What is the inform method?
Unlike the traditional way of Server-Side testing, where you use us as the engine for deciding which variations a user should see (including splitting traffic, segmentation, throttling, etc.), the “inform method” is where you do this “heavy lifting” work and simply inform us of which variations a user fell into – somewhat like an Analytics tool.
Things to do – on the server
In the response you return to the page, please include code similar to the following. This should be included in the HEAD tag, before the wt.js tag so that when we evaluate tests, the data required is available.
<script>
if(!window.opt_data) window.opt_data = [];
window.opt_data.push({
data: {
"test_name": "variation_name"
}
});
</script>
For example:
<script>
if(!window.opt_data) window.opt_data = [];
window.opt_data.push({
data: {
"1_homepageUSP": "variant"
}
});
</script>
Doing this will naturally feed into our Data Layer, and make the data available for Segmentation.
Note: Please avoid names which begin with wt_, _wm, r_ and s_ to avoid clashes with naming we use for other purposes.
Things to do – In the Optimize UI
Now, you can build your test in Optimize. Instead of an AB or ABn test, you will instead use a Target – these allow you to dictate which users see which levels/variations with rules instead of an automatic 50/50 split. The rules we use will be to check out datalayer.
Building the target:
Go to New > Target > Advanced Editor
Use any project name as you see fit.
Select your project location from the list.
Use any test name as you see fit. The first screen should look somewhat like this when you’re done. Click next into Variations.
Provide any variation names as you see fit. These don’t need to exactly match data you’ve pushed into our datalayer
Click on the segment icon for each row, and make a new segment:
Click into Advanced, and drag Data Object Attribute into the working area
Use the key name and value as exactly what you’ve sent to us. Give it a relevant name and click Save and then close the manager window.
You should see it show up in the list – select it. The Segment name should show up underneath the Variation name.
Once both are done, the Variations area should look somewhat like this:
Add any additional conversion goals you need, pick an overall segment, and Save/Close. That’s it.