Last week, Google launched Google Website Optimizer, a product designed to help websites test different landing pages in order to determine which designs drive the most conversions. If used properly, this tool will make a lot of websites more user friendly, and for business owners, more profitable. It is a true win-win opportunity for anyone involved with the Internet. I am interested to get feedback from those who have used it to perform multivariate tests. Whatever your conversion action is - be it sales, downloads, viewing video, a certain path or number of page views, or other transactions - can now be tracked back to different creative combinations in a more straight-forward way.
Originally released as a closed beta in fall 2006, Google’s Website Optimizer is integrated with Google AdWords and is free to AdWords advertisers. Blueliner participated in the beta, although we did not take the time to modify our previous methods of performing A/B test cases to the new tool, which we plan to do now. The tool allows advertisers to receive up to 10,000 versions of a Web page. For agencies, consultants and companies that did not do much multivariate testing in the past, now is a perfect time to learn how to do so, with this intuitive tool. I feel strongly that this is one of the most important yet under-utilized tactics in all of marketing - TESTING CREATIVE. Prominent researchers seem to agree. In the recent book, What Sticks, by Rex Briggs and Greg Stuart, who my partner David Houle had the pleasure of introducing at the recent Global Executive Marketing Summit in Myrtle Beach, the authors prove how over 70% of $1 billion in advertising dollars went to waste. One of the key culprits, you guessed it - FAILURE TO TEST CREATIVE. I am a big proponent of thorough analytics and testing. From our experience, utilizing other types of multivariate testing methods, we have seen dramatic increases in conversion rates, as much as 500% in some cases, when new creative and site elements are tested properly. Recently, we ran a successful multivariate test, based on two key variables - 1. Form on the home page (yes/no); and 2. Flash banner (yes/no) above top navigation bar. The winning design (form: yes, flash: yes) outperformed the other combinations significantly.
Website Optimizer Screen Shot
So here is your chance to either start testing web creative, or improve the way in which you do so. Thumbs up to Google, who yet again, shows how it is simply ahead of the game in the web world. As Blueliner gets some good case studies using this tool under our belt, I will report back with details - pros, cons, etc. In the meantime, if you use the tool, please let me know how your experiences have been with Google Website Optimizer.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
It seems Google has taken a major stride to take over the cyber world after its purchase of DoubleClick with a record-breaking $3.1 billion dollars in cash, leaving other competitors such as Microsoft and Yahoo flabbergasted. Can you even believe it?….check this link for more details: http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625580
April 24th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Google closing in towards World Domination…but makes bad moves. Matt Cutts attacks hidden links, paid links and links in wordpress themes in a series of blog posts - an action that caused a huge surge of protests (ref:http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070416-020746, http://searchengineland.com/070420-111550.php). Moreover, Yahoo and Paypal join forces to beat Google Checkout. Can Google handle it? (ref: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070417-222131). On the other hand, Google seems to be soaring high on sales percentages as their sales goes above estimates of analysts (ref: http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625635) whereas Yahoo suffers from a downfall in the percentage of searches although their sales are pretty much alright (ref: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070417-172126).