Google Website Optimizer Blog

Using Website Optimizer with Google Analytics - Case Study with Catalogs.com

2009-10-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

The following is a guest post from Julie Ferrara-Brown, Director of Quantitative Analysis for WebShare. WebShare is one of our Website Optimizer Authorized Consultants. The case focuses on exploring more than just a single conversion.

Often, optimizing a site means more than optimizing for a single conversion. Understanding how your test pages and sections affect bounce rate, ecommerce revenue, time on site, and all the other metrics provided by Google Analytics can be even more useful than a single conversion rate in painting a picture of how your site is used.

Good news! You can use Google Website Optimizer and Google Analytics together to open up a whole new world of optimization and testing for your site.

A Single Conversion is Not Enough

Catalogs.com worked with WebShare, a Google Analytics & Website Optimizer Authorized Consultancy, to plan and run a test that integrated both tools to collect and analyze a wealth of data. With a number of different monetization paths, the Catalogs.com website wanted to know not only whether alternative versions increase overall conversions, but also what impact would these versions have on specific types of conversions and the revenue associated with them.

During this test, while Website Optimizer as a standalone tool was able to show that overall conversions had increased by 6.8%, the integration with Google Analytics showed much more granular and relevant improvements:

Specifically, catalog orders rose by almost 11%
Total revenue from all conversion types was up 7.4%

“It’s great to know that the changes we tested gave us an increase in our overall conversions, but all of our different conversion actions are not equal in terms of the revenue they bring in,” explains Matt Craine of Catalogs.com. “It’s possible that the increase in overall conversion rate could actually lose us money because it was due to a design enticing visitors toward a low value conversion at the expense of our higher value actions.”

Setting up the Test

The aim of this experiment was to test different layouts across all of the sites’ merchant pages. The experiment was set up as a single variable, four-state MVT, encompassing every one of these merchant pages.

Three variations were created, and each merchant page was available in one of its three formats by using different file extensions (.alpha, .beta, and .gamma). The test variable was actually just a piece of script that controlled which version of merchant pages a visitor would see.

Running the Analysis – Website Optimizer

Over the course of a few weeks, almost 70,000 unique visitors participated in the experiment and performed almost 30,000 overall conversion actions. We could see in the Website Optimizer experiment reports that we had found a winner in the Beta version:

This, however, simply told us that Beta was more likely to result in a conversion, regardless of type or associated revenue. Enter Google Analytics.

Getting Additional Data From Google Analytics

In this case, the easiest way to see the Google Analytics data for each variation is by using Advanced Segments. Since each template had its own extension, we can create an advanced segment that matches the “Page” dimension with a specific extension. The result is that the segment will only include data for sessions that included a pageview on one or more pages that matched that condition. Below is an example for the Alpha variation:

After creating a segment for each of the variations, it’s simply a matter of applying those segments to any report in Google Analytics and setting the appropriate date range. Now we can see, side-by-side, data for all the variations in any of Google Analytics’ reports.

Running the Numbers

As an analytics platform (and not a testing platform), Google Analytics was not designed to perform the necessary statistical analysis to evaluate this data, but with the numbers it provides, you can perform an enormous amount of offline analysis. Let’s take the case of the bottom line, be-all, end-all metric: Total Revenue.

For all the statisticians out there, in this particular case an F test blocked by day was performed to compare means. The results can be seen in the following analysis.

What this boils down to is that circles that do not overlap or barely overlap represent a significant difference, and in this case the Beta variation is statistically our best variation in terms of generating revenue.

Why Look at Lots of Metrics?

Although we’ve only shown revenue analysis here, it’s important to note that performing this kind of analysis on a number of different metrics can really help you understand your visitors and their experience.

For example, during this test we also found that the Beta version (the version that provided more conversions, more high value conversions, and more revenue) also had the worst bounce rate!

Just because a visitor doesn't leave a site from the first page they land on does not mean they are going to convert.

Get Integrated!

