Maxymiser enables people running web sites to automatically serve the best combinations of content. By best we mean the content combination which is most likely to persuade a visitor to act on a click or a follow through on a process.

back to the top

How long will it take to add Maxymiser to my site?

We usually meet face to face to discuss your optimisation process and which elements of your site to work on first. After that, the technical aspects are quite straightforward. Our tracking tag (a simple java script tag) is inserted into your page templates and areas where Maxymiser is to insert content are tagged using a similar method. The process is quite straightforward and is no more complicated than the process of adding tracking tags for an affiliate programme or an analytics solution. For most sites, it will not take more than two hours of a web developer`s time.

back to the top

What will Maxymiser be able to test and optimise on my site?

Maxymiser is able to test and optimise elements of your site such as site content, internal promotions and special offers, multi-step processes (e.g. checkout, registration), landing pages, site navigation, e-mail marketing, product placement, pricing & merchandising, site or commerce search results and forms for explicit customer input.

back to the top

How does Maxymiser achieve results?

Maxymiser makes the process of testing as easy as possible. In order to improve the effectiveness of your website you first select the content areas you wish to optimise. The content can include text, images, links and/or fonts. We call these elements Maxyboxes. Secondly you choose the variables that you wish to test in each Maxybox. Finally you define the desired outcome (conversion event) that you wish to achieve. The outcome can be anything that occurs on your website like as a purchase, a registration, a request for information or just a click. Maxymiser then tests combinations and tells your web server the best performing ones to serve up.

back to the top

Can I start the simple A/B test with the help of Maxymiser?

Yes, you can. An A/B Test is when there are only 2 content variables. A simple example would be the testing a small or large checkout button? The goal of the test is to establish whether “A” or “B” get the highest conversion rate. Tracking tags and Maxymiser’s reporting functions can then compare conversion rates for the two variants.

back to the top

Does Maxymiser use multivariate testing methods?

Yes, it does. Multivariate testing involves testing large numbers of content variants and the effects of their combinations simultaneously. Because Maxymiser is intelligent it will quickly work out which combinations are working best and tell your web server to predominantly serve them to visitors. As time goes on Maxymiser homes in on the best combination. For example, Multivariate Testing allows different versions of a checkout button in different colours, fonts and with different supporting copy to be simultaneously tested. It will then determine which combinational version gets the conversion to a sale.

back to the top

How many variables can be included in multivariate testing?

Practical considerations take precedent here as Maxymiser has only a few system restrictions.

Tests need visitors, so more combinations with less traffic will delay your optimisation result.
Preparing innumerable content combinations needs to be considered on a cost/benefit basis.

Typically we recommend around 5 content areas (Maxyboxes) per page and 5 content variants per box and increase or decrease recommendations based on page the number of forecast page impression for the test period. Our team are on hand to provide guidance here.

back to the top

Can I choose the way of testing?

Yes. Maxymiser supports manual or automated testing. In the latter Maxymiser will decide which content is optimal and instruct your web server to populate the page with that combination.

back to the top

What methodology is used in the Maxymiser solution?

Maxymiser offers 3 solutions for Design of Experiment for its tests:

Random content generation, an approach that generates different content samples randomly.
The Taguchi Orthogonal Array Method, was developed in the 1940’s to reduce the number of variations utilised for a multivariable test, whilst preserving the ability to reach a conclusion on the optimal variation.
Maxymiser’s Continuous Optimisation Engine applies Bayesian machine learning algorithms and continues to test and deliver content with improving conversion probabilities as time goes on. Our Continuous Optimisation Engine identifies poor performing content combinations early in a test as a means of focusing traffic on the best.

back to the top

How does Random content generation work?

The Random content generation method is a good for Test Designs where you’re just getting started or where there is little historical data. The system will randomly generate the combinations of your content and, if left long enough, it will attempt to display each combination an equal number of times.

back to the top

Does Maxymiser use the Taguchi Method for multivariate testing?

The Taguchi Orthogonal Array Method of content generation is a good option for Test Design when you have many combinations but suffer from time or traffic constraints which prohibit testing each combination. The system looks at every possible content combination. It then considers ways to reduce the number of combinations actually tested whilst preserving the quality of the test results.

For example if there are 3 areas of content that we wish to test and for each area, there are 3 content variables. We know that there are 33 combinations or 27 discrete combinations of the content that we could test. Using orthogonal arrays the Taguchi Method might suggest 9 discrete combinations that would be used to run the test which simplifies the testing process and limits the sample size required. Building of these arrays is highly complex and Maxymiser has an Orthogonal Array library of over 400 types that can be used in appropriate scenarios.

back to the top

What are the main features of Maxymiser’s Continuous Optimisation Engine?

