Troubleshoot and Optimize
Diagnosing "content not showing"
Work through a consistent order: is the activity active and within schedule? Does the visitor qualify for the audience? Is the mbox firing on the page? Is there a collision with higher priority? Is the implementation (at.js, launch rule) loading correctly? Most issues resolve at the audience or activity-state layer before you inspect code.
Debugging tools
Use the browser console to inspect Target calls, the Adobe Experience Cloud Debugger to view mbox requests and responses, and QA links to force experiences. Response tokens and mbox traces reveal which activities returned offers. Know that ad blockers and consent-management tools can suppress Target requests - a frequent real-world cause of missing content.
Optimizing after launch
Optimization is iterative: analyze results, form a new hypothesis, and run a follow-up test. Use Auto-Allocate and Auto-Target where appropriate, but recognize they need enough conversions to learn. Consider personalization depth - moving from a single test to a program of related tests on the same funnel.
Common traps
Assuming a losing test means the idea failed; it may mean the execution or audience was wrong. Also watch for sample ratio mismatch (unequal traffic despite even allocation), which signals an implementation or filtering problem rather than a genuine result.
Worked rule of thumb
When a test is inconclusive, do not declare "no effect" - check whether traffic was sufficient to detect the intended lift, then decide whether to rerun with more volume or a bolder change.
Common traps recap
Collisions, blocked requests, misconfigured audiences, and premature conclusions account for most troubleshooting questions.