Depending upon your test type and implementation, there are a number of different ways to integrate Website Optimizer experiments with Google Analytics, and hopefully this post has helped to demonstrate the power of having all that wonderful data available in your testing.

“Looking at a puzzle piece by itself is a good way to start toward a solution, but it doesn’t tell you the full story,” says Catalogs.com owner Leslie Linevsky. “Putting all those pieces together shows me how small changes are impacting my business as a whole.”

Thanks to WebShare and Catalogs.com for sharing this case study.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Introducing the Website Optimizer Experiment Management API

2009-10-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today at the eMetrics conference in Washington DC we announced the new Website Optimizer Experiment Management API. The API allows for the creation and management of experiments outside of the Website Optimizer interface. I'd like to share a bit about why we are so excited about the API.

Today, creating and launching a Website Optimizer experiment is a series of steps. Depending on the design of your website, the content you want to test, and how savvy you are, these steps can be easy and quick or potentially difficult.

One of the most important steps in creating an experiment is adding the Website Optimizer tags to the test pages. This step can be problematic if your website uses a content management system or a third party shopping cart since it can be difficult to directly access the code for these pages.

With the Website Optimizer Experiment Management API, these platforms can integrate Website Optimizer directly into their services. Today we have two platforms that are launching their integrations: CrownPeak and Blast Advanced Media's Motivity CMS.

Both integrations allow you to create and launch Website Optimizer experiments without touching your website's code. Many other platforms are working on integrating with Website Optimizer, and we're excited about helping more businesses increase their conversion rates through website testing.

Getting Started with the API

If you'd like to learn more about using the Website Optimizer API, we've got a number of resources for you. First and foremost is the Website Optimizer API site on Google Code. There you'll find complete documentation on the API and our Getting Started guide.

We also have set up a special Google Group for the Website Optimizer Experiment Management API. It's a place where you can discuss implementations and get questions answered. Visit the group here: http://groups.google.com/group/gwo-api/.

Upcoming Webinar

Lastly, we'd like to invite you to join us for a special webinar on the Website Optimizer Experiment Management API. The webinar will be held on October 28th at 10AM PDT. During the webinar, Website Optimizer engineers will walk you through how the API works. Also Blast Advanced Media and CrownPeak will demonstrate how they've integrated Website Optimizer into their platforms.

You need to register for the webinar, which you can do here: https://googleonline.webex.com/googleonline/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=577316679. We'll record the webinar as well so you can reference it later.

We're very excited about the Website Optimizer API and what it means for website testing. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Follow your conversions with over time charts

2009-10-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

If you've recently looked at your Website Optimizer reports you may have noticed something different. Today we launched another new feature designed to help you better understand the performance of your variations: over time charts.

With over time charts you can see the cumulative conversion rate of each combination over the life of an experiment. This can give you a better understanding of how your site is performing. The new charts are available for all Website Optimizer experiments, and you'll find them on the reports page.

We'd like to give a special thanks to Dennis Huo, who interned with us this past summer and built over time charts as part of his work here. Thanks for the charts, Dennis!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Join the Website Optimizer team at eMetrics in Washington DC

2009-10-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging from 30,000 feet on my way from San Francisco to Washington DC (thanks Virgin) to let you know that the Website Optimizer team will be at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in Washington DC this week. If you'll be at eMetrics please come by the Google booth or the Google room to say hello.

Additionally we're holding two free training sessions during the conference breaks. On Tuesday from 10:30am to 11:00am, I'll be leading a Website Optimizer 101 session. If you're feeling a little more advanced, you should join the Website Optimizer engineers for a special techie session on Wednesday, also at 10:30AM. Both sessions are being held in the Beech conference room, and are open to all attendees of eMetrics.

We're looking forward to seeing you there

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Upcoming webinar: Planning and Running Your First Experiment in Website Optimizer

2009-09-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

A little while back we hosted a webinar with Tim Ash, one of our Website Optimizer Authorized Consultants, on the 7 Sins of Landing Page Design. Thousands of people watched the webinar, and for many it sparked the question, "Now I know why visitors aren't converting, but what do I do about it?"

