Personalization. It is one of the needs most frequently communicated by Transparent Clients. However, it can have many different meanings. Some think of it as personalized messages, whereas others think of personalization as product recommendations and others think of personalization as different tactics from these. But before marketing can plan and execute personalized experiences, one must first understand their customer and what content changes customer behaviors. Developing this understanding should include testing and experimentation as a step in the personalization process.
Background
There is a wide range of tools available today that support experimentation and personalization. However, one of these popular tools used to personalize and experiment is sunsetting at the end of September. If your organization is dependent on Google Optimize to run experiments and personalizations for your customers, Google has announced that it will cease all support on 30, September 2023. It’s not too late to find another experimentation solution to continue running your personalizations and experiments.
Google Optimize has been helping brands personalize their web pages since its launch in 2012, but Google will be sunsetting the tool on September 30, 2023. Currently, Google Optimize is a valuable tool for web content and experience design because of its A/B, Redirect, and Multivariate testing capabilities. Marketers can experiment with new website content, layouts, and designs with a subset of visitors. After the sunset date, all active experiments and personalizations will end, so it is imperative for users to find a replacement for web testing if they do not have one already.
As Google Optimize sunsets, so do its integrations with GA4 and Google Ads. Previously, these integrations allowed marketers to target experiments at certain user audiences, campaigns, ad groups, and Google Ads accounts. When looking for a replacement, you may want to find a tool with similar integration capabilities.
What you should be doing
- Understand your needs and compare them to the capabilities that the vendor is selling.
- Revisit your personalization tactics to confirm how you will use the new tool.
- Use Google Optimize as a benchmark to identify the functionalities that you rely on and the functionalities that you do not.
- Identify the functionality performance that you could not achieve with Google Optimize that would have improved the effectiveness of your experiments and personalization.
This graphic highlights some of the most frequently sought-after functions communicated by our clients:
As you are examining replacements for Google Optimize, below are a few of the considerations Transparent has been advising our clients on.
- Integration with existing toolsets including Analytics, CDP, CRM, Data Warehouse, Website, App
- Advanced testing capabilities including multivariate testing and utilization of Artificial Intelligence
- Personalization capabilities including audience segmentation and 1:1 targeted messaging
- Data storage and access for reporting and measurement
- Reporting and optimization capabilities to be able to change experiments on the fly as data is being captured
- In addition to sunsetting Google Optimize, all Universal Analytics data needed to be migrated to Google Analytics 4 by July 1, 2023. While the GA4 migration deadline has passed, it is not too late to export all historical experimentation data from Google Optimize GA4 to preserve your records.
Potential Experimentation Tool Considerations
Since you’ll need to replace Google Optimize with a new experimentation tool, Transparent believes it’s a great time to do a more thorough evaluation of vendors to select the tool that will best suit your dynamic needs. Below are a few tools that Google Analytics 4 has partnered with to allow for seamless integration with Google Analytics.
Optimizely offers front-end A/B and multipage experimentation as well as exclusion groups that allow you to run multiple tests on the same page simultaneously. Beyond experimentation capabilities, Optimizely also provides personalization capabilities that allow marketers to deliver targeted messaging and dynamic content to deliver the most relevant user experiences for your many audiences.
AB Tasty offers several experimentation types including A/B/n, Split URL, multivariate, and predictive testing with unlimited variations and real-time results. Some of its personalization capabilities include audience segmentation through the data layer, RFM-based criteria for e-commerce, and third-party user segments. Additionally, you can optimize campaigns through standard and AI-based targeting and campaign prioritization.
VWO’s experimentation tool allows you to run A/B, multivariate, split, multi-device, and multi-page tests on customizable audience segments. It also provides out-of-the-box metrics for easy use that you can use to make data-driven decisions and roll out quickly. VWO also offers personalization capabilities like segmentation and has a WYSIWIG editor for dynamic messaging creation.
Transparent Can Help
As you plan for a replacement for Google Optimize, whether you want to learn to leverage your current technology stack or embark on your search for a new experimentation tool, Transparent Partners can help find a solution tailored to your business needs. Contact us here to get in touch.
Rebecca Siems, Analyst, Technology
