A recent announcement from Google might make the lives of many marketers quite a bit easier. Everyone knows that one of the most effective ways to test different approaches is to use A/B testing, but that can be time consuming and difficult. With a new API for content experiments within Google Analytics will now allow site owners and developers to perform this type of testing using programmatic methods. This will give users the ability to rotate content evenly for A/B testing, or they can adjust the display rate based on their own desires.
In the past the Content Experiments used a JavaScript snippet which would cause page redirects. The new content experiments API, however, it performs similar testing without resorting to using redirects, which is a faster and more efficient way to direct traffic.
It is also possible to test different items on the server-side based on database query. This allows users to try different things like implementing recommendations or search algorithms. This was not possible using the previous functions within Content Experiments.
One last improvement to the overall Content Experiments system is that it is now possible to use it in non-web environments. It can be added to kiosks or other systems to test different layouts or types of content to see which is the most effective. This puts all the power of web-based testing into devices which are not connected to the web, giving owners of these kiosks a much more effective way to test different configurations.
The full announcement from Google can be found HERE. Have you used Content Experiments in the past? Are you planning on using the new API to make you’re A/B testing faster and easier? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this important update from Google.