To guide you through the next step we're hosting another free webinar this week. It's being led by David Booth who also runs our Website Optimizer Seminars for Success. I've watched David teach Website Optimizer to hundreds of folks and he is an expert trainer. During the 1-hour webinar he's going to share with you how to plan and run your first experiment in Website Optimizer. Afterwards, David will be taking your live questions for a 30 minute Q&A session.

The webinar is being held on Thursday, September 24th at 10AM PDT. If you can't make it, don't worry, we'll also post it on the GWO YouTube channel.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

New Website Optimizer feature: Experiment Notes

2009-09-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Part of running a good experiment is documenting what you are testing and the results. We released a new feature today called experiment notes, which helps you include documentation as part of your testing. For any of your experiments you can now add your own annotations.

What you put in your note depends on what stage your experiment is in. If you're still designing your experiment you might include your testing hypothesis or some variations you're considering. As your experiment is running, you might include any external factors that might have an impact on your conversion rate. And as your experiment concludes you might include some thoughts on why variations performed as they did.

Experiment notes are also great if you have several teams coordinating on a Website Optimizer experiment. For example, your IT team might update the note once they've installed the Website Optimizer tags on the test page. Your creative team can then start creating variations in Website Optimizer and update the note.

You'll find experiment notes on the Settings page for any experiment. Leave us a "note" in the comments to let us know what you think.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Conversion is the word at SES San Jose this week

2009-08-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Strategies San Jose starts today, and conversions is definitely a hot topic. Members of the Website Optimizer team and our partners are speaking throughout the show, and there's a lot more going on.

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Always Be Testing - Bryan Eisenberg - 10:00-11:30
Creating a Web Analytics Culture - Feras Alhlou - 11:45-12:45
How to Turn Your Web Analytics into a Money Making Machine - Avinash Kaushik, Bryan Eisenberg, Jim Sterne - 1:45-2:45
Extreme Makeover: Conversion Edition - Bryan Eisenberg - 4:30-5:30

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Convert Your Visitors to Customers (Google Site Search) - Nitin Mangtani - 10:45am - 12:00pm
Landing Page Testing & Tuning - Tim Ash - 10:45-12:00
Google AdWords, Analytics & Website Optimizer Secrets Revealed + Google Science Fair - 2:30pm - 3:45pm
Real World Multivariate Testing - Trevor Claiborne (that's me), Jim McDonald, Ayat Shukairy, David Sprinkle - 4:00pm - 5:15pm
Turning Simple Change Into Big Profit - Matthew Bailey, Kayden Kelly, and Lance Loveday - 4:00-5:15

Thursday, August 13

Extreme Makeover: Live Landing Page Clinic - Tim Ash - 2:15-3:30
Extreme Makerover: Why am I not making enough sales - Brendan Regan - 3:45-5:00

On Wednesday, we're holding a special session: Google AdWords, Analytics & Website Optimizer Secrets Revealed. Sandra Cheng, Product Manager for Website Optimizer, will be unveiling the largest Website Optimizer experiment to date. Also, please join us for the Google Science Fair. Engineers and product managers from AdWords, Analytics, and Website Optimizer will be there to show what they're working on, answer questions, and just chat. This event is on Wednesday starting at 2:30pm in Ballroom A3.

And if you're at the show, come find me at the Google Booth, #403. There's a Website Optimizer sticker in it for you.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Share your results with PDF Reports

2009-07-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

When I talk with users of Website Optimizer, they often tell me how exciting it is watching a test unfold and seeing the final results. That feeling you have after realizing that the new call to action section just sextupled your conversion rate is not just exciting, it's contagious, and you want to share it.

Previously, sharing your Website Optimizer reports could be a bit burdensome. You might have used a shared account or shared access through AdWords or exported the data to a spreadsheet, or maybe you even took screenshots of the reports. We released a new feature today that makes it easier to share your experiment results with others: PDF reports.

