Google Optimize is Going Away, But Don’t Worry – Check Out This List of Our Favorite A/B Testing Tools for Your Website
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Everyone’s talking about tech companies laying off employees these days, but I want to talk about something else: Google laying off their products.
Google Optimize is the criminally underrated product that allows you to run A/B tests on your website to maximize user engagement. You can test out buttons, headers, colors, copy – the possibilities are endless!
Were endless, I should say. I mean, you can still use Optimize, but now the possibilities have a definitive end – September 30, 2023.
That’s right, Google announced this week that Optimize is slowly going the way of the buffalo (and the way of other Google products like Plus, Hangouts, Sites, Inbox…).
You still have most of this year to use Optimize for everything it’s worth! Check out our guide to get it set up and working. It’s awesome (and completely free).
But that leaves us with the question: How are you supposed to run A/B tests on your site?
Luckily, there are a few other options out there:
Our Favorite Alternatives to Google Optimize
VWO’s free Starter plan is comparable to Google Optimize and features a similar visual editor that makes it easy to run A/B tests on your site, even if you’re not the most tech-y person.
While the free tier on ABTesting.ai isn’t quite as robust as the one you’ll find on VWO, it has a pretty cool differentiating feature: AI text suggestions. Plus, it’s super easy to get started. Just put your URL into their homepage and it automatically highlights multiple features for you to play around with.
Nelio makes A/B testing easy on WordPress websites. They don’t have a free tier, but they’re one of the more affordable options out there and it’s super simple to use.
CrazyEgg has been around for nearly 20 years and they keep getting better. It’s affordable and easy to use – what else can we say?
What Kind of A/B Tests Should Advisors Run on Their Websites?
Now that you know a few of the tools available to you, let’s look at a few of the tests you can run:
TEST YOUR CTAS
A CTA, or Call to Action, is a button, link or text that directs visitors to take specific actions. You probably run into them every day without even realizing it.
A/B testing allows you to test everything about your CTAs, including colors, text, location, size, shape, and more!
IMAGES ON YOUR HOMEPAGE
The first image people see on your website (known as the “splash image”) can make a huge difference in how long they stay on your website.
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For advisors, we highly suggest that your splash image feature a picture of people who look like your personas living their best life. But that looks different for everyone!
Test a few different images on your website and see how they impact things like bounce rate and average engagement time.
LONG VS. SHORT COPY
When it comes to copy, we tend to agree with George Orwell, who said, “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it.” In other words, shorter is better.
Except for when it’s not 🙂 Sometimes, longer text is better, but it can be hard to know when. With the power of A/B tests, you can figure out where your visitors want to know more and where you might be getting a little long-winded.
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