Blog Navigation

Blog Updates Via RSS

Articles Tagged with 'Google Website Optimizer'

March 30, 2010

Google Website Optimizer is a very capable testing platform allowing you to setup complex multivariate experiments using a simple, intuitive interface. So what's the problem?

AVERAGES LIE

Simplicity, while being Website Optimizer's greatest strength, is also a tremendous weakness when it comes to data segmentation. Google Website Optimizer doesn't offer the data granularity that Google Analytics does.

In Website Optimizer all of your traffic, no matter how different the traffic source, is lumped together into a single bin. You might be sending traffic from paid search, organic, and content to the same page. When you view data for an experiment on the page, you'll see aggregate data across all traffic sources...

Keep Reading »

October 13, 2009

We've been using a piece of code for a while that makes it easier to set up multiple Google Website Optimizer experiments. These experiments could be one right after the other, or even several experiments running simultaneously. The only requirement is that you should have a single conversion point for all of your Google Website Optimizer experiments. You may be able to adapt this code to situations with multiple conversion points, but that's likely to get rather complicated. So why use this code? Oftentimes your conversion point is a page that you're not really wanting to edit a lot, or may even be able to edit a lot. Instead of having to update your conversion page every time you set up a new experiment, you just add this code to your conversion page once and forget about it. It will register a conversion for all current and future experiments, and will even accommodate visitors who may be part of more than one experiment. So here's the code:

Keep Reading »

October 6, 2009

Every browser is different.* Ask any web designer about their craft and you'll eventually get them talking passionately about these differences. How Internet Explorer 6 renders CSS pseudo-elements (badly) and handles padding and spaces (randomly). How IE7 ignores CSS drop shadows. How floating divs never seem to work the same way in any of the browsers. These peculiarities have driven many a developer to strong drink.

When it comes to testing new webpage designs in Google Website Optimizer, speed can be essential. You want to get the experiment out the door as soon as possible so you can get preliminary data. Sometimes this means that things slip through QA. Browser testing is exceptionally finicky and time consuming. Not every office has a spare Mac sitting around, and with three different versions of Internet Explorer still in wide use—and no easy way to install all three versions on a single PC—it's no small feat to make your page variations all work perfectly in every popular browser.

With just a few Google Analytics Advanced Segments in your arsenal, however, you'll be able to see whether or not your new pages are functioning fine in all the right browsers. Hit the jump for details.

Keep Reading »

July 24, 2009

I've written a few articles before about the power of integrating Google Website Optimizer with Google Analytics, but the landscape has changed considerably in the past few months. I thought it would be a good idea to provide an update as to how you can view Google Website Optimizer and other kinds of experiment data within Google Analytics as it has become much easier with the addition of a magnificent feature called Advanced Segments.

As the title implies, this article will focus on finding data quickly and easily for A/B (or A/B/C/D, etc.) experiments, whether they be Google Website Optimizer experiments, or just some testing that you're doing on your own.

First, why would you want to do this? Doesn't Google Website Optimizer (or AdWords, etc.) provide you with Conversion Rate already? Sure it does! But I maintain that an aggregated Conversion Rate (for a single goal no less) is simply not enough. I demand more from my experiments, and by looking at my experiment data within Google Analytics, I can get a great idea of how the experiment is working for different segments of visits and for every goal on my site. What's even better is that by using Google Analytics, I'll also have access to transaction and revenue data, along with any powerful customizations that I'm already using to get the most out of my tracking.

Here are some of the benefits to using Google Analytics to measure your A/B experiment results:

• Segmenting the data
• Seeing statistics for more than one goal
• Looking at transaction and revenue data
• Excluding internal traffic
• Flexibility and the ability to customize data
• Custom reports, emailing and exporting reports, all of the other fun features in Google Analytics

I hope you'll agree there these are some pretty massive benefits. So enough of my gabbing, here's how to do all of this for an A/B test in two simple steps:

Keep Reading »

March 17, 2009

In today's competitive market there are thousands of decisions that people make on a day to day basis. A number of companies seem to blend together when it comes to meeting each of your potential customers business needs. What makes your company different? Why should people buy from you?