With a PDF report you can generate a full copy of the Website Optimizer reports for any experiment. This makes it easy to share reports within your company (and perhaps with your very own hippo), or with clients (and their hippos).

You'll find PDF reports on the Reports page for any Website Optimizer experiment.

Personally, I'm starting to build a collection of my best experiments. PDF reports look great framed on my wall.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Picking your test type: A/B or Multivariate?

2009-07-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Google Website Optimizer lets you run two types of experiments: A/B and Multivariate. Both types help refine your website to increase conversions, but some tests are better suited for A/B while others are better suited for Multivariate. Choosing the appropriate type for your test can save you time and help your test run more smoothly.

If you want to test two (or more!) completely different pages against each other, we recommend using an A/B test. For example, you can change the content of a page, alter the look and feel, or move around the layout. Visitors will be shown the alternates and Website Optimizer will keep track of how each page is converting.

Multivariate experiments work best when you want to refine different sections on your webpage. For example, you can test different headlines, images, and buy buttons all at the same time. Website Optimizer will show the combinations to visitors and keep track of each combination's performance.

We've created a short video that can serve as your reference guide to selecting the appropriate test type:

And, of course, you'll find many more videos on our Website Optimizer YouTube channel.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Upcoming Seminars for Success: Learn Website Optimizer & Google Analytics

2009-07-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Website Optimizer and Google Analytics are both tools that can help you increase your ROI on your website. Like any tool, you can get more out of it with training, such as our Seminars for Success.

Seminars for Success are all-day, in-person trainings on Google tools. They are led by our Authorized Consultants, who are experts on Website Optimizer and Google Analytics. If you're in the Los Angeles area, or just want to mix some GA & GWO with your R&R, we have a set of seminars coming up at the end of the month in sunny Los Angeles, California.

July 29th - Google Analytics Intro & User Training
July 30th - Google Analytics Implementation & Advanced Topics
July 31st - Google Website Optimizer

You can register for any of the seminars here.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

You're invited to Website Testing Thursday

2009-07-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Calling all testing enthusiasts in the Bay Area! In the tradition of Web Analytics Wednesdays, we're starting Website Testing Thursdays. It's an informal gathering where you can have a drink and hang out and learn from other website testers. For the inaugural event, we have a special guest: analytics evangelist, author, and all around good guy, Avinash Kaushik. He'll be there to share his wisdom. Members of the Google Analytics and Website Optimizer teams will be there too.

Details:
Thursday, July 16, 6-8 PM
Junnoon Restaurant
150 University Ave
Palo Alto, CA

RSVP here

Hope to see you there!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

7 Deadly Sins of Landing Page Design webinar ready for viewing

2009-07-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last week, Tim Ash, one of our Website Optimizer Authorized Consultants, gave a webinar on the 7 Deadly Sins of Landing Page Design. In this webinar he exposes common errors in landing page design that might be holding back your conversion rate and shows you how you can fix them. If you missed it, or if you just want to review your sins, you'll be happy to know the webinar is now on the Website Optimizer YouTube channel.

While you're visiting our channel, have a look around. We have a bunch of videos including conference sessions, previous webinars, and helpful tips.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Auto-disabling: experimentation auto-pilot

2009-07-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

When you run an experiment with Website Optimizer, you're testing new content to see whether it improves your conversion rate. We can often find big winners, but, of course, some of our variations are going to be losers in that they perform significantly worse than our original content.

While you've been able to disable poor performing variations on your own for some time now, you needed to sign in, check your reports, and manually prune away the losers. No longer! Today, Website Optimizer adds a new feature: auto-disabling.

