In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, standing still means falling behind. To stay ahead, marketers must constantly innovate and adapt. But how do you know if your new idea will succeed? How do you learn from the past? That’s where marketing experimentation comes in.
By converting everyday marketing ideas into structured experiments, you can test your hypotheses, measure outcomes, and make data-driven decisions.
Marketing experimentation turns uncertainty into opportunity. Instead of guessing what might work, you can use controlled experiments to discover what actually does. This method allows you to iterate quickly, learn from failures, and scale successes.
The biggest differences between marketing experiments and plain old marketing are how ideas are conceived and approved, the expectations going into any idea, and what comes next.
The experiment structure is no different from what you learned in science class.
The benefits are clear:
By applying this structure to every marketing endeavor, you'll stop leaving a trail of failed ideas, and instead optimize and improve as you go.
Blogging remains a cornerstone of digital marketing. But even the best blogs can benefit from a fresh approach. One popular experiment is repackaging older, high-performing blog posts with updated information, new visuals, or different formats such as infographics or videos. This not only breathes new life into your content but also improves its SEO value.
But even the original post is an experiment.
By taking this approach, you begin to ask yourself questions like, "what's the goal of this?" Questions like that will lead to placing better CTAs and even prioritizing better ideas.
The goal of a blog post is to generate traffic. Once the traffic is there, the idea is to drive them further into the website. So, the post should be written with that in mind.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool, but even minor adjustments can yield significant results. One common experiment is to test different ad copy variations. By running multiple versions of an ad with slight changes in headlines, descriptions, or calls to action, you can determine which performs best.
Another effective experiment involves changing the targeting parameters of your campaigns. Try adjusting your audience demographics, interests, or even the time of day your ads are shown. These small tweaks can lead to higher click-through rates and better ROI.
You can also:
Email marketing remains a highly effective channel, but it’s ripe for experimentation. Start by conducting A/B tests. A/B examples can include subject lines, body text, tones, keywords, and calls to action.
Another advanced experiment is transitioning one-time email blasts into automated nurturing campaigns. Set up a series of emails that are triggered based on user behavior, and monitor the impact on engagement and conversions. This approach not only personalizes the user experience but also maximizes the efficiency of your email marketing efforts.
Learn the rules and structures of marketing experimentation that make agile performance possible with our free lesson and certification: