Bye Google Optimize: What's next for website experimentation
It's the end of an era, folks. Google Optimize and Optimize 360, the trusty free tool that many of us have used for website testing and personalisation, will be saying goodbye after September 30, 2023. Any experiments or personalisations still active on that date will be ending as well. But don't worry, Google is still committed to helping businesses improve their user experiences and is investing in A/B testing in Google Analytics 4.
It's never easy saying goodbye to a tool that has been so helpful, but we're excited to see what new solutions and integrations Google will be bringing to the table.
So where does that leave us? If you’re one of the many who’ve used Google Optimize as your only experimentation tool, you might be feeling a little lost. Never fear, we’ve listed a few other platforms and methods available to conduct your much needed website experiments.
Alternatives to Google Optimize: User-friendly options for website experimentation
Adobe Target: If you're looking for a user-friendly platform that makes it easy to test and personalise your website, Adobe Target might be a great fit. It's got a drag-and-drop visual editor that makes it simple to create and edit your experiments, and it works for testing different versions of a landing page, personalising content based on user behavior, or creating targeted campaigns for specific groups of visitors.
Optimizely: Optimizely is another popular choice for website optimisation. It's got a great visual editor that makes it easy to create and edit your experiments and it comes with built-in analytics, so you can track your results. Whether you're testing headlines, CTAs, images or more, Optimizely is a solid option.
VWO: VWO (Visual Website Optimizer) is another great choice for website testing and personalisation. It's got a visual editor and built-in analytics that makes it easy to create and run A/B tests, and personalise your website content. It's great for testing headlines, CTAs, images and more, so you can make sure your website is performing at its best.
DIY experimentation: Conducting website experiments without external tools
It’s still possible to conduct website experiments without using an external tool. One way to do this is through A/B testing, also known as split testing. This method involves creating different versions of a web page or feature and then randomly displaying one version to a subset of visitors. This can be done by using code on the website to randomly redirect visitors to one of the different versions of the page.
The simplest way to experiment on your website without an external tool is to timetrack your changes. If you have a landing page or a form that you want to improve, you can just go back to CRO techniques and timebox your changes. For example, you can have one version of a form published for 15 days, and another version for 15 days. You would then look at the performance over both time periods and revert to the form (or other element) that performed the best.
Testing on Google Ads is a little easier too these days - there are experiment and variation options available in the tool that you can configure to test many different elements of your paid media campaigns - such as headlines, descriptions and imagery.
"If you're not testing, you're guessing." And let's be real, nobody wants to leave their website's success to chance. Website experimentation is such an important part of any marketing strategy, it allows you to try out different elements of your website to see what works best. By testing, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your online presence for better results.
It's not just about staying ahead of the competition anymore, it's about providing a better user experience for your customers. With the right tools, techniques and mindset, experimentation can be a powerful way to drive continuous growth.
Let’s start some experimentation!
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