Google Website Optimizer

Overview of Website Optimizer

Website Optimizer is a tool that can help you improve the effectiveness of your webpages. By allowing you to test different versions of your site content and layout, you can determine what will best attract users and lead them to convert on your site. Website Optimizer does not optimize your pages automatically or offer redesigning services, but it can help you determine what content will lead to the results you want.

With Website Optimizer, you can try out changes to specific parts of a page -- new headline, image, promotional text -- or experiment with entirely different versions of a page. Once you've chosen the content or layout elements you'd like to test, Website Optimizer will run an experiment on a portion of your site traffic. The tool will show some users the original content, and some users the new content, to determine which version leads users to take the desired actions on your site. When Website Optimizer has collected enough data, we'll provide you with reliable reports and a suggested course of action in order to optimize your site for maximum business results.

To run Website Optimizer experiments, you'll need to think critically about your current website content and the actions users take on your site, then develop new content. If your company has a marketing team that creates copy for your website, you may wish to get their help determining what to test and creating test content. Running experiments also often requires the assistance of a webmaster or site administrator, who will implement the experiment code on your site that will enable Website Optimizer to vary your traffic to the different versions of your page. Website Optimizer can be used with all traffic to a website, not just visitors through Google search results or through an ad or with paid traffic.

Benefits and Goals of Using Website Optimizer

Many users drive traffic to websites and landing pages without ensuring that the content or layout on those pages is optimized. Click and conversion tracking data from products like Google Analytics can help you gain insight into user behavior on these pages. However, if users are reaching your pages, but you aren't getting the results you want, this data won't tell you how to make your content more effective. The only way to figure out what content and layout will work best on your site is to test different versions.

Website Optimizer will help you study the effects of different content on your users. Experiments with Website Optimizer will enable you to identify what users respond to best so you can create a website that will be more effective in getting the business results you want. The goal of testing new content with Website Optimizer is to give you a clear path to improving your site to increase your conversion rate and your return on investment.