If you relied on Google Optimize for running A/B tests and optimizing your website, you may be at a loss since Google discontinued the product in 2024. But don‘t despair – while Google Optimize will be missed, there are plenty of powerful alternatives on the market that can help you test and improve your site experience.
In this post, we‘ll look at the top 10 Google Optimize alternatives worth considering in 2024. Whether you‘re a small business owner, marketer, or optimization expert, you‘re sure to find a tool that fits your needs and budget.
But first, let‘s briefly discuss why proactive website optimization is so critical, and the role that A/B testing plays in improving your site.
Why A/B Testing is Key for Conversion Rate Optimization
Your website is one of your most important marketing and sales assets. But just having a website isn‘t enough – it needs to effectively engage visitors and convert them into leads and customers to deliver ROI.
The challenge is that visitor behavior is complex. It‘s not always clear what content, design, or layout changes will have the biggest positive impact on your key metrics. That‘s where A/B testing comes in.
A/B or split testing allows you to compare different versions of pages or elements to see which perform better. For example, you could test two different headline variations, CTAs, hero images, etc. and measure which one leads to more conversions over time.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the practice of continuously running these tests and experiments to identify what works best for your unique audience. Rather than guessing or assuming, you use data to guide your optimization efforts.
While not a magic bullet, A/B testing is an essential part of any CRO strategy. However, to run tests effectively, you need the right tool. Let‘s compare 10 of the top Google Optimize alternatives for 2024.
The Top 10 Google Optimize Alternatives Compared
1. VWO Testing
VWO (Visual Website Optimizer) is a leading CRO platform that offers advanced website testing and optimization capabilities. Their VWO Testing product is positioned as an enhanced alternative to Google Optimize.
VWO Testing includes a user-friendly visual editor for modifying pages without code, as well as a code editor for developers. It supports multiple types of tests including A/B, multivariate, and split URL testing. Personalization and targeting options are also included.
Perhaps most noteworthy is VWO‘s new free plan designed specifically for Google Optimize users. It includes all core testing features and generous usage limits. Pricing scales up from there for more advanced capabilities.
Best for: Websites of all sizes looking for a feature-rich yet accessible testing tool. The free plan makes it ideal for former Google Optimize users.
2. Mouseflow
Mouseflow is a unique Google Optimize alternative focused on behavior analytics and visualization. While it doesn‘t include A/B testing features directly, it integrates with tools like VWO Testing to provide valuable insight for optimization.
With Mouseflow, you can see detailed heatmaps of where visitors click, scroll, hover, and pay attention on your site. Session recordings let you watch real visitors navigate your pages to identify issues and opportunities.
Other features like conversion funnels, form analytics, and user feedback tools give you a well-rounded view of the user experience. Armed with these insights, you can make smarter optimization decisions.
Best for: Optimizers who want to understand how visitors interact with their site experience to inform testing hypotheses. Works well in tandem with A/B testing tools.
3. Getsitecontrol
If your primary use case for Google Optimize was testing popups, banners, slide-ins and other onsite marketing elements, Getsitecontrol could be your best bet.
This "widgets" based platform makes it easy to build attention-grabbing popup forms, promos, and messages and deploy them on your site without code. The intuitive builder includes plenty of templates and themes to start from.
But beyond just launching popups, Getsitecontrol lets you A/B test different designs, triggers, targeting, and other attributes to optimize performance. Popups can be displayed across your site or on specific pages.
While Getsitecontrol isn‘t designed for testing page layouts and designs, it‘s one of the most flexible solutions for optimizing your on-site conversion elements to boost email signups and sales.
Best for: Marketers looking to maximize conversions from popups and other promotional widgets through continuous testing.
4. Zoho PageSense
Zoho PageSense is an all-in-one platform for optimizing your website experience. It includes tools for behavioral insights, engagement with on-site messaging, and experimentation.
On the insights side, you get detailed heatmaps, session recordings, and conversion funnel analytics. For engagement, you can build and launch pop-ups, banners, and in-app surveys without coding.
To optimize your site, PageSense supports A/B and split URL testing. But beyond standard testing, it also offers advanced personalization features to dynamically customize your site based on visitor attributes and behavior.
If you‘re looking for a comprehensive tool to handle research, testing, and personalization, Zoho PageSense is worth a look. Pricing is affordable and based on monthly tested visitors.
Best for: Growth marketers and CRO professionals who want to consolidate optimization efforts under one platform.
5. Unbounce
Unbounce has built a reputation as one of the most powerful landing page builders for marketers. But beyond just building high-converting landing pages, the platform also helps you optimize them through AI and traditional testing.
On the AI front, Unbounce includes an impressive feature called Smart Traffic which automatically allocates visitors to the landing page variant where they‘re most likely to convert. It uses machine learning to match visitors to pages based on their attributes.
For a more controlled testing approach, Unbounce also supports standard A/B testing of page elements and designs. The Smart Builder includes over 100 templates and conversion-driving features like sticky bars and pop-ups.
While pricing for Unbounce is a bit steep compared to some other tools, the ROI potential is significant – especially for paid ad campaigns. If you want to squeeze the most conversions from your landing pages, it‘s a strong choice.
Best for: Businesses and agencies looking to rapidly test and optimize paid marketing landing pages with less manual work.
6. AB Tasty
AB Tasty is an enterprise-grade testing and personalization platform packed with advanced features for optimizing even the most complex sites.
