What is Google Website Optimizer

Posted on November 15, 2007
Filed Under Google, Online business | 1 Comment

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Google released a tutorial on Website Optimizer today on YouTube. The video is quite a lengthy demonstration on how to set up tests using the optimizer to help optimize your website. Website Optimizer is available in Google Adwords. That means you need an Adwords account but you can use Website Optimizer independent of Adwords. I call the Website Optimizer the third of Google’s online marketing product trilogy.

1. Adwords was created by Google to drive traffic to websites.
2. Analytics was created to measure, analyze and chart the traffic.
3. Website Optimizer is to test website pages for potential changes on the pages to convert a web surfer to a customer.

There are two types of tests available in the Optimizer. They are the A/B test and Multivariate test.

The A/B test uses a control script to redirect visitors to different versions of the webpage. In the A/B test you set up more than one version of the webpage and by embedding the control script, the application will then redirect visitors to the different webpages and you can then compare the data for each of the webpages.

The Multivariate test is different in the sense that you test with only one page but change the location of various sections on the webpage to test the different outcome from the visitors. Multivariate test will have the control script and section script embedded.

How useful is this tool? I think it is a very useful tool if you are in the online marketing business and you are using Adwords and Analytics because the optimizer serves like a what-if analysis tool for web marketers. Watch the video from Google and let me know your thoughts.