Search Engine Watch has featured a great article on A 4 Step Multivariate Testing.

The Article is titled “A 4 Step Multivariate Testing Process That Works” and written by Alex Cohen,  an online marketer, blogger, and presenter.  Alex is the Director of Marketing at the subscription flower delivery service H.BLOOM where he oversees customer acquistion. In addition to contributing to Search Engine Watch, Alex writes Digital Alex, a blog about marketing optimization.

When we talk about website testing, we mostly talk about what to test: unique selling propositions, headlines, calls-to-action, etc. It’s equally important to understand howto test (i.e., the process that produces better results).

The more complex the test, the more important it is to have process to minimize mistakes and maximize results and confidence in the results. Multivariate testing, with its many combinations, creative needs and more demanding implementation, is a great place for larger organizations to implement more rigorous processes around testing.

I suggest a simple four-step process:….

For more information on this great subject please read A 4 Step Multivariate Testing Process That Works

A 4 Step Multivariate Testing Process That Works

Twitter is testing a new analytics product, according to a report by Mashable.

Earlier this year, several published reports indicated Twitter was working on an analytics tool. And the company’s blog tended to support those rumors.

“Our analytics, operations, and infrastructure teams are working on a system that uses Cassandra for large-scale real time analytics for use both internally and externally,” Ryan King, a Twitter engineer, wrote in a July 9 blog.

The microblogging site’s newest tool is expected to allow users to view information about their accounts, such as the most successful tweets, the most influential followers, and which tweets caused people to unfollow them, the article said. In addition, users will be able to filter tweets by category using the tool, which is expected to be free, according to the report.

Several third-party companies, such as Twittalyzer, Tweetstats, and TweetEffect, offer analytics and trending services.

EConsultancy.com has featured an article on a new wordpress tool to perform A/B Testing.

Titled, A/B testing comes to the masses with WordPress plugin and written by Patricio Robles,

the tool is a Headline Split Tester WordPress plugin that gives WordPress publishers the ability to set up A/B testing of their post headlines.

Multivariate testing is one of the most powerful tools available to online publishers. But many of them don’t use it for various reasons, from lack of knowledge about multivariate testing to lack of simple testing solutions.

At a weekend hackathon event, a couple of developers decided to change that by building a Headline Split Tester WordPress plugin that gives WordPress publishers the ability to set up A/B testing of their post headlines.

One of the developers explained on his blog:

To find out more read econsultancy.com/us/blog/6889-a-b-testing-comes-to-the-masses-with-wordpress-plugin

searchengineland.com have published an article on PPC Testing Technicques and Tools for testing PPC Campaigns.

Written by Josh Dreller, the Vice President of Media Technology for Fuor Digital, an agency concentrated in the research, planning, buying and stewardship of digital media marketing campaigns, PPC Testing Part 1: The Ground Rules the fundamental issue referred to is that ’success with paid search requires an always testing mindset.’

His view being that alwsays testing: ‘is a continuous reminder that the difference between great search engine marketers and just good ones is that the great ones are always trying to get more efficiency from their accounts.’

This first part in the series features a number of ‘ground rules’ which includes:

Don’t disrupt normal account practices.

Don’t test too many variables at once.

Give your tests enough time to get real results.

For a full list you can read the great article on PPC Testing Part 1: The Ground Rules

Nick Mediati, of PcWorld.com featured an excellent and insightful article on Browser Speed Testing today.

Titled, Lab Notes: The Inside Scoop on Browser Speed Testing, the article delves into the techniques used when they conduct Browser based Testing.

The article provides 3 main options when testing Browser Speed:

Option 1: Testing on “Live” Sites

Option 2: Testing on a Closed Network

Option 3: Benchmarking

With analysis of the pros and cons as well as the final approach taken and major hiccups encountered.

For more information please read Lab Notes: The Inside Scoop on Browser Speed Testing.

Technology blog TechCrunch recently reported on a new testing tool that has received startup funding via the TechStars Boston Graduates scheme.  Originally posted in a report by Don Dodge, who blogs at Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing and is a Developer Advocate for Google, the TechStars program is ‘a seed accelerator program that selects about ten companies and provides funding of $18,000 per team, as well as support and mentorship’.

