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Google Website Optimizer Available to Public
It’s been about half a year since Website Optimizer beta was released along with a two-part webinar series that introduced the nuts and bolts of the service. The first webinar was a little shaky from what I remember, and people had issues downloading the right software and getting the sound to work through the phonelines.
Okay. Enough digressing.
Prior to Website Optimizer, conducting A/B and multivariate testing would entail some complicated tailor-made sets of tracking code that was neither robust nor scalable. All of you analytics/ROI/tracking fanatics out there know what I’m talking about. Anyway, Website Optimizer has been declared out of beta and ready for the masses! I’m surprised that it wasn’t released earlier because it fills a void that few third-party systems out there can fill efficiently (and cheaply).
Their website says:
Website Optimizer, Google’s free website testing and optimization tool, allows you to increase the value of your existing websites and traffic without spending a cent. Using Website Optimizer to test and optimize site content and design, you can quickly and easily increase revenue and ROI whether you’re new to marketing or an expert.
Website Optimizer is indeed free and a valuable tool for split testing, but I can only partially agree that it can be done "quickly and easily."
Quickly?
To successfully perform split testing, there needs to be an appreciable amount of indiscriminate traffic. Obtaining these samples could take some time depending on many different factors.
Easily?
Installing the right Website Optimizer’s codes to all the right pages could be a bit overwhelming if you’re conducting a complicated multivariate test. Getting access to the files that require code could also be a challenge from a pure marketer’s standpoint.
Nonetheless, I’d suggest giving Website Optimizer a shot if you have the time and resources. Even slightly flawed data can give you some insight and a base to build upon.
Tags: Google, SEM, tools