Interesting post on the official Google AdWords blog - Inside AdWords (http://adwords.blogspot.com/ ).
It reads:
Looking to increase the number of conversions you're getting on your site? If so, you'll likely be interested to hear what Ann-Lee, from the Website Optimizer team, has to say about a new tool:
As an advertiser you spend both time and money driving traffic to your website, but if your site doesn't engage your audience then it's likely that you aren't converting those visitors into customers. We know that this can be difficult to test and we want to help you out.
Over the coming weeks we'll be testing a new tool called the Website Optimizer that can help you find out which content will convert best on your site. Whether you define a conversion as a purchase or a newsletter sign-up, Website Optimizer allows you to experiment with different headlines, copy, and images on your site in order to find out which combination results in the most conversions. You can use this tool on your landing page or any page that represents a conversion.
At the end of each experiment, graphical reports show which version of your landing page users liked best, as measured by which variation had the highest conversion rate. So, if you're interested in increasing conversions, we think you'll find the Website Optimizer useful.
Using Website Optimizer to experiment with your landing page does not have any impact on your Quality Score, so long as you maintain the existing default landing page for the Ad Group. Once you make a change to your site based on the results, however, the Quality Score might change as with any other changes to your landing page. That said, if a change is good for your users, it is probably good for your Quality Score too.
For this beta, we'll only be able to invite a small number of advertisers to participate, selected from all that apply. Selection will be based on a number of factors, including amount of traffic the landing page receives and the ability to begin testing quickly. We'll contact those selected on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. In the near future, we look forward to releasing this tool to all advertisers.
Learn more about why landing page optimization is important here. Then, find out how Website Optimizer can help you improve your ROI and apply for our beta test.
I haven't had a chance to digest this, but it has some pretty interesting implications, and it makes me think back to the initial chatter regarding Google CPA. It also makes me think of Beth's quite popular and stirring post on Valueclick / CJ. I'm surprised that a VCLK or other with a large merchant base on cost per action wouldn't have offered this earlier. Smart move by Google.
What do you think?
