Taguchi Method: The Key In Ad Optimization?

For people who are looking for the secrets on how to master ad optimization, your prayers have been answered. With the help of Taguchi method your ad can land 10 or more times on the results pages. There is no doubt that you have probably heard of people trying to conquer Google Adwords by testing different ads that get a better click-through rate, since doing so can reduce costs considerably. Now the Taguchi method raises this kind of testing a couple of notch higher.

Just what is the Taguchi Method? The Taguchi method is actually a technique use for designing experiments that converge on an ideal product solution. It was developed in the late 1940s by a Japanese inventor named Dr. Genichi Taguchi, who was then working as an engineer at NTT (a Japanese phone company). The method has been used in designing cars and computers. So if you were wondering why the quality of Japanese cars is so high, that is all due to Taguchi.

Now you are probably wondering how this kind of method became associated with advertising. Well, the credit for that would have to go to James Kowalick who introduces the use of the Taguchi Method to significantly increase the response rate for ad campaigns.

The basic idea of the Taguchi method is to test as many variables as possible all at once. Now if you applied that in ad optimization, instead of testing two web pages (each with a different headline), you can test 40 different versions of the page, like different headlines, different graphics, different forms, including a testimonial or not, shifting the order of copy, whatever you can think of.

Then the system applied some complicated mathematical technique to determine which factors contribute the most to your goal. Then you can immediately look at all the factors and easily make your optimized page. Compare to the old ways that is easy as breeze.

Before what marketers use is the simple A/B split testing, which is very different. What you do here is make two pages, each with a different headline, and do a test to find the winner. After which you then make two different pages where you change something else, and then you find a winner from that. So by the time you have tested all 40 elements, you would have spent a lot of money and time in testing alone!

If you are still unconvinced as to whether or not the Taguchi method is indeed acceptable to use in ad optimization then take a look at the web. A quick search on the net will show you just how many people are using this method in order to improve their rankings. If that is not proof enough and notice how many optimization software that are based on the Taguchi method are being sold online. There is a very high demand for them. So, if people are willing to pay for it then it must be truly worth it.

But you do not have to spend money. You yourself could see the difference whether or not this method will work on your ad. Another way to take advantage of the Taguchi method in order to improve your ad is to apply it in Adwords. Just imagine, if you could test for one keyword, all the combinations that could get your ad the best response and optimize it dynamically, that would make your site pretty hot!

The big question is, can Taguchi help me optimize automatically to get the best Adwords ads out there? Well, the answer is yes. The interview the profit doctors did with the guy who talked about the "Taguchi method" of multi-testing many variables at once, instead of simple a/b split testing, got me interested in looking to see if there were any resources that cost less than $150,000 per test.

Success stories regarding the use of the Taguchi method in advertising abounded the net. One of the common examples cited is at the SES convention there was a company that conducted tests like this for companies such as http://ask.com and eBay, for about $30,000 per test. It was obvious that they were using the Taguchi method for this. They have refined their materials and are now providing programs for ad agencies. Admittedly, their system is now very sophisticated and of course very expensive.

Another company that does this for fortune 500 companies has clients like Colombia house, Accenture, Wal mart, Timberland, Monster, Zales, sharper image, and other big name companies. So, there is no need to say that this is a good service to use for ourselves, and then possibly to offer to our clients for big bucks. You’ll see dozens of stories like this along with a couple of testimonials from people who claim to have conquered ad optimization by simply applying the Taguchi method.

For years the Taguchi method had been successfully used for a lot of other things. For instance in manufacturing, if you want to test a whole bunch of different factors of design of a piston or engine, for example, something to get optimum results. The Taguchi method is use, so why not use it to optimize your ads?

Today, there are a lot of ad optimization programs that use the Taguchi method. All of them are easily accessible over the Internet, with their prices varying from cheap to exorbitant. For example, if you are good in math and can handle a program with kind of an arcane interface for just 2000 bucks you can buy a program that runs on your desktop. You can also get an academic version for 99 bucks.

But the bottom line is this. If you are trying to increase your profits and at the same time reduce your costs with the help of your online marketing campaign, you need to use "taguchi thinking" in order to get the results that you want.

Just how many times have you heard the old clinch, "If you are not testing you are wasting time and money." Keep in mind that underneath all of the traffic generation techniques and the newest promotional methods, testing is still fundamental.