What is multivariate testing (MVT)?
Multivariate testing (also known as multivariable testing, or MVT is a statistical procedure used in marketing to evaluate consumer reactions to multiple variables during split testing. Split testing exposes groups of consumers to different graphics (often branded websites) and tracks engagement through metrics such as bounce rate or click-through rate.
Overall, multivariate testing allows one to test combinations of variables simultaneously to help optimize landing pages and marketing materials.
Types of multivariate testing (MVT)
It’s important to know the different types of multivariate testing to help determine which one is best for an organization’s experimental design and business needs.
- Full factorial: This is the most common type. The full factorial method tests all permutations of variables on an equivalent amount of website traffic. This is the most labor intensive and precise form of multivariate testing.
- Fractional factorial: In this type of multivariate testing, only a fraction of variable combinations are tested. Although it requires less traffic to execute, the results are less reliable and statistically significant.
Benefits of multivariate testing (MVT)
Multivariate testing--although a complex procedure that requires high amounts of traffic--has many benefits compared to other types of split testing.
- Quicker than alternatives: If a business were to do A/B testing multiple times or a complicated A/B/n test, it would take a longer period of time to conduct and analyze multiple experiments. Multivariate testing can be conducted all at once using multiple variations tested concurrently.
- Clearly identifies impacts of interacting variables: Some may view certain variables to be independent of each other (such as page title and visual illustration), but multivariate testing can provide statistical information on the interaction of variables.
Multivariate testing (MVT) best practices
There are several best practices to consider when conducting multivariate testing.
- Identify pain points: Before conducting multivariate testing, one must first know why they need to conduct testing. Qualitative and quantitative research insights can help identify internal pain points around marketing materials.
- Develop a hypothesis: As with any experiment, a hypothesis must be created to guide the testing process.
- Create permutations: It is crucial to determine which variables will be tested in tandem through each iteration.
- Determine sample size: All statistical tests require determining an appropriate n-size for the experiment. There are statistical formulae online to help a company determine the best sample size for the experiment.
- Define conversion goals: Companies must establish metrics that will help analyze the success of a test, such as conversion goals, click-through rates, time-on-page, and bounce rates.
- Set up the test and drive traffic: Once the tests have been programmed, traffic can then be directed to control and variable pages.
- Achieve statistical significance: The test can be ended when enough data has been collected to achieve statistical significance, which is usually a p-value of less than 0.05.
Multivariate testing (MVT) vs. A/B testing
Multivariate testing is remarkably similar to A/B testing, which is performed using A/B testing software, in that it is a form of split testing. However, A/B testing only evaluates one variable. As an extension of A/B testing, A/B/n testing measures multiple variables across multiple split tests, one variable at a time. However, multivariate testing is more effective than A/B/n testing because it can track multiple variables at once, resulting in fewer experiments.
Anthony Orso
Anthony is a Market Research Analyst specializing in supply chain and logistics, as well as data science applications in the industry. Prior to joining G2, Anthony worked in the research and strategy department of advertising. When Anthony isn't studying for his master's program in data science, he enjoys film criticism, true crime, and playing classical music on his violin.
