Below are the AdBrite results for the increasing RSS subscriptions test with full page ads. Cost per click campaigns were run previously and results are here.

An identical splash page was created for the AdBrite test as with all the others. As all the other tests I tracked results using the ccount script, one link for subscribing to the RSS feed and one link for subscribing via email.

Results of the campaign to the splash page:

• $ .001 cost per view
• $ .88 total spend
• 881 views of the splash page

Results once on the splash page:

• 10 clicks to the Subscribe RSS Link
• 17 clicks to the Subscribe via Email Link
• Total: 27 clicks (not necessarily subscriptions, see below)

Conclusion:
Unfortunately once you are on the splash page and click the subscribe RSS link it takes you off the site to a feedburner page, the person must then add to an RSS reader and you have no way of tracking once they are off your site. The same holds true for the subscription via email, once you enter your email on the splash page and click to subscribe it pops up a window and requires that you enter the email again. This means that we do not know if the 10 and 17 resulted in subscriptions.

Essentially the 27 clicks to subscribe (assuming they were all subscriptions) cost a total of $.88. Therefore each click or subscription cost $ .03. This will be compared to the other campaign results to know if that is a good result.

Below are the AdBrite results for the increasing RSS subscriptions test with cost per click ads.

Test Marketing Buy: Use cost per click ads paying for each click on each advertisement to send the user to a splash page.

An identical splash page was created for the AdBrite test as with all the others. AdBrite was the smallest test. By tracking using the ccount script described in the above post I could track the click throughs on the two links, one for subscribing to the RSS feed and one for subscribing via email. AdBrite marketing campaign was a CPC (cost per click) campaign to send individuals to the RSS subscribe page.

Results of the campaign to the splash page:

• $ .05 per click
• $ 25 total spend
• 500 clicks to the splash page

Results once on the splash page:

• 18 clicks to the Subscribe RSS Link
• 16 clicks to the Subscribe via Email Link
• Total: 34 clicks (not necessarily subscriptions, see below)

Conclusion:
Unfortunately once you are on the splash page and click the subscribe RSS link it takes you off the site to a feedburner page, the person must then add to an RSS reader and you have no way of tracking once they are off your site. The same holds true for the subscription via email, once you enter your email on the splash page and click to subscribe it pops up a window and requires that you enter the email again. This means that we do not know if the 18 and 16 resulted in subscriptions.

Essentially the 34 clicks to subscribe (assuming they were all subscriptions) cost a total of $25. Therefore each click or subscription cost $ .74. This will be compared to the other campaign results to know if that is a good result.

In this test I wanted to increase RSS subscriptions by testing various splash pages and different traffic sources. In this case I wanted to create multiple splash pages that were all exactly the same, however each one had different link tracking code.

Test: Determine which paid marketing campaigns increased subscriptions for the cheapest cost.

To start I implemented the code from the ccount script, read why I choose it here.

Steps to test:

Step 1 : Create Multiple Identical Pages
To test I simply created one .html file that discussed the site and asked people to either click the RSS subscription button or sign up to email delivery from feedburner. I then created multiple pages that were identical.

Step 2 : Create Redirect Links to Track
The RSS subscription button link (URL) was replaced with a redirect so ccount could track the number of clicks and the email subscription had a second redirect so ccount could track email subscription separately from RSS buttons. These redirects are created within ccount, you simply put the original URL and give it a name. Ccount then provides you with a new URL you place within the html page.

Step 3 : Each Marketing Campaign is Sent to a Unique Page
I created a unique page for each marketing campaign that I ran and each page had unique tracking codes in ccount. This allows me to compare what I spent on the marketing campaign with the number of subscriptions or actions I received. By comparing for each marketing campaign I know which one was the most cost effective.

See the image below, which is a modified to fit screen shot of the ccount admin page showing two links that were replaced on one html page. Shown are the corresponding number of clicks on each of the two URLs for RSS subscription through the button and through email.

Individual test results for various campaigns and cost analysis will begin tomorrow.

We are going to attempt multiple ways to increase our RSS subscriptions and post each test along with the results.

Tests will include search engine marketing on keywords, taking the person to the site itself or a splash page attempting to convert the person to a subscriber. I will also use work posting sites to find individuals interested, run ads on traffic sites that send unique visitors, both to the site and splash pages.

Other tests will be run to determine the fastest as well as the most cost effective means of increasing subscriptions, and hopefully finding a solution for both at the same time.