A Unique Selling Proposition is a statement, usually 10 words or less, that tells your potential customers why they should hire or buy from you instead of your competitors. Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or Value Proposition (VP) should be stated right away on your website to let visitors know who you are and why they should remain on your site. This should be a statement regarding why your company is the better choice, and what makes you unique. Not only should this statement be clearly expressed on your website, but it should be something you build your business around. Keeping this all to about 10 words or less can get tricky, but clarifying what you do best will allow your visitors to qualify themselves for your offer.

Some companies have become known for their value propositions, such as:

FedEx: "When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight"

Domino Pizza: "We deliver hot, fresh pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed."

So how should you develop yours?

Keep Reading »

January 30, 2009

Google Analytics is a fantastic tool as it is - and it's always improving, but there are a lot of people out there that have created tools to make it even better.

In an effort to make everyone aware of these fantastic and easy-to-use tools, I've compiled a list of the ones we use everyday. If we missed one, or if you've got a great tool that we should add to the list, please let us know! We're always looking for ways to make Google Analytics easier to install and use. I hope you find them as useful as I do, and a big thank you goes out to each of the people responsible for these fantastic time-saving tools.

Here's the full list:

Keep Reading »

January 9, 2009

As part of the expanding scope of the Google Analytics Report Enhancer, you will now be able to see the ga.js equivalent code for your Google Website Optimizer experiments.

In addition, I have also added checkboxes that will allow many of your to quickly modify your code for tracking across subdomains and/or multiple domains. These options will also be available whenever you create new profiles in Google Analytics or check the status of your profile data.

This is an extension of Shawn's valuable post on installing Website Optimizer if you use Google Analytics. The Google Analytics Report Enhancer can simplify this process, but you should still refer to the post for additional details on where everything goes, how everything works, and handling specific situations.

If you need the latest version of the GAREnhancer, click here.

The GAREnhancer is a Greasemonkey script. If you don't have Greasemonkey, you can get it by clicking here.

If you have no clue what the GAREnhancer does, you can read the original article by clicking here

I have also added a feature to alert you if a critical update for the script is available. If you see the words "Update Needed!" next to the Report Enhancer logo in the header, you can click them to download the latest version of the script. Once you've installed the updated script and refreshed the page, the image should no longer be visible.

There's probably a lot of ways this new feature can be improved, so leave a comment if you think something else should be added, or if you found this script particularly useful.

If you would like some additional help with the topics discussed today, you might want to check out the versatile Support Plans we offer.

November 30, 2008

Register Before Midnight on Tuesday, December 2nd To Save YOUR Seat For The Washington, DC Google Website Optimizer Seminar For Success!  

Over the past few Wednesdays we've been sharing a few tips on how to test with Google Website Optimizer. To get the full story on using Google Website Optimizer you'll want to attend the Google Website Optimizer Seminar for Success in Washington, DC, December 4th.

--Location and Cost--

• The seminar will be at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
• The cost to attend this one day seminar is $249.

--Agenda--

• 8:30 am to 9:00 am: Registration and Coffee
• 9:00 am to 9:20 am: Instructor's Introduction and Seminar Announcements
• 9:20 am to 10:40 am: Landing Page Principals
• Testing Basics
• Selecting a Test Page
• Developing Your Value Proposition
• 10:40 am to 11:00 am: Stretch Break
• 11:00 am to 12:00 pm: Landing Page Principals Continued
• Minimizing Friction and Combating Anxiety
• Design and Layout Principals
• 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm: Lunch Break
• 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm: A/B and Basic Testing
• Introduction to Google Website Optimizer
• Types of Testing
• A/B Testing Strategies
• Setting up an A/B Test (Live Demo)
• 2:30 pm to 2:50 pm: Stretch Break
• 2:50 pm to 4:45 pm: Multivariate and Advanced Testing
• Multivariate Experiments
• Setting up a Multivariate Experiment (Live Demo)
• How to Read Results
• Advanced Testing with Google Website Optimizer
• Advanced Tools and Techniques
• 4:45 pm to 5:00 pm: Closing Q&A
• Audience Question & Answer will be taken all day throughout the session.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to test your website and improve your website sales!