What is Multivariate Testing? Types, Pros, And Cons

Multivariate testing or MVT is a form of A/B testing in which a web page is treated as a blend of various page elements (such as headlines, images, buttons, and text) that influence the conversion rate of the page. The page elements are personalized and tested against their original version (also known as the ‘Control’) to decide which version has the highest impact on the business metrics that you’re following.

In multivariate testing, the user divides a web page into different units and produces multiple variations of those units. MVT is highly suggested for people who want to check the impact of the major modifications on a web page as compared to evaluating the impact of one specific element.

In this article on Multivariate Testing, we have explained all the basics of multivariate testing and several resources related to it. We have also covered the mechanical details of multivariate testing, its different types, how to run it, and its advantages and disadvantages.

What is Multivariate Testing? Types, Pros, And Cons

What Do You Mean by Multivariate Testing?

Multivariate or MVT Testing is one form of experimentation in which several variations of different elements on a web page are modified and tested to identify the best possible permutation of distinct elements on the page to boost the conversion rates. Just as in A/B testing, the traffic in multivariate testing is also divided among all the variations.

Multivariate testing is particularly helpful when you want to assess the impact of drastic modifications on a web page as conflicting to testing the impact of one particular element. The testing methods are not only limited to conducting tests on the web page but it is employed in various marketing fields. One of the easiest types of multivariate testing is to operate it on pay-per-click advertisements.

For example, a typical Google Ad that pops up on your screen contains two elements that you can test; the first one is the headline and the second one is the copy. If an advertisement has two versions each for the headline and the body copy then a multivariate test for such an advertisement would generate four different variations of the headline and copy.

Variation 1	Headline 1	Copy 1
Variation 2	Headline 1	Copy 2
Variation 3	Headline 2	Copy 1
Variation 4	Headline 2	Copy 2

Conducting a multivariate test with pay-per-click advertisements is effortless as it only requires modification of the headline and the copy, and contains a limited number of variables. A web page, on the other hand, has an adequate number of elements to test. This makes it extremely significant for you to expertise your theory cautiously. The number of variations depends on the number of page elements. The more the number of page elements will be, the more would be the number of combinations (or variations). It is noteworthy that the sample size to execute the test will also be large if the numbers of variations are high. This indicates that you need to engage more consumers to your page, or the test will take a longer time than usual to attain statistical significance as compared to a classic A/B test.

Types of Multivariate Testing

There are various types of multivariate testing based on which you can allocate the traffic to your combinations. Let us delve deeper into each of them and see how they work.

1. Full Factorial Testing

Full Factorial is the most fundamental and commonly used MVT method. By practicing the full factorial test, you can allocate the website traffic evenly among all the testing combinations. For example, if you’re preparing to test 10 different types of combinations on your web page, then each testing variation will entertain one-tenth of the total website traffic.

As each variation receives the same percentage of traffic, the full factorial testing technique provides all the essential data that you’d require to identify which testing variation and page elements execute the best. This method will also allow you to find out which page element had a lesser impact on your business and which elements had made the highest impact.

Since this MVT methodology formulates no hypothesis with regard to the backdrop statistics or testing, we highly recommend this method to people who are executing or preparing to execute multivariate tests.

2. Partial or Fractional Factorial Testing

The Partial or Fractional Factorial MVT method represents only a part of the total number of variations to the total traffic of the website. The rate of conversion of the undetected and non-exposed testing variations is understood from those incorporated in the test.

For example, if you’re willing to modify and test 20 variations or combinations of the homepage of your website. In the case of a regular test or a full factorial test, the total traffic is evenly divided between all the variations. But in the case of fractional factorial testing, the total traffic is split between only 10 variations. The conversion rate of the remaining 10 combinations is planned or statistically figured out based on those which are actually tested.

Partial testing practices some of the highly developed and advanced mathematical techniques and also uses various hypotheses to gather information. Although this MVT methodology has many disadvantages, it has one pro point as well. It necessitates very less traffic and thus, it can work pretty well for websites or web pages with low traffic.

3. Taguchi Testing

Taguchi testing is one of the oldest and most obscure MVT techniques. If you search on Google, you’ll see most tools that are currently available in the market to reduce your testing time and traffic obligation utilize the Taguchi testing technique. This method is more like an “off-line quality and cost control” method as it helps you to conduct tests and guarantees an enhanced performance of products or procedures in their design stage.

Some people still consider Taguchi as a fine MVT methodology, but we think that this has become an old-school technique which is not hypothetically good anymore. Taguchi was originally used for industrial purposes to decrease the number of combinations necessary to be tested for quality assurance and other research.

It is not valid or appropriate for online testing either and hence, not suggested. The Full Factorial or Partial Factorial MVT approaches are far better than Taguchi testing.

How to Run Multivariate Testing?

All sorts of experimentation necessitate enthusiastic effort, commitment, and a logical approach. The process of executing multivariate testing is almost similar to the process of running a regular A/B test. Follow the below steps sequentially to run multivariate testing:

• Conduct informal research and recognize the problem drawn from the comparative and observational information.
• Define your motive and plan a solid hypothesis to resolve the problem.
• Generate variations for the multivariate testing.
• Verify the sample size and constitute your visitor sections.
• Discover your conversion objectives.
• Set up the test, review it, and then start driving traffic to your control and variations.
• Run the test until the statistical impact is attained.
• Analyze the test report.
• Draw insights from the report.

