Google has done it again. Free E-Mail. Free Spreadsheet Tool. Free Website Analytics. Now Free Multivariate Testing. To be honest I was, and still am somewhat skeptical. Call me paranoid but I don’t feel entirely comfortable putting so much information about us in the hands of one company. I must admit I have reluctantly signed up for Gmail and have occasions to use Google Analytics. In the case of Google Website Optimizer (beta) tool, I have nothing but gratitude.
Website Optimizer Defined
Google defines their Website Optimizer as a free multivariate testing application that helps online marketers increase visitor conversion rates and overall visitor satisfaction by continually testing different combinations of site content (text and images). Rather than sitting in a room and arguing over what will work better, you can save time and eliminate the guesswork by simply letting your visitors tell you what works best.
Sample Implementation
I will set the stage by describing a fictional company with multiple categories of product offerings. Each product offering fits neatly into ad groups that have significant search volume for the search terms contained within. The challenge is to determine which text/image or a combination of text/images contributes most towards reaching the desired conversion goals.
Lets say in our fictional company’s campaign we created ten landing (Test Pages) pages with various combinations of products, offers, graphics and text. We then use Website Optimizer to track each Page Section or Trackable Item such as a headline, image, or promotional text. Your Conversion Page (e.g. thank you page for online sale, sign-up for newsletter, etc.) is identified and associated with the applicable Page Section.
The result of all this analysis and tagging are Page Section and Analytic reports that tell you which landing page items and combinations are giving you the bang for your buck. Over time you will phase out the ones that don’t work and increase usage of the ones that do.
You could pay a vendor for usage of a tool like this and this is probably recommended if you rely headily upon Multivariate Testing for your campaigns. If you are not in this category go ahead and use Google’s tool. The benefit the tool provides probably out weighs the cost of Google gaining our information…probably?
As always let me know your thoughts.
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