With auto-disabling, Website Optimizer will automatically prune poor performing variations for you. This keeps overall conversion rate high while testing. Additionally, by removing poor variations automatically, your traffic is focused on only the variations that have a chance at winning, which means experiments should complete faster. Lastly, we think auto-disabling gives you more freedom to try really big changes. If that crazy variation just doesn't work out, it'll be disabled. And if you've been anxious about running a test, you should be able to relax knowing that a losing variation won't hurt your overall conversion rate.

Auto-disabling is available for any Website Optimizer experiment with more than two variations (i.e. you can't use it for an A/B test, but you could for an A/B/C test). You can enable it from the experiment settings page. You can read more about setting up auto-disabling in this Help Center article.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Picking a good test page with Google Analytics

2009-07-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

A common question we hear from users of Website Optimizer is, "What page should I test?" Of course, people have different opinions. For example, some experts say that you should never run a test on your homepage while others may disagree. We recommend taking a data-driven approach when choosing a test page. Simply put, test a page that needs improvement.

By using Google Analytics, you can find pages on your site that could most benefit from website testing. We've put together a short video showing how you can quickly identify these top choices:

Enjoy!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Upcoming Webinar: The 7 Deadly Sins of Landing Page Design

2009-06-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, June 24th at 10 AM PDT (new date, see below), we'll hosting a free webinar on landing page design. Tim Ash of SiteTuners, one of our Website Optimizer Authorized Consultants, will lead the event. He'll be sharing what he calls the seven deadly sins of landing page design.

If you want to increase your conversion rate, but are unsure of where you should start, this webinar will help you identify common issues that might be holding you back. The 90-minute webinar will conclude with open Q&A with Tim.

If you'd like to attend, you'll need to register to attend. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE 6/29/09
This webinar has been rescheduled for 7/1/09 at 10 AM PDT. You'll still need to register to attend. For those who couldn't make it on 6/24, here's your second chance.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Upcoming Seminars for Success

2009-06-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

We have two upcoming Seminars for Success for Google Website Optimizer. If you're looking for a day of in-person training to help you get started in your testing, you should try to attend. The curriculum includes:

An overview of testing and Website Optimizer
How to identify problematic pages and estimate sample sizes
Loads of testing best practices drawn from real tests and case studies
Hands-on lab experience in setting up, configuring, & launching both A/B and Multivariate tests
How to interpret the data and run follow up experiments

The two dates are fast approaching so you'll want to sign up right away.

San Diego, CA - June 12th - Register
Dallas, TX - June 19th - Register

And if you're looking to increase your expertise in other Google products, take a look at Seminars for Success for AdWords and Google Analytics.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Run better experiments with the Mom test

2009-05-08T16:05:00.001-07:00

In Made to Stick, the authors warn us about the curse of knowledge. Simply stated, once we know something it's hard to imagine us not knowing something.

When looking at our websites, we know how they work. We know where to find the Add to Cart button. We know that we'll pick shipping options after we enter billing information. We know the answers to questions that visitors have on their minds, and it's very hard for us to put ourselves in their shoes.

So I'd like to introduce to you, the Mom Tests:

All mothers want what's best for their children, which is, of course, why we love our mothers. While some moms have taken to the Internet with fervor, not all of our mothers are blogging, facebooking, tweeting machines. Moms are always willing to lend a helping hand and give their advice. Here are two ways your mom can help you improve your website.

The Mom Usability Test
Ask Mom to complete a task on your page. You'll want to have her start like an actual visitor would. So, think about how visitors arrive to your page. You could look in Google Analytics at Top Entrance Pages and see how people get to them, or start with a Google search and go from there. Ask your mom to try to buy something on your page or sign up for more information. Ask her to think out loud if she has any questions. Don't try to help or tell her what she should be doing. Just watch and take notes.

The Mom A/B Test
When people test their pages, they often try to test very small changes. Minute changes, like the use of a semicolon or the use of Arial font versus Verdana font (see the difference?), often have no effect on conversions. One rule of thumb to keep in mind is that users make a decision to stay on a page or leave in less than 5 seconds. That means, any change you are testing needs to stand out within 5 seconds.

