Google have enhanced their website optimizer to allow advertisers to disable low performing ad variations and send the remaining traffic to higher performing ones. Previously, to achieve this, advertisers would have to stop the entire test (and lose all test data), so the improvement is a big timesaver for webmasters.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Google website optimizer, it’s a tool that allows advertisers to test copy, layout, and images to determine which combination will yield the best results on any given page. To learn more, visit the website optimizer demo.

As mentioned above, website optimizer now features a ‘disable’ button that removes any low performing page variations and allows for quicker, more actionable test results. Google have also made some other enhancements including:

• Updated reporting to indicate when a variation is a high confidence winner. High confidence winners are page combinations that are the most likely to improve conversion over your current page design (see screenshot below).

• Offline validation for A/B tests - ensures webmasters have everything tagged correctly for pages that aren’t accessible to website optimizer online.

These updates were released by the Google team at Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose last week. I think they’re a great example of how some simple changes can really improve a service offering. If you’re using website optimizer and noticed the changes, let us know what you think!