The market for A/B and Multivariate Testing technologies is growing fast.

Digital marketers are now realizing that these powerful technologies can give them a major competitive advantage.

But beneath all of the excitement and potential lurks a disturbing secret the Multivariate Testing vendors don't want you to know.

There's someone new hanging around the CEO's office. The CEO loves this newcomer and listens to everything they say.

If you're not doing Multivariate Testing now, you better get started. This new someone will be looking your way soon.

We often disagree with "Usability Professionals" because many live in a world of made-up babble and ancient, inefficient methods.

In fact, we just got a new report filled with usability babble like "this world of digital transactions is made up of spatial, graphical and textual components."

But if you breach the babble, you'll find great tips on where Multivariate Testing efforts can make a big difference.

A new report shows big growth in digital advertising spending.

Many digital marketers are already planning to throw most of that money in the toilet.

Google's data-driven ways are mysterious and wonderful.

Not to mention enormously profitable.

But could recent high-profile bad decisions be a sign that human emotions are creeping in and confusing the digital colossus?

Have you noticed that the landing page optimization "gurus" have been busier than usual at industry events lately?

They have a lot to say and lots more to sell us.

Getting all of those landing pages optimized sure does sound great.

So what's the problem?

Ah the visionaries.

They take promising digital technologies, bend them to their will and collect huge profits before you know what they're up to.

The few digital marketers doing this today aren't talking. Except maybe here.

But there's a guy next door who figured it out a long time ago. He's happy to let you in on a few of his secrets. And why not? He's already got a fistfull of your money!

For the last few years, whenever designers wanted colorful, leaping blobs of fun they'd usually do them in Flash.

Flash has spread so far and wide that you might even take it for granted. A lot of the banner ads that chase you around the Internet these days are Flash-based, for example.

So how do you do Multivariate Testing and optimization of Flash, a multi-purpose multimedia environment that's spread to every corner of the web?

Multivariate Testing and Targeting done right can produce game-changing results for all types of organizations.

Maybe you're evaluating Multivariate Testing and Targeting vendors or you've even done a few one-offs already.

Either way, it's great that you're getting serious about joining the digital optimization juggernaut.

Too bad it won't work if you're exhibiting these symptoms....

A report titled "10 Key Online Marketing Trends for 2010" arrived last month. We just gave it a thorough going over.

The data came from interviews with 155 marketers.

What's on those marketing minds and where do they think we're going?

Here's the cheat sheet...

Some digital designers like to pretend they're wearing a smock in a loft somewhere, tossing paint cans at a limitless canvas.

They try to fill every digital nook with flashing, blinking, hovering, "dynamic" clickable googaws.

A giant website recently cured itself of this dangerous digital designer disease.

The New York Times and several other newspapers have finally come to their senses.

They've taken their heads out of the sand and are now facing the mountain of evidence that people won't pay for access to their sites.

The great cookie flushing debates of the last 10 years may be over thanks to an intriguing new technology.

Can marketers finally reliably identify unique visitors without worrying about deleted cookies?

Maybe so. What's more, you already have the technology to do it.

Katie B. asks MrOptimization:

Hi Mr.O!

We've been looking at MVT vendors for months. Our team narrowed it down to one that we think will work best for us.

Then our CMO goes to a seminar where a Google Website Optimizer consultant presented and now he's all Googly-eyed.

What's the final word on Google Optimizer for Multivariate Testing and Targeting?

We decided to upgrade the MrOptimization.com server right as we were getting a burst of traffic from a pre-release of the new Multivariate Testing with Google Website Optimizer opus.

Not a good idea? There's a lesson in there somewhere....

Nowadays if you don't say "social media strategy" at least five times in each meeting your boss will think you're sick and send you home.

Bosses around the world were surveyed about how they measure "social media success" and eMarketer mashed up the results last week.

So what do all these CMOs say is the most important social media metric?

"You MUST have a social media strategy NOW or you won't even exist in the digital world!" they scream, twit, twaddle and wall.

But some skeptics are starting to think that social media may not be the shift in human evolution those hysterically breathless advocates want the world to think it is.

And the skeptics have numbers...

Anonymous Corporateer asks Mr.Optimization:

We've used Optimost for a while. Results were good early on but it's all gone downhill.

Now our account team is slow, the tests we get are weak and the system hasn't been upgraded in meaningful ways forever.

What's going on at Optimost?

Lately we've been running into an interesting technology that says it wants to change how we do Multivariate Testing. It's a magic black box wiith the slogan "test everything without changing anything."

It's also supposed to be easy to use and reliable. Does such a thing really exist? If it does, what are the catches? Let's lift the lid and take a peek...

Yes, we've actually heard people say that. People in positions who should know better. They think focus groups make their digital spend more "customer centric" and give them a digital competitive edge.

Agencies love focus groups because they're profitable. Many marketers do focus groups because that's what they learned in school.

Those who use Multivariate Testing will always beat their focus groupie competition. Here's why...