Most web-based startups go through testing to make sure their sites appeal to their target audience.

Website testing services like Optimizely usually test out several different versions of a Web page with live users and measure the effect each version has on usersa4��a4� actions &8212' a process called A/B testing.

But Optimizely competitor Maxymiser says A/B testing alone is outdated. Maxymiser, whose clients include Sony, HarperCollins, Hewlett-Packard, Lufthansa and Virgin Mobile, says despite a recent $1.2 million all-angel round of funding for its competitor, the future for &''smart websites&'' now lies in &''multivariate&'' testing &8212' and it&'s likely to stay that way.

Maxymiser president and co-founder Mark Simpson told Venture Beat that advanced, segmentation/behavioral targeting and website personalization a4��Aare where the big brand players are now.&''

Requests for comment from Optimizely were not immediately returned.

Maxymiser, which is currently one of the top three website optimizer providers in Europe, says it recently saw a $350,000 in ��additional revenue for Virgin Games, owned by Virgin, in a single small test.

So what does that sort of success with multiple testing methods mean to the future of A/B testing alone

Simpson predicts the entire online marketing industry will soon move in that direction a4��a4� although new startups too often grab at any testing model they can find, he says.

&''The are a lot of small companies jumping on the testing bandwagon,&'' says Simpson.&''However, most are not doing it properly or thinking it through, and it results in an incomplete solution for what todaya4��a4�s market needs.&''

The London-based company competes in a rapidly crowding arena of companies, including the aforementioned Optimizely, Unbounce.com and Google&'s��Website Optimizer, all of which are trying to help brands figure out how best to test and build their websites to keep consumers engaged and spending.

Next Story: Vudu and Walmart launch Twilight Eclipse movie cross-promotion Previous Story: News Corpa4��a4�s Jon Miller: I cana4��a4�t confirm our iPad newspaper, but ita4��a4�s coming in Q1

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Tags: marketing, Social Media, website optimizing

Companies: HarperCollins, hewlettpackard, lufthansa, maximiser, optimizely, Sony, Virgin Mobile

People: mark simpson

Tags: marketing, Social Media, website optimizing

Companies: HarperCollins, hewlettpackard, lufthansa, maximiser, optimizely, Sony, Virgin Mobile

People: mark simpson

Riley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4��a4�s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting.

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