So where does Mom come in? Show your mom your A page and your B page and ask her what's different. If she struggles to spot the differences, your changes may not be big enough. As for which page will convert better, that's where testing with Website Optimizer comes in.

We hope the Mom Tests help you improve your website and bring you and your mother a little closer this weekend. Happy Mothers' Day to all the Moms out there.

rose + rose + rose + rose = 4 roses by janusz l

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Landing Page Testing with Offline Conversions using Website Optimizer

2009-04-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post from David Booth at WebShare, a Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant. In addition, David is one of our Google Website Optimizer Seminar Leaders.

Can you use Website Optimizer to test your landing pages if your conversion occurs offline?

We know Website Optimizer is great when the conversion happens online, but what if your goal is an offline conversion, such as getting the phone to ring? Conversions are defined with JavaScript that has to be executed by a browser, so testing with a tool like GWO may sound like an impossible task – but it’s not.

Pacific Hills Treatment Centers was able to achieve a 40% lift in phone leads via their top landing page by using Website Optimizer, and this post will show you how they did it.

The Offline Lead Generation Dilemma

Tod Cunningham, VP of Business Development of PacHills found himself in a familiar position. “I was discussing how to get a better conversion rate out of my landing pages with my AdWords rep, and when she mentioned conversion testing my first response was, ‘That’s not going to work for me, my conversion doesn't happen on my site.’”

As is the case with many lead-gen sites like PacHills, a conversation with a real, live, human being is much more likely to turn a visitor into a customer, and is often necessary during the sales cycle.

With our help, an A/B test was created and run to test three alternate variations of a top paid search landing page. The goal of this page was not to get an online form submission or get a visitor through a shopping cart, but to get visitors to pick up the phone and call.

How to Test Offline Conversions

So how do you run a test with a phone call as your conversion? This can be done by using Website Optimizer alongside just about any of the widely available phone tracking solutions out there.

1. The first step is like any other test – after consulting your web analytics to determine the best candidate for the test page and experiment type, it’s time to create the variations. Ask yourself what changes you’d like to make and why you believe those changes will have a positive impact on conversions, and let that guide your variation design. In this experiment, WebShare’s design team helped facilitate this process and created three different alternatives to the original landing page. The original and winning pages are pictured below:

Click to see a larger image

2. Now it’s time to set up the phone tracking. All we really need to do is place a special phone number on each of our test pages that will tell us which of our different pages originated the call. In this case, ClickPath was used to automate this by assigning and tracking calls from phone numbers (or banks of numbers) dedicated to each specific landing page.

3. Next, set up the test in Google Website Optimizer. This example is of the A/B variety, where the original was defined along with three variations. You could do this as a Multivariate test as well.

4. After validating the alternate pages and previewing the variations in the preview tool, launch the experiment.

5. Patiently let the experiment run and collect your data.

Running the Analysis

At this point you’ll have Google Website Optimizer splitting traffic, recording unique visitors, and handling all your cookies to ensure that repeat visitors continue to see the same variation. Your phone tracking application will be recording the phone calls (conversions) that result from each of your variations, and you now have all the data necessary for your analysis.

Because Website Optimizer displays the data it’s recording, you can run the statistics yourself at any time using any tool you’re comfortable with. A simplified set of free conversion marketing tools is available on WebShare’s site to help you get the results you need. Here’s how:

1. From Website Optimizer, you’ll get the visitors data in your experiment report:

2. Your phone tracking software will provide your conversion data:

3. Next, plug these values into a tool (like this one) that will do the number crunching for you:

4. The last step is to run the numbers to get a report:

Start Answering Those Phones!

This particular experiment found a clear winner – a winner that boosted the likelihood of a visitor calling PacHills by over 40%.

According to Tod at PacHills, “This has opened up doors that we had thought were closed to us. You can bet next time you’re on our site, we’ll be testing on you!”

