Google Website Optimizer Released in Beta
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Written By Kate Zimmermann | October 23, 2006 | Share This
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On Wednesday, Google released the first test version of their Google Website Optimizer tool. The tool, created in collaboration with Optimost, will let advertisers set up and run single and multi-variable tests on ad copy and landing pages. It runs combinations of headers, site copy, images, etc, to create dynamic conversion reports that will inform site owners about what works and what doesn’t. Using AdWords to regulate the flow of traffic, the new tool is at once an aid to small/medium sized businesses and a revenue-generator for Google.
First, I’m impressed with how well Google has simplified the site-testing process for a mass audience. The Website Optimizer demo shows a clean interface with fairly well-translated directions, a good FAQ, and easily understood reports. I especially like that statistics are reported as both visual and numerical data. It gets a little fuzzy in steps needed to tag selected elements - Google’s directions basically tell you to call your webmaster. I know from experience that in many companies, this isn’t always as easy as emailing a link and asking the tech team to Fix It.
So far the tool has received general praise from the search community. A thread on WebmasterWorld discusses the details of Google’s tool, and what it does/doesn’t provide. One SEM brought up a good point, that Google’s glossy testing site doesn’t address the details of gathering accurate data - like “deciding when to finish a test, knowing when a difference is significant, and most importantly, knowing what is worth testing.” I presume Google will provide a number of FAQs and discussion forums to accompany the tool, but there’s still a certain degree of knowledge that can only be acquired by experience.
Still, you can’t beat the all-in-one package that Website Optimizer creates in coordination with AdWords and Analytics. The tool makes so much sense as a part of the overall Google package, it makes you wonder why it hasn’t appeared until now. Google is basically helping advertiser clients to help Google make more money. Better converting advertisers are more inclined to renew Adwords accounts, become more reliant on Analytics, and consequently, give more money to Google.
On the flip side, this tool gives Google one more piece of information to help them refine their Adwords pricing. With exact knowledge of how an advertiser converts, Google could increase prices based on estimated site conversion, which would essentially put a cap on the advertiser’s ROI. Furthermore, large media and communications companies should be worried about the intimate business data that Google will acquire across their industries. With full information on exactly how a company converts, Google could ostensibly turn a client’s data into a business model for future Google tools (and future competition). So, while the Optimizer tool may be helpful to small and medium sized businesses, it could potentially create a roadblock for large companies and SEMs.
The timing of Website Optimizer is pretty darn convenient in light of Google’s recent experiements with Cost Per Action and their pre-holiday promotion of Google Checkout. It really is amazing how Google has spun a single revenue model into services that compete across every online industry. I hesitate to say “monopoly”, but I wouldn’t be suprised if by next Christmas we’re all paying the holiday bills in Google Dollars.
Topics: Advertising: Online, ECommerce, Google, SEO, Search: Innovations, Technology |