Creating Variations

Depending on the type of campaign module you selected, a variation can be either a promotion served by a Dynamic Content,  a JavaScript code fired by a Custom code campaign, or an ad creative served by a Display ad. Simply put, it is what you are asking the system to serve to your visitors. For each one of your Targeted Experiences, you can create a single variation or multiple variations to test and dynamically optimize your campaigns.

There are three ways of creating variations:

• Create a new variation – Create a new variations from scratch, select an out of the box template or a custom template built by your developer.
• Import a variation from another experience  – Use an existing variation and then edit the content to your current needs.
• Sync with Data Feed – Create variations using a Data Feed when you have a large number of variations and you would like to automate and sync their content by tying them up to a data source.

Creating a New Variation

The first step in creating a new variation is to determine which template to use as your starting point.

• No Template – Create your variation from scratch, using custom HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Once selected, the Dynamic Yield web authoring tool is displayed, with a separate tab for HTML, CSS, and JS on the left pane, and the preview pane on the right.
  • Once your custom code is in place, you can save it for reuse by choosing to “Save as Template” at the top right:
• Dynamic Yield Templates – Out-of-the-box templates that can be used for different types of variations. 
• Site Templates – Templates you have created and saved in your account (whether during the process of adding new custom code variations or by using the Templates section under Site Settings in the sidebar navigation menu) will appear in this screen, allowing you to reuse the template as desired, and push changes to several variations at once.

For more information about Templates, please see this article.

You can add variables to use dynamic values for strings by highlighting the relevant value and clicking Convert to Variable. For more details, see Template Variables. 

Importing an Existing Variation

Variations from other campaigns in your account can be reused and imported by choosing the ‘Copy from Another Experience’ option where you copy and edit single or multiple variations already existing in your account.

Syncing with a Data Feed

You can use a variation feed to create and edit experiences with multiple variations. This can be helpful if you have an experience with many variations that needs to be frequently updated. For example, a homepage banner with 10 different creatives that are updated daily. 

For details, see Syncing Variations Using a Variation Feed.

Managing Variations

You can always edit, add, delete or pause a variation from any one of your experiences from both live and draft campaigns. Click on the More Options icon to reveal available options. Layouts that allow multiple variations in a single view, such as sliders and item lists, also include the option to Pin Variations to the first (leftmost) slot.

Note: Certain changes could have a significant impact on running an A/B test. In such cases, the system automatically treats this instance as a new test version and begins to calculate its performance measures from start. Read more about test versions.