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Google Website Optimizer: All Grown Up

posted on April 16, 2008


google website optimizer: how it works (pic from Google)Google’s Website Optimizer has reached a milestone that most launches today don’t: it left beta. Not only that, but it’s also launching as an independent product, according to the Google Analytics Blog.

What does it mean to get spun out in the Google product family? For starters, Google Website Optimizer is getting its own website (or, as you and I would call it, its own subdomain), http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer, and its own official blog, both of which were announced this morning at ad:tech.

Their second blog post, with details of the “split,” brings the tidings I know I’ve been waiting to hear (and the reassurances that long-time users need; emphasis added):

For those who use Website Optimizer from AdWords, have no fear: you can still access the tool within your AdWords account as you have in the past, and we’ll continue to add features regardless of how you access Website Optimizer. For those who have been putting off testing because you didn’t want to set up an AdWords account, the standalone version of Website Optimizer awaits you.

And, yes, according to the new product website, it’s still free.

If you’re not familiar with Google Website Optimizer, it was first launched for AdWords users in October 2006. It’s designed to help you test different versions of a page with your visitors, allowing you to see which versions and combinations of page features lead to the most conversions. Naturally, the GWO website contains the full details of how it does this, but the simple version is that it’s a JavaScript-based, multivariate and A/B split testing tool. And did I mention it was free?

And great news for international readers: the standalone is available in 27 languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia, UK & U.S.), Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil & Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai and Turkish.

Now, who will join me in a happy dance?


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  • http://www.jaankanellis.com Jaan Kanellis

    It better stay free. All it does is make the AdWords product work and preform better.

    Jaan Kanellis’s last blog post..Google Previous Query Reason For Crazy Google Rankings?

  • http://alwaysbetesting.com/abtest/index.cfm/2008/4/16/Google-Website-Optimizer-and-the-iPhone AndyEd

    So like the iphone, you still have to hack Google Website Optimizer to make it really useful: http://alwaysbetesting.com/abtest/index.cfm/2008/4/16/Google-Website-O ptimizer-and-the-iPhone

  • http://www.jexanalytics.com.au Judd Exley

    Nice stuff too, just found out about this through YOU guys. Apparently I forgot to sign up for the notification from Google. Woops.

    Judd Exley’s last blog post..Social Networking.

  • http://www.seoresults.co.za Web Marketing Man

    Am busy doing adwords analysis as we speak. Haven’t heard of Google Website Optimizer before, but will definitely go play with it now you guys gave the heads-up. Ta for that.

  • http://widestep.com Keylogger Guy

    I would say all recently news are very joyful. I think I’ll check the standalone version soon.

  • http://www.thevanblog.com Steven Bradley

    Good to see Website Optimizer is now free. I always thought it a bit strange that it wasn’t when so many other Google things are free.

    And of course if you’re testing different versions of a landing page it only makes sense you need to get traffic to that page. Might as well sign up for AdWords to get that traffic.

    Steven Bradley’s last blog post..Last Chance To Join Teaching Sells For $1

  • Jordan McCollum

    Just to clarify, GWO was always “free” in the sense that it didn’t cost anything to add it on to your AdWords account. It’s been available to all AdWords users for a year now.

    However, if you mean that it wasn’t “free” in that you had to be an advertiser to use it (and/or it was enslaved by the oppressive master, AdWords), then hurray from me, too.

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