What You'll Learn

In this training article, we'll show you how to:
 

• Use the Platform's dimensions feature to run tests on your campaigns and gain valuable business insight. 
   
• Leverage the results of your testing by dimension to make strategic decisions.
  
   

What is testing by dimension?

The Platform's dimensions feature is a great way to add an extra layer of organization to your campaigns.

But dimensions aren't just useful for categorizing objects in all-new ways; they can also be used to make smarter decisions with testing by dimension. Essentially, this process involves creating various dimension categories which can then be used to measure the impact of the various changes you may want to make.
 

For example, you may want to try out two different sets of creatives -- one for red bikes, and one for blue bikes -- and use the results to decide which product to focus your strategy on. Once your testing is complete, you'll have valuable data which should help you make better decisions about your campaign strategy.

Sound good? Then let's see how you can set it up!

See it in action

Join a member of the Marin Software team as we talk you through both how to set up testing by dimension, and the range of benefits this feature can bring. 

Click the play button to get started.  (Length: 2:52). 
 

How to

Let's use the scenario we established above as an example: we want to decide whether to focus our online ads on either blue or red bikes. To do this, we can assign dimensions to relevant keyword groups, then compare the results. Here's how to do it step-by-step:
 

1. Click the Admin link in the upper-right corner of the Platform.
    
2. Navigate to the Dimensions sub-tab.
    
3. Click Create + and follow the on-screen prompts to create the dimensions you'll use for testing. In our case, we'll create a new dimension called bike color. 
   
   
   
   
    
4. In the Advanced Settings section of the bubble, you can choose either Tagging Only or Tagging and Rollup. We'd recommend that you select Tagging and Rollup for the purposes of testing and analyzing your results.
    
5. The next step is to tag the objects we'd like to test with these specific dimensions and the relevant values. For example, you could tag creatives, groups, or even specific keywords. In our case, we'll tag a few creative variants that include reference to the bike's color with either red or blue as the value. To do this, we'll head to the main Creatives tab. 
    
6. Use the checkboxes on the left of the grid to select one or more of the objects you'd like to test, then click the Edit button ('pencil' icon). You will need to repeat this process for as many variants you're testing. 
    
7. In the edit bubble, select your new dimension from the drop-down menu, then enter the value you're testing. In our case, we'll do this twice: once for red and once for blue. 
   
   
   
    
8. Once all of your objects have been tagged with the relevant dimension, it's time to sit back and wait for the results. How long you wait is entirely up to you.
    
9. When you're ready to check the results of your testing, simply hop back into the Platform and head to the grid that holds your tagged objects. Again, in our case, this is the Creatives grid.
    
10. Next, click View Builder in the upper-right of the grid, then select the Dimensions category on the left and click the checkbox for your new dimension, then click Save. This will add the tagged values to the grid. You can also add the Dimensions column itself (if it's not already active in the grid) so you can see a summation of the data by each option (red or blue in our example).
    
    
    
    
     
11. When it comes to analyzing results, the decision is up to you. Either use the Create Report button in the grid to export the data for review elsewhere, or use the grid's filters to sort the data by the metrics you care about most. For example, we wanted to see which of our creatives performed best, so if we sort by clicks, we can reference the Bike color column (i.e. your dimension's name) to see which was our winner. For easy analysis of the results, we'd recommend running a report of this data. 
    
    
     
12. In the case of our example data, we can see that the blue bike performed better than red, so based on our dimension test, we would opt to move forward with the blue campaign and focus our strategy there.
     
13. And that's it! Those are the basics of testing by dimension. You can see how the logic of this process can be applied to almost any object in the Platform, and how easy it is to test objects in this way. Note also that the Platform features built-in A/B Testing functions that can also be of use in this regard.
     

Try it yourself

Now that you've read and seen the steps, how about trying them for yourself? Below you'll find an interactive section which you can use to run through the steps above in a non-live environment. That means that your results won't be recorded and you can take your time to ensure you really understand the process. 

Get started by clicking below. 

Want to know more?

Testing by dimension is a great tool for gaining valuable business data, and has many related features and factors. Below we'll link some useful articles that will provide insight into this feature.
 

• Training: Creating Dimensions
• Training: Bulk Uploading to the Platform
• Advanced Settings for Dimensions
• Using Dimensions Advanced Guide
• Viewing Data by Dimension on the Platform
• Tagging Dimensions Using Bulk Upload
• Tracking Performance with Dimensions