In terms of testing, AB Tasty offers classic A/B and split URL testing, plus more advanced options like multivariate, funnel, and multi-page tests. Powerful audience segmentation and targeting are included.
Where AB Tasty really shines is its AI-powered personalization and automation. The platform can dynamically allocate traffic, recommend the next best page or product, and trigger 1:1 messaging based on visitor profiles and behavior.
However, this advanced functionality comes with a steeper learning curve and higher cost than some other tools on our list, so it‘s best suited for larger organizations with experienced optimization teams.
Best for: Enterprises and high-traffic sites that need maximum flexibility and automation for testing and personalization at scale.
7. Optimizely
Optimizely is another leading enterprise CRO platform trusted by many top brands. Like AB Tasty, it offers a full suite of tools for experimentation, personalization, and behavior analysis.
As a former Google Optimize user, you‘ll appreciate Optimizely‘s recent integration with Google Analytics 4 which allows you to sync experiment data and create audiences. This closes the gap between testing and reporting.
In terms of testing, Optimizely supports A/B, multivariate, and multi-page testing with advanced targeting and segmentation options. Its Stats Engine provides near real-time results to identify winning variants faster.
Optimizely is an excellent choice for larger organizations looking to scale experimentation programs. But its pricing and complexity make it a bit overkill for small businesses and those new to website optimization.
Best for: Enterprise marketing teams already using GA4 who want a robust, secure testing and personalization solution.
8. Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg has been a popular website optimization tool since 2005. It combines funnel tracking, heatmapping, session recording, and surveys to help you understand visitor behavior.
While Crazy Egg started as an analytics solution, it now includes basic A/B testing features as well. You can create page variations and measure which results in higher conversions. It‘s not as full-featured as some other tools but covers the essentials.
One unique feature is Crazy Egg‘s ability to A/B test elements across your entire site, like navigation or footers. This allows you to test global design changes without having to run multiple standalone tests.
In addition to optimization, Crazy Egg also offers useful tools for website performance monitoring and error tracking to help identify any technical issues impacting the user experience.
Best for: Lean startups or UX teams looking for an affordable suite of behavior tracking and testing tools under one roof.
9. Plerdy
Plerdy offers a range of tools to analyze user activity on your website and turn those insights into optimization opportunities.
Like Crazy Egg and Hotjar, Plerdy includes heatmapping, session replay, event tracking, and conversion funnel analysis features. It also offers SEO auditing and pop-up building capabilities.
Where Plerdy stands out is its focus on e-commerce businesses. It provides detailed product and category-level heatmaps and analytics to help online stores learn how visitors shop. You can zoom in on your best and worst-performing products or pages.
Plerdy doesn‘t currently offer a built-in A/B testing feature, but you can integrate with a dedicated testing tool. It does support exit-intent pop-ups which can be useful for recovering abandoned carts and capturing leads.
Best for: E-commerce marketers and UX designers looking to visualize and optimize the digital shopping experience.
10. Hotjar
Last but not least, we have Hotjar. Like others tools on our list, it combines behavior analytics and feedback tools to help you empathize with visitors and identify areas for improvement.
Hotjar‘s core features include heatmapping, session recording, conversion funnels, form analysis, and user feedback polls and surveys. It also recently added a new tool for building and measuring engagement with in-app messages.
One of Hotjar‘s unique selling points is its freemium model which allows you to collect data on up to 35 daily sessions at no cost. This is helpful for getting stakeholder buy-in before committing to a paid plan.
What Hotjar lacks is any native A/B testing functionality (although you can integrate with a tool that offers this). But if your focus is more on qualitative research and identifying issues vs. running optimization experiments, Hotjar is a solid choice.
Best for: UX researchers looking for an affordable and easy-to-use solution for visualizing user behavior and collecting feedback.
How to Choose the Right Google Optimize Alternative
As you can see, there‘s no shortage of options when it comes to Google Optimize alternatives in 2024. The key is finding the tool that best aligns with your unique goals, workflow, and constraints.
Here are a few factors to consider when evaluating tools:
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Features: Do you only need basic A/B testing or more advanced capabilities like multivariate testing, personalization, heatmapping, etc.?
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Ease of use: How technical is your team and how much time can you dedicate to learning a new tool? Some tools are very user-friendly while others have a larger learning curve.
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Integrations: Consider what other tools you use for analytics, user research, project management, etc. and look for a tool that can connect that stack.
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Scalability: How large is your website and how many monthly visitors do you have? Some tools are better equipped for higher testing volume and enterprise use cases.
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Support: If you‘re newer to CRO, look for a tool that offers good documentation, training, and support to help you succeed.
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Pricing: Testing tools range from free to thousands per month. Set a realistic budget based on the potential impact and ROI.
Once you‘ve narrowed down a few top choices, take advantage of any free trials to get hands-on and evaluate fit. Don‘t forget to get buy-in from other stakeholders as well.
Continuously Test, Learn, and Optimize for Success
Whichever Google Optimize alternative you land on, remember that A/B testing is an ongoing process. It‘s not a one-and-done tactic.
Aim to build a culture of experimentation where everyone from marketing to product to UX is bought into using data to optimize the user experience. Make sure you have proper analytics and user research practices in place to measure impact and inform new test ideas.
Most importantly, don‘t get discouraged if some tests are inconclusive or don‘t "win". Failure is an essential part of the scientific process. With persistence and iteration, you‘ll start to generate insights that move the needle.
Now go forth and happy testing!