If you’re in a situation where a call is your conversion, then we hope this post will give you the tools to start testing and getting your phones ringing off the hook!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Advanced Website Optimizer tricks

2009-04-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

If you've been enjoying the Techie Guide to Website Optimizer, we have a treat for you. Eric Vasilik, the lead Website Optimizer engineer, has put together the new GWO Tricks blog showcasing some of the extra-cool things you can do with Website Optimizer such as:

It's important to note that these are pretty advanced techniques, so if you're just starting out with Website Optimizer, you probably want to begin at our Help Center or YouTube channel.

Big thanks to Eric for pushing the envelope on what's possible with Website Optimizer. If you've got ideas on what he should try next, leave a note in the comments.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Two new Website Optimizer integrations

2009-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings from SES!

We have two cool new Website Optimizer integrations to share with you. One is from CoreCommerce, an ecommerce platform, and the other SEO Samba, an organic search management platform. With these integrations, implementing Website Optimizer on your site just got easier.

Here's a video demonstrating SEO Samba's integration:

And you can also see some videos of the CoreCommerce integration in action at their site.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Website Optimizer at SES New York next week

2009-03-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Are you coming to Search Engine Strategies in New York next week? The Website Optimizer team and friends will be there.

There are a lot of great sessions about how to improve your website. Here are some we think you should attend:

Survival of the Fittest 2.0
March 24th, 11:45am to 12:45pm
Bryan Eisenberg, author of Always Be Testing, will be speaking on a panel that discusses how companies survived the last downturn in online marketing, and what lessons can be applied to today's economic environment.

Landing Page Testing and Tuning
March 24th, 11:45am to 12:45pm
Tim Ash will giving a session at the same time on ways to test and tweak your landing pages to turn visitors into customers.

Pay per Conversation
March 24th, 1:45pm to 2:45pm
Sandra Cheng, the Product Manager for Website Optimizer, will be doing a session alongside Bryan Eisenberg. They'll show you how to identify missed conversations and what you can do to improve them and your PPC ROI.

Extreme Makeover: Conversion Edition
March 24th, 4:30pm to 5:30pm
Bryan Eisenberg and Tim Ash will be on a panel examining three companies' websites. They'll do a thorough critique of each site and explain how you can apply the same principles and practices they use on your own site.

Turning Simple Change Into Big Profit
March 25th, 2:15pm to 3:30pm
Kayden Kelly, one of our newest WOTEPs, is speaking about how a few easy changes can dramatically affect your bottom line.

Extreme Makeover: Live Ad Copy & Continuity Clinic!
March 26th, 10:30am to 11:45am
Karl Blanks from Conversion Rate Experts will be on a panel looking at continuity between your online advertising and your landing pages. Continuity is a sure-fire strategy for improving your conversion rate, and this session should be full of great examples.

Google Website Optimizer: Radically Improve your Conversion Rate!
March 26th, 2:15pm to 3:30pm
Finally, I'll be speaking on a panel with Tim Ash, Bryan Eisenberg, and Kayden Kelly. We'll look at some out-of-the-box uses of GWO, and take your questions about website testing. Hope to see you there.

In addition to sessions, we'll also be doing two special events at the Google booth, #1106:

Tim Ash will be signing and giving away copies of his book, Landing Page Optimization. The book signing is at our booth on March 24th from 1pm to 2pm.
Karl Blanks, one of the Conversion Rate Experts, will be at the Google booth all the way from the UK and giving live site critiques on Wednesday, March 25th from 2pm to 4pm.

Finally, if you're an AdWords user, you'll want to check out Preview the new AdWords interface. The session is on Wednesday, March 25th from 10:45am to 12pm. The team is taking questions in advance, so please send them in.

There's a whole lot going on at SES this year. Hope to see you there!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Upcoming Website Optimizer Seminar: S4S at SXSW

2009-03-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

If you’re planning to take in this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) event, you should stick around for Google Website Optimizer and Google Analytics Seminars for Success training.

