Google Website Optimiser can be configured to allow you to make radical or subtle changes to your website.
Q. So how do I know what to change and how radical should the changes be?A. Every website is different, however if your conversion rates are relatively low, for example less than 1%, you could probably benefit from more radical changes. If your conversion rates are higher, perhaps 5-10%, you should probably start with more subtle changes.
Q. Does Google Website Optimiser suggest changes for me to make?A. No, Google Website Optimiser takes variations provided by you and tests different combinations of all these variations for you. For example, you might try two variations of your headline and three variations of images of your offerings, and Website Optimiser will create the six possible combinations. At the end of your test, you'll see reports for each combination. Also each variation is given a score based on how much it impacted your conversion rate.
Q. Why should I use Google Website Optimiser, can't I just make changes to my website and see if conversion rates improve?
A. Google Website Optimiser saves you the effort of manually recording and reporting on what changes have the biggest impact. You also get to test several design changes simultaneously. This is particularly beneficial if you are running advertising campaigns and targeting visitors through paid search such as Google AdWords. There is also the possibility that your "improvements" may actually lower conversion rates. When you use a tool like Google Website Optimiser, you be able to see if your changes are actually helping your site.
Two Ways to Start Testing1.) A/B testing - Test two different versions of a single page on your website. Perhaps you want to try a two-column layout as opposed to a three-column layout as you feel it's a less cluttered design. Or maybe you want to see if moving your call to action items above the fold (the visible area of the screen before a user has to scroll down the page) to see if it has a stronger impact on conversions? Or maybe you want to try a whole new colour scheme?
Page Version A
Page Version B
Note: Version B has no image and the donate button has been moved.
A/B testing can be a little more involved because you will need to create two different versions of the pages you wish to test. However, if you already have a new page created, as part of a site redesign perhaps, setting up an A/B test is very quick. If you do decide to create a new page with a new layout, remember to test that the new version works as expected across other web browsers.
In the next part of the series, we'll go over how you can start using Google Website Optimiser for your organisation. Take some time before, "Part 3: How do I use Google Website Optimiser," to walk through the different configurations for Google Website Optimiser and get to know the tool before deciding which is right for your organisation's website goals.
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