Maxymiser’s Continuous Optimisation Engine can be used for Test Design where there are sufficient page impressions to provide a statistically significant test of each combination. Traditional testing models divide the process of results gathering and optimisation into Exploration (the gaining of information with which better decisions can be made), and Exploitation (the freezing of variability and a pure focus on maximising returns given the current state). In the majority of tests clear parameters must be set for the Exploration phase that determine the length or breadth of the test so that at the conclusion of the test, decisions can be made and the necessary changes to content can be performed. For example, if there were 2 distinct entry pages that we were trying to choose between, and an unknown probability of converting visitors to new customers, then the usual approach would be to simply set a number of test visits e.g. 100,000 visits, and randomly deliver the variations in such a way that the end result was a 50/50 split of entry page “A” and entry page “B”. This represents the “Exploration” phase. Then, once the 100,000 visits were completed, the “winner” would be chosen and implemented. This represents the “Exploitation” phase.

back to the top

How does Maxymiser’s approach differ from other solutions?

Testing platforms typically design tests to have an initial exploration phase, where multiple combinations are tested equally, followed by an exploitation phase, where the best performing combination is selected. Maxymiser’s Continuous Optimization test design has the added benefit of balancing the exploration and exploitation phases optimally, performing these phases simultaneously and continuously throughout the life of the test. The effect is to reduce the wastage inherent in the exploration phase by continuously optimising and thereby maximising returns throughout the test.

back to the top

How does Maxymiser track visitors?

Maxymiser uses cookies to tag visitors. There are two types of cookie used for session and cross session tracking. Firstly session based cookies which live for the length of the current browser session. This cookie persists from the first time a visitor arrives at your website until their browser closes. Second a permanent cookie that remains after the visitor closes the browser. It contains a cookie ID that helps Maxymiser to identify this visitor if they return to your website again. Maxymiser uses both of these cookies to connect all cross-session activities into particular profiles.

back to the top

Does Maxymiser provide protection of privacy information?

Statistical information about visitors to your site who have disabled cookies or JavaScript is not included in Maxymiser campaign data. This protects all personal information and prevents visitors from being counted by our JavaScript code if they do not want to be tracked.

back to the top

Your approach sounds very advanced, is it hard to integrate Maxymiser?

Not at all. Our ASP solution requires minimal set-up effort There is no need for special hardware or software for installation. Our managed solution lies outside your IT infrastructure, so you can effortlessly get it up and running on any existing web site within a matter of hours. To begin the optimisation process, you simply need to place a few lines of JavaScript code in the area of the web page to be tested. Furthermore, that piece of JavaScript code can stay there for as long as you want to continue website testing with Maxymiser. No changes are required whether you run one test or continual tests over many pages, the same lines of code will handle all web page testing and all changes may be administered on Maxymiser's servers.

back to the top

Does Maxymiser cooperate with other tracking systems?

A major advantage of Maxymiser’s technology is its ability to work alongside any other tracking system you may currently operate. Your traffic analysis will not be interrupted while we test each web page. Each time a web page is viewed, the JavaScript is executed by the browser and the dynamic content is requested from Maxymiser’s server, based on client information and content options determined by our rules.

back to the top

Does Maxymiser’s approach provide just landing-page optimization?

No, Maxymiser can test any type of web page on your site, not simply restricting to landing pages. This allows you to investigate the content of landing pages, registration pages, pop-ups, etc. You can also work with more complicated content types, such as secure and dynamic pages, as well utilising our multivariate testing approach to incorporate more than one page, letting you test a series of pages in a sales funnel or optimise a page based on actions that occur on another page.

back to the top

My Google Adwords agency has already grouped my campaign keywords and created targeted landing pages for each group, will I still benefit from Maxymiser segmentation and PPC optimisation?

Yes, it is great that the initial setup has already been completed and the campaign is ready for us to optimise those landing pages. We may suggest further grouping of your busiest keywords but by optimising your existing landing pages, we will give you yet more uplift in conversions.

back to the top

Does optimising segments with Maxymiser take a lot of development time for my web programmer?

No, the beauty of the Maxymiser system is that our technology does all the hard work in generating extra pages so that they don’t need to be created manually. You will need to supply creative and content variations or our creative team can assist with the creation of those to your brief.

back to the top

Behavioural targeting (or automated personalisation) must create many thousands of possible page combinations, is the maintenance of these going to take up a large resource?

No, Maxymiser manages all of the possible combinations of content variations and your site structure stays exactly as it was before the optimisation started.

back to the top

What data do you store about my customers in order to perform content optimisation and how does that sit with legislation such as the Data Protection Act?

Our automated personalisation is most effective when we can monitor visitor response to your site dependant on certain demographic data that may include age, sex or geographic location. We store that data in an annonymised form against a "Maxymiser customer number" which correlates only to your own, secure, in house databases. This is a similar level of protection as is given to medical records when research is carried out in that field and since we hold no names or other personally identifiable data, compliance issues are minimised.

back to the top

Who developed Maxymiser?

IDE Group (www.idegroup.com) has developed Maxymiser after years of developing hundreds of web sites for clients. IDE Group is a family of internet businesses with international operations and a global client base. In web and application development we have many years of experience of subjective decisions on how web pages should look and work. So we invested in an intelligent and objective driven solution.

Maxymiser is now a stand-alone business unit within the group and benefits from first- hand knowledge of adapting web sites to improve conversion rates across a variety of industries.

back to the top