This seminar series provides three separate days of training on Google Website Optimizer and Analytics. Here's an overview of what's taught each day:

Landing Page Testing with Google Website Optimizer - Friday, March 20 - Register

Introduction to landing page testing
Hands on lab session to configure and launch an A/B and multivariate test
Understanding reports, follow up experiments and “the numbers”
Advanced testing with Google Website Optimizer & Analytics integrations
Real life examples and best practices and concepts that will provide you with a jumpstart on your testing plan!

This is a full day of practical, hands-on coursework with the tools you need to design, set up and run A/B and multivariate experiments with Google Website Optimizer.

Google Analytics – Introduction & User Training- Wednesday, March 18 - Register

Learn how to leverage the power of web analytics and turn mountains of data into ammunition that helps you make data driven decisions and maximize your website’s performance and ROI. This day’s topics include:

Introduction to web analytics and turning data into information
Google Analytics features and interface
Understanding and using visitor, traffic sources, content, goal, and ecommerce reports
Sharing insights and enterprise features

Google Analytics – Advanced Technical Implementation - Thursday, March 19 - Register
This day digs deep into advanced configurations and features that will allow you to set up and configure Google Analytics to take full advantage of its potential. The advanced day topics include:

Understanding profiles and strategic implementations
Applying filters to deliver the right data to your reports
Goal and funnel configurations and reporting configurations
Advanced segments, custom reports and advanced set ups

The cost is $249 per day. If you sign up at least 7 days in advance, you'll also receive a $50 AdWords credit. Seats are limited, so reserve your seat today.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Website Optimizer experiments far and wide

2009-03-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

We'd like to share with you two implementations of Google Website Optimizer.

First, a fellow named Bud Gibson. Bud runs a non-profit called Michigan Innovators, focused on connecting innovating companies with innovative people. Bud put together a test to try to improve monetization of the job board on Michigan Innovators' site.

Bud goes into great detail about how he designed his experiment, including a thorough explanation of WiderFunnel's (a GWO consultant) LIFT method. His test is on track to increase his conversions by 25%. Congrats on the success, Bud!

Next, our friends at the Conversion Rate Experts (also GWO authorized consultants), have begun working with Vodafone. They haven't gotten results in, as their experiments have just begun, but it's fantastic to see a large company like Vodafone taking website testing seriously.

Two very different companies using website testing to improve their businesses. A nice example of how Google Website Optimizer can work for you, no matter your business.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Introducing the Techie Guide to Google Website Optimizer

2009-03-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

Do you have the coolest idea for a Website Optimizer test but just don't know how to implement it? We've got a book for you.

Today we're releasing the first edition of The Techie Guide to Google Website Optimizer. This guide covers just about everything you wanted to know about the technical ins and outs of Website Optimizer.

Some of the cool things you'll find in the Techie Guide include:

A detailed explanation of the Website Optimizer experiment scripts
How to implement segmentation in your experiments
How to test with dynamic content

You can download the Techie Guide for free at google.com/websiteoptimizer/techieguide (PDF).

We'd also like to give a special thanks to Ophir Prusak. Ophir is one of the Top Contributors on our Help Forum, and he contributed greatly to the creation of the Techie Guide.

If you're ready to take your testing to the next level, we think you'll really like the Techie Guide. We'll be updating the Techie Guide with new tricks and tips regularly, so please tell us what you'd like to see.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team

Test Your Add to Cart Button in MivaMerchant with Website Optimizer

2009-03-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I spoke at the MivaMerchant conference. MivaMerchant is an ecommerce platform used by a lot of companies. I demonstrated an easy test that users of MivaMerchant can do: testing different variations of your "Add to Cart" button across your entire site.

Say, for example, you wanted to see whether this green button or this red button worked better.
Watch this video to see how to set up this test in Website Optimizer:

The Add to Cart button is one of the primary calls-to-action on your site and takes visitors from just looking at a product to starting the purchase process. Running experiments here can have a significant impact on your conversion rate.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team