who introduced such concepts as Kaizen meaning "change for the better" or "continual improvement."

In order to be able to test these quality improvements Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese engineer and statistician, developed a methodology and the mathematics to test the statistical validity of an outcome that improved the quality of manufacturing processes.

These same Taguchi Methods have been applied in different ways to the multivariate testing of web landing pages. The result is continual improvement to the landing page under test until the best quality conversion possible is achieved.

Unlike simple A/B split testing, multivariate testing allows you to test different page layouts, headlines, incentives, prices, images and colors, navigation and anything else you can think of and still discover the greatest improvement factors within a single test.

You are not limited to testing just 2 different headlines, 2 different sub-headlines, 2 different incentives or prices. It is possible to test many headlines, multiple prices, or tens of different incentives all during the same single test.

Multivariate testing solves the first major draw back with simple A/B split testing - the sheer time it takes to test so many elements and factors. Not only that, but typically 50% of all A/B split tests fail to give any enhancement, 30% show minor gains and only around 20% produce any significant improvement.

That means with a typical A/B split test lasting a month, if you conducted 1 test every month and 12 tests in a year, you can only expect 2 to 3 tests on average to produce any significant improvements.

With multivariate testing this is a thing of the past.

But in practice one would rarely test more than around ten changes at the same time since even with multivariate testing it takes longer, the more versions or elements that are being tested.

Multivariate testing also accelerates the improvement of landing pages by making decisions about which factors to stop testing.

Stop Wasting Valuable Traffic

Valuable traffic is therefore not wasted on testing page elements that have proven to contribute little or nothing and concentrate on factors that show statistically significant gains. This further reduces the time taken to reach a decision regarding the greatest improvement factors.

This combination of test factors brought about by the use of Taguchi test methods results in HUGE incremental improvements in landing page conversion rate and therefore in sales without needing large volumes of traffic.

Not only can multivariate testing analyze multiple factors in the same time, with the same volume of traffic required for one standard split test, but it can give you improvements in conversion rates that people using simple A/B split testing can only ever dream about.

Andy Theekson

Andy Theekson is the the Search Engine Optimizer a specialist who provides advice, tools and services to website owners wanting to gain more traffic from search engines, improve their visitor experience and increase sales. Andy provides a proportion of his advice for free and for a contribution to projects that help children in need. The continuing part of this article can be found at : Boosting Conversion Rates with Accelerated Testing

posted by fdwvsmr55035 @ 12:50 PM 0 comments

How to Study Biochemistry

Biochemistry is a notorious course for demanding a high-volume of information in a short amount of time. However, there are studying methods to assist students in learning efficiently and effectively. I have studied and interviewed groups of medical and science students that have mastered their course work. It is true that there are specific and detailed guidelines that these students adhere to and credit for their academic success. The successful student must excel in visualizing relationships, memorizing facts, and reciting complex metabolic reactions of the human body. With some time and applying these strategies and tips from past honor students of Biochemistry, you will greatly improve your academic performance.

Study Skill #1 - Do NOT procrastinate. The most obvious, and yet least followed advice by students. Biochemistry is a high-volume course that progresses and builds its concepts on the fundamentals. Moreover, many pathways and reactions require memorization and must be acquired over time. The last thing you want to do is cram for this course.

Study Skill #2 - Know the terminology and nomenclature, it will make things much easier down the road. An enzyme or protein will often have its function built into its name. Take Protein Kinase A for example. As a member of the Kinases, it will almost always add a phosphate group to its substrate. Or, take Alcohol Dehydrogenase, structures that are Dehydrogenases always oxidize a substrate. In this case, it oxidizes alcohols into aldehydes and ketones. Once you get this down, you will begin to recognize names and automatically correlate them with a specific function.

Study Skill #3 - Start with the big picture. There is no doubt that you will have to memorize multi-step metabolic pathways. The best way to do this is to start with the easy steps and understand the overall flow of the reaction. First, write only the substrates and products in order. Do this repeatedly, until it is memorized. Then add the enzymes. Then continue to add co-factors and by-products. If necessary, label each as an exer- or endergonic reaction. Use the nomenclature to help you remember what is going on in each step. For example, Phosphofructokinase-1 - adds a phosphate group (phospho-kinase) to the molecule fructose (-fructo-) at the first position (-1). By breaking down the pathways and focusing on the terminology it will greatly speed up your ability to memorize them.

Study Skill #4 - Buy a dry erase board. Use this to memorize the pathways and any other reactions you have to know. There are no short-cuts, but writing things out reinforces them in your memory. It tends to be much more efficient than staring and reciting from your textbook.

Study Skill #5 - Know the purpose of a reaction. Take the Bohr Effect for example. An increase in [H⁺] (decrease in pH), CO₂, temperature, and 2,3-BPG all occur in active skeletal muscle. They also all encourage O₂ release from hemoglobin. This makes sense if you think that working muscle is metabolic tissue and needs oxygen to survive. Incorporating the larger concept will also allow you to predict the flow of reactions in other situations throughout the body.

Study Skill #6 - Stare at the graphs and plots. These questions are virtually freebies on exams because all the information you need to solve them is included. Know what the x- and y-intercept, the slope, and the area under the graph represent. Know what makes the graphed line move to the right or left. You will absolutely be asked about the Michaelis-Menten graph and the Hemoglobin dissociation curve - these are staples of biochemistry.

Study Skill #7 - Seek to understand first, and then memorize. Like many other courses, biochemistry can be overwhelming at first. There is no easy way to memorize every amino acid or metabolic reaction. But students always claim that if they take the time to first get the concept down, the memorizing is not as difficult as it once seemed. Stay focused, break it down into small steps, and practice.

Jordan Castle is a medical student in Detroit, Michigan. His work spans many different aspects of the learning process and aims to help students excel in their individual courses. Detailed study strategies and practice exams can be found on his website at http://medstudysites.com Courses include: Physiology, Genetics, Histology, Neuroanatomy, and Histology.

posted by fdwvsmr55035 @ 12:50 AM 0 comments