Can Google Optimize be an alternative for Neat A/B testing?

Google Optimize is a great tool for building and running A/B tests. It may not be the best, but it is acknowledged as one of the best options out there because it’s the only free tool in the entire market. That’s among other more expensive optimization tools such as Optimizely, VWO, Unbounce, and more.

Google Optimize allows users to build all kinds of tests, such as A/B, multivariate, split URL, funnel, ad, and more kinds of tests. It can also run tests on every platform, including Shopify, WordPress, and Wix. And because it’s a Google product, it smoothly integrates with Google Analytics.

Having all that for free is great for small retailers with less budget for experiments.

As the majority of small users use Shopify to operate their online businesses, we came to discover another testing tool called Neat A/B testing, which provides Shopify A/B testing. Neat is useful for tightly integrated tests such as price and description testing.

The next question is whether Google Optimize is a viable alternative for Neat A/B Testing. Maybe not, because there are some loopholes and limitations to Optimize that may make you consider other, more advanced paid tools.

To help you solve that dilemma, we’ve prepared a guide highlighting the differences between Google Optimize and Neat A/B Testing. This should help you to decide whether you need to spend on testing tools or not.

Note: Since Neat A/B Testing is Shopify specific, we will be comparing the two services on the basis of that alone.

Installation

Neat A/B Testing

Neat A/B Testing is an app that helps users build and run product attribute and product page A/B testing for Shopify online stores. It helps optimize basic but important elements such as pricing, copy, and images. The easy-to-use interface makes it easy for anyone to use it without much technical assistance.

You just need to add the Neat A/B testing app to your Shopify account; it will then be available in the App section of your Shopify account. From there, you can start Shopify A/B testing. There’s no extra installation, HTML coding, or integrations — just follow a simple installation process.

Google Optimize

To use Google Optimize on your Shopify account, there’s a separate process involved in which you need a few external tools for proper integration. The installation process for Google Optimize with Shopify is not very complicated, but it’s hard to compete with Neat A/B Testing when Neat can be installed with just one click. Beside this you can check some more Google Optimize Alternatives at Brillmark.

Winner: Neat A/B Testing

In a comparison, Neat takes Installation, hands down.

Testing Limitations

Neat A/B Testing

Neat focuses on optimizing specific elements such as price, product page layout, images, and text. It’s ideal if you have products and product pages as your top priority for optimization.

The service is separated into two categories:

• Product Attribute Tests: to optimize the product’s title, image, price, and description
• Product Page Layout Tests: to optimize the overall look of the product page.

Neat A/B Testing could be restricting when it comes to doing testing on sections of a website other than product pages.

Google Optimize

On the other hand, despite being free, Optimize can be used to build and run all kinds of tests. You can test almost everything, from A/B tests to multivariate, split URL, and full site redesign, too. The experiment and optimization possibilities are wider in Google Optimize as compared to Neat A/B testing.

There’s also more range and room for optimization. The Visual Editor is something which Optimize is praised for, as it helps improve and test the conversion ability of the graphical aspect of the website. The HTML and JavaScript editor helps to custom code anything, and you can even build the whole test through that (which is required to execute bigger experimenting projects). This creates room for creativity and more optimization opportunities.

Winner: Depends What You Need

For those who don’t need to run complex A/B tests and are focused only on products and product pages, Neat A/B Testing is perfect. For experiments beyond that, Google Optimize is more ideal.

Ease of Operation

Neat A/B Testing

Neat has a simple interface which leads you to the windows in which you can select and edit the element you want to optimize. You can change the text, image, color, price, and more by following very simple steps.

Since this tool does not interfere with the other elements that may require you to change the code or do anything manually, it’s easy to work with and improve the priority pages.

Google Optimize

Google Optimize’s visual editor is the main playground for building experiments for Shopify A/B testing on Shopify websites. It is an easy-to-use tool, but it has options for custom edits such as JavaScript changes, building recommendation engines, and more — it piles up many extra features.

But that could be irritating if you just don’t need those extra features. If you need advanced experimentation for more than just product pages, then you’ll probably be glad you have more options with Optimize.

Winner: Neat for Simple Tests; Optimize for Complicated Tests

For simpler tests, Neat A/B testing is easy to use, whereas Google Optimize is more detailed and effective when you need a few more options.

Budget Friendliness

Neat A/B Testing

Neat isn’t free, but it does have a 14-day free trial. The lowest plan starts at $29/month, which goes up to $99/month for a pro pack. It’s distributed per shop size and traffic, with four different pricing tiers.

Google Optimize

Google Optimize is a free tool, in which you can run up to 5 tests at a time. It also allows all kinds of experiments to be built and run.

It does have a pro, paid version called Optimize 360.

Winner: Google Optimize

Google Optimize is free, whereas Neat A/B Testing isn’t. Optimize is the budget-friendly tool which doesn’t add anything to your monthly budget, making it the clear winner.

Usability

Neat A/B Testing

Neat A/B Testing is a very functional tool that could be the best option for basic optimizations on product pages. You can change the specific product page input with their well-maintained dashboard, which also showcases results with estimated significance. Rather than quantity, this app has very few but very good quality features. You also don’t need much technical knowledge to set up basic tests. It’s perfect for the business with less optimization needs.

Google Optimize

Google Optimize has the upper hand by being a regular A/B testing tool made for any platform, not just for Shopify. But as a legit comparison, Optimize’s visual editor allows one to edit images, tweak with design, and play with UX experiments. It comes with HTML and JavaScript code editors that allow the website to have more advanced experiments.

With this the overall allowance for creativity, the possibilities for experiments increases for those wanting an all-in-one tool to fulfill advanced testing needs. It competes with all the expensive tools such as Optimizely, VWO, Unbounce, Convert, and more. Despite being free, this helps Optimize deliver excellent quality via their tool.

Winner: Depends What You Want

Google Optimize has more features and options for running experiments, whereas Neat A/B Testing only focuses on key page and basic elements such as product page and theme. Go for the one which provides you the most per your testing requirements.

Final Verdict: Could Google Optimize Be a Better Alternative to Neat A/B Testing?

Yes, because Google Optimize does have what Neat A/B Testing provides — and it includes more features than what Neat A/B Testing is able to offer as of now. Optimize covers the advanced technical needs for many kinds of testing, including A/B testing, multivariate testing, redirect testing, and personalization. This proves it to be the better choice over Neat A/B Testing in terms of building and running both dynamic and simpler tests.

Google Optimize is also free, which helps us to ignore the other flaws it may have.

Neat A/B Testing could still be the best option for those who want to stay away from the hassle of a bigger testing tool such as Google Optimize. Neat is also still much more affordable than many other tools available on the market.

In conclusion, yes, Google Optimize could be a better alternative if you’re looking for a tool to replace Neat A/B Testing for Shopify split testing.

What Else Can You Do With Google Optimize?

Google Optimize is a flexible and versatile tool. It can work for all businesses, regardless of the scalability or budget of the business. To compete with the bigger tools, Optimize includes the features that allow developers to customize testing on their own.

For a few examples of what we’ve done for our clients with Google Optimize, you can read about how an A/B Test improved Oflara’s conversion rate by 60%. Or check out our step-by-step guide to implementing a simple recommendation engine using Google Optimize.

If you have technical support for your business, you could definitely use Google Optimize to its fullest extent for optimizing your website with excellent Shopify A/B testing techniques. If not, you can hire outsourced A/B test developers from Brillmark without worrying about the budget.

Want to hire Google Optimize test developers? Reach us here.