Google Website Optimizer

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The Google Website Optimiser was a free software available for performing A / B and multivariate testing in web design. The tool has been part of Google Analytics ( content tests ) since August 2012 . The provider is the search engine operator Google .

Goal setting

The aim of the software is to easily carry out tests on the design and content of a website. The aim of these tests is usually to optimize the results of existing websites. These include conversion rates , sales, increased sales and much more. Google Website Optimiser only supports measuring one event per test. Several events (conversion steps) and sales figures cannot be recorded.

Classic approach

In the case of corresponding tests, changes are typically made sequentially, i.e. after a change has been implemented, the results of the period before the change are compared with the results after the change. If the change leads to an improvement in the results, it will be retained.

This approach has various disadvantages:

  • Since the results come from two different time periods, they can only be compared to a limited extent. Decisions on this basis therefore always involve a certain risk due to seasonal effects.
  • If several changes were made at the same time, it is not possible to clearly determine which change contributed to the new result and to what extent.
  • If only one change is made at a time, the effect of successive changes can only be checked very slowly

A / B tests

In an A / B test , two variants of a website are tested at the same time, which means that the problem of seasonal effects can be excluded and test results can be achieved more quickly. Both variants receive a randomly controlled, equally large subset of all visitors to the respective website. The variant with the better result is retained in the following.

Multivariate tests

With this type of simultaneous testing of several variants (also known as multivariate or multivariate tests), several changes to a website can be checked for their effects at the same time. The tester defines one or more sub-areas of the website and defines a number of variants for each sub-area. The software ensures delivery of the corresponding variants in a random, approximately equal distribution. As a result, each variant of each sub-area is displayed with every other variant of the other sub-areas in approximately the same distribution. With the help of a statistical method ( Taguchi method ), the Google Website Optimization Tool determines which variant had which part in a change in the results and which combination can be expected to result in the greatest positive change in the results.

disadvantage

As a free solution, the Google Website Optimizer only offers a limited range of functions compared to paid applications.

  • The evaluation of the result data is only possible over the entire period. It is not possible to restrict the evaluation period.
  • Since the transfer of sales values ​​is not possible, an evaluation in terms of total sales and sales per visitor is not possible.
  • The segmentation of the test results, for example according to visitor source, time of day, operating system or other attributes, is not possible.
  • Only one conversion goal is possible. Several steps, e.g. B. for a conversion funnel are not possible.

literature

  • Bryan Eisenberg & John Quarto-vonTivadar: always be testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer . Wiley & Sons, 2008, ISBN 0-470-29063-3
  • Brian Clifton: Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics . Wiley & Sons, 2008, ISBN 0-470-25312-6

Web links