New Web Optimization Feature in GA

Updated January 13, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Google just announced a brand new feature in Analytics that helps with web optimization. For techies, we call content experiments A/B testing. We like to test variations of a page to see which performs better. Subtle changes to a page can dramatically improve conversion.  Now with Content Experiments, Google has made it even easier to implement A/B tests.

Experiments for Web Optimization

A component to web optimization is consistent tweaking and measurement of a website’s performance. Human search behaviors change. Online trends change. As a result your website needs to evolve when appropriate. But how do you know what will work more effectively on your site?  This cool tool helps measure and test goals (e.g., form completions, a product purchase) so you can optimize it all in your Google Analytics dashboard. The wizard will walk you through the steps. Basically here’s what is involved for web optimization testing:

1. Create a variation of the page you want to test. It could be a complete redesign or a minor color change. You’ll be testing user experience — how the human visitor interacts with the page.
2. With the Content Experiments wizard, you’ll setup the test including how often (the percentage) a page variation will be presented. The tool will then track to see which version outperforms.
3. Once you have a clear winner, you’ll want to apply the change permanently to the specific web page. If the change can be applied to other pages, set up additional experiments to confirm it.

Bye Bye Google Website Optimizer

Now that Google has integrated this functionality to Analytics, the standalone tool – Website Optimizer — will be eliminated August 1st. So it makes sense to start any new experiments directly into GA and pull reports sooner rather than later.

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