Advantages of Multivariate Testing

In multivariate testing, you assess a hypothesis for which various combinations are modified and tested to discover which combination or variation is best suited for all the probable combinations. The benefits of conducting an MVT are:

1. Determine the communication between various page elements

Unlike a regular A/B test, an MVT allows you to conduct an experiment on your own and determine how various page elements cooperate with one another. You can assess the performance of all variations and see which variation performs better than others just by testing the combinations of various elements. It improves the conversion rate and also determines the best possible combinations among all the tested page elements.

2. A thorough analysis of the behavior of the visitors

MVT allows you to generate a thorough analysis of the behavior of the visitors on your page and displays their browsing patterns. It produces full statistics on the performance of the combination and also shows the actual conversion rate. This aids you in redirecting the communication of the visitors to your page. The better the process of re-directions, the more are the odds of high conversion rates.

3. Exemplify the page elements with the least or no impact

A multivariate test not only helps you to determine the accurate variation of page elements that will improve the conversion rate but also exemplifies those page elements that contribute least or nothing to your page’s total conversions. The deceased page elements can be a text, an image, a banner, or anything.

Transfer or substitute elements that can grab the concentration of your consumers and generate some turning as well. It is always better to have a page element that produces something rather than completely nothing.

4. Understand page composition

The significance of inserting elements at the correct location can be comprehended from the fact that nowadays visitors come to your page with a very short view span. They dedicate the majority of their time interpreting and gathering information that is information declared in the first fold of your web page. So in case you fail to insert the elements at the correct location, you’re reducing the opportunity to generate a high conversion rate. MVT enables you to revise the position of several page elements and place them at their right location to ease exchanges for your production and make it simple for visitors to discover what they came to your page.

5. Tests an extensive number of variations

Unlike a usual A/B test that enables you to test only one or two variations of a specific element distinctively, multivariate testing enables you to test an extensive number of elements simultaneously by implementing the theory of permutations and combinations. This sort of experimentation methodology not only enhances the testing preferences that you can opt for to increase the conversion rate but also saves a lot of time by evading the sequential A/B tests.

Disadvantages of Multivariate Testing

A single MVT test can answer several questions but that doesn’t mean that it is better than every other technique. Everything in this universe has two sides and so has MVT. MVT is an extremely complicated testing method and has several cons as well. Here are they:

1. Demands high traffic to display statistically significant results

Unlike a regular A/B test, MVT requires high traffic which means it can show statistically significant results for only those sites that have an adequate amount of traffic. If you desire to run an MVT on a website with comparatively low traffic, then you might have to deal with fewer combinations or variations, or use some other methodology to generate the results.

2. Complicated to set up

One thing that compels people to go with other alternatives over multivariate testing is that other testing methods are relatively easier to set up. A simple A/B test requires only one or two changes in the elements or variations. Even complex A/B tests hardly ever need more than a few minutes to set up.

On the other hand, MVT demands more hard work and dedication even if you’re preparing to build a basic one. A small mistake while designing or making the variations can hinder the test results.

3. Hidden cost

Needless to say, that time is the most precious product for any business. When you perform a test, you’re not only spending your valuable time but also contesting your conversion rates. There is a hidden cost that you’re putting on the line every time you conduct a test. Compared to other tests, Multivariate tests are relatively complex and slow to build up, and slower to operate. The majority of the time gets lost while setting up and it generates an opportunity cost when you run it.

In the middle of an MVT, you could probably run a dozen of A/B tests and generate results.

4. High failure ratio

It goes without saying that testing enables it to circulate faster and helps to make your website more optimized and user-friendly. You get the opportunity to have some crazy ideas and can be unsuccessful hugely without facing any consequences. This approach might seem to be perfect in the case of a traditional A/B test, but it is not the same for MVT.

Regardless of the search result, the A/B test produces a sequence of meaningful insights but an MVT fails to produce the same in case of a failed test. It becomes reasonably difficult to draw meaningful insights from an MVT as it deals with a lot of variations at the same time. Additionally, multivariate testing is so slow and dull that it doesn’t make any sense for you to take such a gamble.

5. Biased Towards Design

After years of application, many optimizers have realized that MVT mostly answers questions related to design. Some of the dedicated fans of MVT are also believed to be UI or UX professionals.

Every design has great significance but it is certainly not the whole thing. The UI and UX elements comprise only a fraction of the total number of variables that are used to improve the interpretation of your website. Content, promotional offers, and functionality of the website are much more essential than UI and UX elements to hit the target audiences. These elements are often disregarded and undervalued.

Conclusion

As explained in this article, multivariate testing can become a very useful tool as it will guide you to test your decisive pages to operate vivid expansions to the key metrics.

Multivariate testing is a section of A/B testing that employs the same testing technicalities but evaluates multiple variables on a website in a live setting. It ignores the conventional scientific conception and allows the user to operate more than one A/B/n test on the same page concurrently. At the nucleus, multivariate testing is a quite complex method that necessitates more time, uphill tasks, and effort. But it also provides inclusive information to users regarding how the elements of different pages cooperate with each other and identifies the working combinations that are best suitable for your website.

So, if you are willing to enhance the performance of the landing page for your website and looking to generate a huge marketing drive to compose it as an escort magnet, then you can totally depend on multivariate testing to advise you to which page you should go forward with. Now, it is time for you to get started with multivariate testing and put the theory into application.