2012 June | CategoryCode

This month we wrote a guest post on a local Edmonton Real Estate Blog on the recent announcement of Google retiring Google Website Optimizer. This will be happening on August 1st, 2012. Since we are avid Split Testers, we wanted to review the change to move GWO into Google Analytics under the name Google Content Experiments.

You can read our full guest post to see how Google Content Experiments stacks up against the soon to be gone Google Website Optimizer.

Here is a little teaser:

Earlier this month, Google announced that it is retiring Google Website Optimizer as of August 1^st 2012. For avid split testers, this wasn’t a surprising move by Google. Google Website Optimizer hasn’t evolved quite the same way as google analytics, and was at times tricky to work with as it required a technical knowledge to run.

For myself, saying goodbye to Google Website Optimizer is like parting with an old friend. Being a graphic designer who eventually worked his way into online marketing, I got my first taste into how powerful graphic design can be with Google Website Optimizer. I tested different identity systems against each other, and the results helped me to become who I am today.

All hope isn’t lost however. Google announced that it is replacing Google Website Optimizer with the launch of Content Experiments, a split-testing feature within Google Analytics. So what does this mean for marketers? How do the tools compare?

Read our full guest post: RIP Google Website Optimizer.

Split Testing is the perfect solution to most discussions on website changes!

I had a very interesting conversation last night (June 12, 2012) with a client. This conversation falls in line with what we preach to our clients, “Only a test will show!”

Our client is looking for a simple WordPress template that can be recycled and re-purposed for a number of small projects they are working on. The template will be simple, clean, responsive and provide them the ability to modify the background color/image and banner image.

The client did have a concern:

“My existing template has rounded corners, but it uses CSS3, so they do not show up in IE8. I would like to use images so they show up in all browsers.”

I understood where he was coming from. I then explained we can definitely use images if he wished but explained our standpoint. We prefer to use CSS3 and HTML5 where we can to keep our work as current and future proof as possibly.

With this in mind, I explained we try and use these techniques for things like rounded corners, gradients, shadows, etc. These techniques degrade nicely. If their browser does not support rounded corners the website still functions (it is not broken). They just see a square corner and they don’t know any different.

We then got started to discuss if this would have an impact on lead generation. The consensus?

“Let’s test it!”

So once our template is done, we will run a split test to see if the rounded corners vs. no rounded corners have an impact on lead generation and conversions. At the end of the day, everything but data is speculation. Raw data tells the truth.

If you ever have ideas, questions, thoughts, or theories … Test them! It is the only way to truly know. Sometimes you change something from Blue to Red because Bob in Accounting thought it would Look better, therefore it should generate more clicks. There’s no need to tell Bob no or to blindly make the change not knowing the potential impact. You can simply test it! Let the data tell you what works better.

If your not testing, your not improving! Always be testing.

» Monthly Archives: June 2012

RIP Google Website Optimizer

Split Testing – The Perfect Solution