A/B testing and Google Optimize

Exhibit 27.15  Video demonstration of Google Optimize’s A/B Testing facility.

A/B testing is a method used by marketers and web designers to choose between two or more versions of a webpage. The goal is to identify which variant is more effective in achieving their marketing objectives. Elements of a webpage, such as the page header or images, can be tested to improve website performance.

A/B testing is easy to manage, control, and execute online, making it a cost-effective way to evaluate various elements of the marketing mix. For example, advertising campaigns can be tested on platforms like YouTube before being aired on TV (refer to Section Testing Advertising Online, Chapter Advertising Analytics, Volume II for more details).

Google Optimize is a free and feature-rich A/B testing tool that can be linked to Google Analytics (GA4). To run a test on Google Optimize, follow these steps:

1. Create an experiment by giving it a name.
2. Enter the URL of the webpage you want to test.
3. Choose an optimization technique, such as A/B testing or multivariate testing.
4. Create variants, such as different headers or images, using the Optimize visual editor. You can set the variant weighting or keep the default setting, which is equal weights for all variants.
5. Set primary and additional objectives related to purchases, conversions, or page views, or create a custom objective.
6. Start the test.
7. Review the results and use them to optimize your website.

You can scan the QR code in Exhibit 27.15 for a demo on how to use Google Optimize to test different versions of a page header on a webpage.