magnify360 Blog

Ever wonder why the rearview mirror on the passenger side of your car is distorted?

As the driver, your eye is further away from it. In order for you to still see the images, the mirror is given a convex shape, which shrinks the reflection. The images are there, but they’re not exactly accurate. 

The same can be said for behavioral targeting and web site optimization. With traditional multivariate testing, you can look back on results to see what made your traffic convert, but the data has been distorted with a little thing called time. 

The investment community puts it succinctly: past performance is no guarantee of future results. I like to say, “The right experience for yesterday isn’t necessarily the right experience for right now.” 

Your customer base is constantly changing. Just because a certain landing page performed the best last month or even last week doesn’t mean it’s going to be relevant to your existing flow of visitors.

Take social media, for example. It’s extremely dynamic, with a high volatility over winning pages. This begs the question: how can an online marketer effectively adapt to these constant changes?

Again, we come back to time. REAL time. To ensure the best performing page is always being served, you must be able to evaluate an individual in the moment, and predict what’s most relevant to them.

It all goes back to the driver’s seat. Ask yourself: are you staring at the rearview, looking back at past results? Or are you facing forward, shifting gears and preparing for the curves ahead…

 

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend Mixergy’s Conversion Forum last Friday night. @AndrewWarner can certainly pack a house, and this event was no exception. Thanks also to my contemporary, Tim Ash for providing his thoughts on landing page optimization, and to Jason Nazar of @DocStoc for skillfully warming up the crowd.

Speaking of DocStoc, if you were unable to attend Mixergy or are like me and can’t read your own handwriting, don’t fret. You can download my complete presentation on DocStoc here:http://is.gd/hkZJ In it, you’ll learn common landing page mistakes, best practices for conversion optimization, and other tips for maximizing your online marketing campaigns.

I also spoke with Andrew earlier last year about how to increase your site’s conversion rates now. To hear the interview, click here:http://is.gd/hl4p