From the list, Mogotest is a front-end testing tool to help companies ensure that their web sites render properly across various web browsers and platforms.

MogoTest can spider your web site or test individual pages to help you spot browser inconsistencies. The company gave a demo of a very easy to use comparison tool that visually puts two browsers side by side so you can quickly spot inconsistencies between various browsers. It works with all browsers and all platforms including mobile browsers.

Currently in private Alpha testing phase, you can get more info by going to the official site.

Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different browsers. It is a free open-source online service created by Johann C. Rocholl. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers will open your website in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the central server here.

• Chrome 5.0
• Dillo 0.8,  Dillo 2.0, Dillo 2.1
• Epiphany 2.22
• Firefox 2.0, Firefox 3.0, Firefox 3.1, Firefox 3.5, Firefox 3.6,
  
• Flock 1.2, Flock 2.5
• Galeon 2.0
• Iceape 1.1
• Iceweasel 2.0, Iceweasel 3.0
• Kazehakase 0.5
• Konqueror 3.5, Konqueror 4.2, Konqueror 4.3,
• Minefield 3.2, Minefield 3.6, Minefield 3.7
• Navigator 9.0
• Opera 10.0, Opera 9.50, Opera 9.63, Opera 9.80
• SeaMonkey 1.1
• SeaMonkey 2.0
• Shiretoko 3.5
• Avant 11.7
• Chrome 4.1
• Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, Firefox 3.0, Firefox 3.5, Firefox 3.6
• Flock 1.2,Flock 2.5
• K-Meleon 1.1,K-Meleon 1.5
• Minefield 3.2,Minefield 3.7
• MSIE 4.0, MSIE 5.0, MSIE 5.5,MSIE 6.0,MSIE 7.0,MSIE 8.0
• Navigator 9.0, Netscape 8.1
• Opera 10.0,Opera 7.0,Opera 7.11,Opera 7.54,Opera 8.0,Opera 8.53,Opera 8.54,Opera 9.27,Opera 9.50,Opera 9.51,Opera 9.52, Opera 9.60,Opera 9.61,Opera 9.62,,Opera 9.63,Opera 9.64,Opera 9.80
• Safari 3.0, Safari 3.2, Safari 4.0
• SeaMonkey 1.1,SeaMonkey 2.0
• Shiretoko 3.1, Shiretoko 3.5
• Firefox 2.0
• Kazehakase 0.5

View TesterTools dedicated page for this tool.

BrowserLab provides web designers exact renderings of their web pages in multiple browsers and operating systems, on demand. BrowserLab is a powerful solution for cross-browser compatibility testing, featuring multiple viewing and comparison tools, as well as customizable preferences. Since BrowserLab is an online service, it can be accessed from virtually any computer connected to the web. Also, Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4 software

users have access to additional functionality such as testing local and active content.

Supported Browsers and Operating Systems

* Firefox 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 (Windows XP and Mac OS X)
* Internet Explorer 6.X, 7.X, and 8.X (Windows XP)
* Safari 3.X and 4.X (Mac OS X)
* Chrome 3.0 (Windows XP)

Viewing and Diagnostics Tools

Screenshots can be viewed in a single view, side by side view, or as an overlay view with variable transparency. Each viewing option features a zoom function. We’ve also added measurement tools like Rulers and Guides, custom Onion Skin Registration, as well as the ability to move quickly to specific areas of a screenshot. You can also save screenshots in 1-Up or 2-Up views.
Browser Sets

Browser Sets allow designers to customize, edit, and save a combination of browsers to test.

Want to see what your website looks like on the iPad? Get a load of iPad Peek, a new web-based emulator that shows you how any site renders on the new Apple device. iPad Peek has a few limitations. There’s no touch scrolling, ads produce pop-ups, and embedded Flash videos and objects will still render inside the emulator even though the real iPad doesn’t do Flash. So, it’s basically a Webkit wrapper set to a fixed width and height. But, it does give you a pretty close approximation of how your site will look on the new shiny IPAD.

View TesterTools dedicated page for this tool.