Share your results with PDF Reports

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 7/29/2009 01:34:00 PM

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?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 7/28/2009 01:44:00 PM

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

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 7/21/2009 10:29:00 AM

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

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7/15/2009 02:46:00 PM

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

Tuesday, July 07, 2009 7/07/2009 02:20:00 PM

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

Monday, July 06, 2009 7/06/2009 03:07:00 PM

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

Thursday, July 02, 2009 7/02/2009 04:42:00 PM

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