Google Optimize: The free tool to get started on A/B Testing
Growth!
As an online business, our ultimate goal is to maximize and increase the growth of our website and lead generation.
We invest in good website design, marketing campaigns, and website SEO. And eventually, we succeed. Bravo!
But wait a minute! Are you not concerned about increasing the conversion rates? Let’s start with understanding what that means.
What is the Conversion Rate?
The Conversion Rate(CR) is a business metric to measure the percentage of website visitors who complete an intended action such as filling out a website inquiry form, clicking on a button to call your business, the length of time they spend on each page, etc.
Conversion metrics help you understand and decide what you should optimize in order to increase the Conversion Rate.
So how do you increase the Conversion Rate for your website?
Actually, it is not as difficult as you might think. First, you will need to create some goals in GA(Google Analytics) and spend some time analyzing your existing analytics in GA to better understand what your audience is doing when they are on the page that you want them to take action on.
Once you have the data. Then the next step is to optimize the page so that the Conversion Rate improves.
Now that you understand Conversion Rates and Conversion Metrics, let’s get to the point.
What exactly are you optimizing? Let’s say you noticed that most of the visitors are not going to the bottom of your landing page where you have the contact form and you decide to move that contact form to the top banner area so 100% of visitors to that landing page see the form the moment they arrive.
You can directly move the contact form but does this change provide you with the data you need in order to validate your idea?
This is why we need to do A/B Testing
What is A/B Testing?
A/B Testing, also known as split testing, is a way to compare two versions of a website or app to compare which version is performing better. It is a marketing experiment to determine which version of your piece of content gets more conversions.
The A/B Testing method helps companies to answer questions like, “What changes in a website can make people click? Or buy company products? Or register with their site? This method evaluates everything including website design, online offers, headlines, and product descriptions.
In other words, you can show version A to one-half of your audience and Version B to the other half. The behavior of each audience will determine which design path to go down in order to maximize overall conversions.
How to do A/B Testing?
Before conducting A/B Testing you should be clear about what you want to test. What result do you want from this test? Does your analytics concerning audience behavior align with the test you are performing?
When conducting A/B testing, you mustn’t rely solely on your assumptions and instincts. For a truly successful and valuable A/B test, you need real user data. Analyze your user data closely. There may be several designs and elements on your page that visitors found irrelevant or perhaps they were not interesting enough to catch their attention. So, use the data to understand which element to target. These changes may sound really simple but with them you can dramatically shift the behavior of your target audience.
A/B Testing Tools
There are several A/B Testing Tools available online. The following are the most popular ones.
- Google Optimize
- Optimizely
- VWO
- Omniconvert
- Crazy Egg
- AB Tasty
- Convert
- Adobe Target
Google Optimize is the only A/B Testing tool that is free. This is highly recommended for small-size businesses that want to get started with A/B testing. It does have some limitations. For instance, you can only run up to 5 simultaneous experiments, up to 16 combinations of Multivariate Tests (MVT), and have up to 3 preconfigured objectives along with basic administration. Whereas, Google 360 Optimize empowers you with up to 36 combinations of Multivariate Testing and more than 100 simultaneous experiments. The paid version comes with a lot significantly more invaluable features.
Google Optimize
Google Optimize is an online split-testing and personalization tool from Google that plugs into your website and boosts your conversion optimization effortlessly while enhancing the overall user experience of your website.
Along with personalization capabilities, this tool is fully integrated with Google Analytics which allows you to perform advanced targeting, advanced reporting, and advanced conversion tracking.
Google Optimize has two versions. The basic version is absolutely free.
The advanced version, Google Optimize 360, comes at a steep cost in the tens of thousands of dollars per year.
But the free version of Google Optimize has important features and remains one of the best tools for beginners to experiment with the elements of their site. Any small to medium size business can opt for this for a solid entry into advanced marketing experiments.
We will learn more about the features of Google Optimize further in this article.
Google Optimize Features:
Google Optimize has various features which give you the best online experiences to engage and delight visitors. You can customize your experiments however you like. You do not need to hire an expert or a developer to use it. You can use it yourself with the help of the robust instruction manual.
Although it is a Free tool, it has all the fundamental features you need and does a satisfactory job to help you achieve your marketing and conversion goals.
Let’s explore the features of Google Optimize:
Experiment Types
You can conduct various types of experiments on your site.
Here is a brief explanation on each of them:
1. A/B Test
A/B Testing, at its most basic, is a way to compare two or more versions of a website or application to figure out which version performs better. It evaluates everything from website design, online offers, and headlines to product descriptions to give you user data.
The test works by showing two sets of users different versions of a product or site and then determining which influenced your success metric the most.
2. Multivariate Test
Multivariate testing is an exceptional feature of Google Optimize. It allows you to test multiple elements at a time.
Websites and mobile applications are made of combinations of modified elements and this test determines which combination of variations performs the best out of all possible combinations.
3. Split URL Testing
Most people get confused between A/B testing and Split URL Testing. Whereas Split URL testing is exclusively used for big changes in two different URL/Websites, an A/B test optimizes the existing page with editing scenarios.
The split URL test works on different page levels instead an element level.
Conclusion
A/B testing reflects how people react to visiting your website, not just the elements themselves but how a user perceives your website from header to footer. A/B tests help us improve our users understanding of what we offer and let us know how to meet their expectations in a straightforward manner. It also allows us to make statements about our users’ reactions that can help us shape future landing pages on our website. The ultimate goal, after several tests and small changes, is to have our efforts validated by increased conversions while enhancing our relationship with our target audience. With the knowledge laid out in this article, we hope you will take the time to improve your own website’s conversion rates. If you need any assistance, feel free to reach out to our team to help get you started on the path toward greater market reach with your audience.
