In today’s Four Short Links, Nat Torkington provided a link to Google Website Optimizer Case Study: Daily Burn, 20%+ Improvement. In it Tim Ferriss talks about a the Google Website Optimizer, A/B testing and some findings that would be applicable to any website.

Here are my notes, but this is worth a full read.

  • Remove choice
  • Simplified design improved conversion
  • Google Website Optimization vs. Google Analytics
    • GWO offers integrated statistics
    • GWO splits traffic
    • GWO really tracks visitors
  • Don’t just test the main page. The actual signup for needs testing as well.
  • Many concepts such as calls to action, layout, design, contrast, point of action assurances, forms & error handling, and more could be used to increase the likelihood that a user enters information and submits the form.
  • GA doesn’t have any capability of doing statistical analysis to compare two groups (and it’s not meant to), but it can collect all the data you would need with the best of them
  • GWO records data very differently and is not meant as (and should never be used as) an analytics package
  • You can use GWO to create the test, split traffic, and crunch the numbers for your primary goal, and you can then pull the data out of GA on anything you have configured and run the numbers in a stats package like JMP or Minitab
  • Google Website Optimizer 101 – a quick-start guide to conversion rate optimization — includes a list of 108 ways to improve your website’s profits
  • Conversion Chicken – a GWO competitor
  • Most people get stuck on “traffic”. But traffic is secondary to conversion. The only way to increase conversion is through testing, testing and then testing again.
  • It doesn’t matter if it’s UGLY as long as it converts.
  • Statistical Analysis is the only true way to prove optimization
  • GWO Techie Guide
  • How big a sample size do you need to sample?
  • another GWO case study
  • Integrate GA and GWO with both A/B and MVT tests>