Blogging and Mulitivariate Testing: Easily Sync Wordpress with Google’s Website Optimizer

Multivariate and A/B testing are two very important strategies in marketing. Even more so in the realm of internet marketing where nearly every aspect of your campaign can be tracked, tweaked and tracked again. There are sophisticated tools and software out there that can manage your testing for you. However, the cost of that software and the necessary learning curve can be high. Google lowered the entry threshold with their Website Optimizer toolset. If you have AdWords and Analytics experience, you can likely learn how to use Website Optimizer. The one caveat is that you have to play with your website’s code.  For folks whose websites are built on blogging platforms accessing the back-end code can be tricky. If you use Wordpress, don’t fear – there’s a plugin that makes entering the necessary code a cinch!

There are a few plugins available, but the Website Optimizer plugin I’ve been using stands out because it allows you to apply the test code per page or per post. Other plugins are limited to one test per site – which would be like trying to run with your legs tied together, in my opinion.  Setting the plugin up is simple(ish):

• Create your Google Website Optimizer account.
• Download the plugin and save it to your Wordpress plugins folder.
• Activate the plugin.
• Start a Website Optimizer test for a single page or post and copy/paste the test code directly into the plugin-provided boxes in Wordpress.
  • A/B tests will require you to enter code into the “Original” page, “Test” page and “Confirmation” page.
  • Multivariate tests require you to enter code into the “Original” and “Confirmation” pages only – but you do have to manually add the “Section” code directly into the HTML.
• Wrap specific sections of your page or post that you want to test with the “Section” script in Wordpress; save your page or post.
• Validate your code placement and begin creating variations of your content.
• Launch your test!

In the Wordpress interface, you will see these boxes under each page and post:

One other note worth mentioning is that if you want to test variations of your headline or design/layout, you’ll have to get your hands dirty.  Changing headlines and page titles will require you to add generic “Section” script directly to your blog’s header.php and page.php files.  And any design changes will have to funnel through your template php files.  If you don’t know how to manage these files – find someone who does! You could seriously mess your blog up if you’re not careful!

Today’s takeaways – multivariate testing has never been easier thanks to Google’s Website Optimizer and if you’re using Wordpress, it’s made even more simple with handy-plugins. So no more excuses about letting your blog go stagnant because it’s too hard to test!

T-Shirt photo courtesy of Tamar Weinberg at Flickr.