Bound vs. Google Content Experiments (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Bound
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Bound (formerly Get Smart Content) is a website segmentation and targeting platform that enables marketers to read a website visitor's digital body language and serve relevant content based on the person's stage in the buying journey. Using behavioral, demographic, and firmographic data, Bound creates personalized web experiences for both anonymous and known website visitors to increase the effectiveness of marketing efforts and dramatically reduce the buyer's path to conversion. Bound partners…N/A
Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Content Experiments was a tool that can be used to create A/B test from within Google Analytics. It has been discontinued since 2019, and Google now recommends using its Google Optimize service for A/B testing.N/A
Pricing
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
Bound
Chose Bound
It has the inability to export subject line or ISP complaints that require manual pulling by each campaign when needed. Results from variable tests are also reported only as a percentage of chosen KPI (opens, clicks, etc.). There's no ability to see hard numbers from the tests …
Chose Bound
Get Smart Content is what we primarily use to serve up segmented content. The only other method or tool we've used to do so while leveraging our Demandbase variables is Optimizely. We selected Get Smart Content because they make the process of segmentation using Demandbase …
Chose Bound
Get Smart Content is quite cost effective, simple to use with great support. The support systems and simplicity based on other products used and evaluated is the best in the industry.
Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google Content Experiments is a free tool and the leading tool in the industry. It's pretty simple to set up a test and use content experiments to monitor objectives once Google Analytics is installed. Less experienced team members can run tests with some training. There are …
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
It frankly was down to cost. Other platforms offer better targeting etc., however, we found that unless we could demonstrate early value - we didn't get budget sign off. Our teams aren't usually large enough to justify the cost and time to invest in a more complex platform - so …
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google Website Optimizer was a better product but has been discontinued. We have also used Test and Target , which has more features but we have been doing fine with Google Content Experiments. Most testing situations can be handled with Google Content Experiments.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google Content Experiment cannot compete with Adobe Test and Target, Quadratics or even Optimizley. It is harder to use with no editing interface, so pages must be actually developed. It doesn't allow for any advanced segmenting or multivarient testing. But it is free, so …
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
I have not used any alternatives. I only use Content Experiments because it is in GA.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google CE is free, Optimizely isn't plus only until recently I found out that Optimizely can work with multiple goals, however, this was found by meeting their employees at a trade show and not via their website.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
We'd use content experiments as a complimentary testing tool alongside more comprehensive testing packages out there. As a free testing tool it does the job for basic A/B testing.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
If you are looking for a more advanced great value for money solution I would recommend investigating Visual Website Optimizer. For a more powerful enterprise level solution with the option to have a fully managed service I would recommend Maxymiser.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google Content Experiments provides significantly more insight, historical data and analysis than Unbounce. However, if you do need a solution that offers a WYSIWYG editor, landing page hosting, and limited reporting and testing, Unbounce is a good all-in-one solution and that …
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
GCE isn't better or worse than any of these, it's just different. When I have the time to build a new page, setup the testing scripts, and go - then I'll use GCE. If I'm doing multivariate I use VWO. If I'm testing a quick button or headline change, I use Optimizely or UnBounce.
Chose Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
Google CE does a great job streamlining tools and features. Optimizely does not offer nearly the same amount of tools or resources that G CE does. I would use CE in the future but stay away from Optimizely. Google also has a lot more resources for accruing knowledge on it …
Features
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Testing and Experimentation
Comparison of Testing and Experimentation features of Product A and Product B
Bound
9.7
Ratings
14% above category average
Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
9.2
Ratings
9% above category average
a/b experiment testing10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Split URL testing9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multivariate testing9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-page/funnel testing10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Cross-browser testing10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Mobile app testing9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Test significance10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Visual / WYSIWYG editor10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Advanced code editor10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Page surveys10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Visitor recordings9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Preview mode10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Test duration calculator10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Experiment scheduler9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Experiment workflow and approval10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Dynamic experiment activation9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Client-side tests10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Server-side tests10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Mutually exclusive tests10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Audience Segmentation & Targeting
Comparison of Audience Segmentation & Targeting features of Product A and Product B
Bound
9.8
Ratings
11% above category average
Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
13% above category average
Standard visitor segmentation10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Behavioral visitor segmentation10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Traffic allocation control9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Website personalization10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Results and Analysis
Comparison of Results and Analysis features of Product A and Product B
Bound
9.4
Ratings
8% above category average
Google Content Experiments (discontinued)
9.9
Ratings
14% above category average
Heatmap tool10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Click analytics10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Scroll maps9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Form fill analysis10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Conversion tracking8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Goal tracking9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Test reporting9.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Results segmentation10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
CSV export10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Experiments results dashboard9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Convert Experiences
Convert Experiences
Score 9.9 out of 10
Convert Experiences
Convert Experiences
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BoundGoogle Content Experiments (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
I think the customer service and relationship we have with Get Smart Content is great
Read full review
Google Content Experiments is suited for large and small organizations, no matter your organizational goals. It is not recommended for organizations that are only interested in qualitative data, as there are other tools for receiving specific user experience feedback. It is also not recommended that you implement tests without some sort of goal in mind.
Read full review
Pros
  • Tracking/Data Analysis
  • Unique experiences
  • Reaching many demographics
Read full review
  • When you need to measure against event-based goals
  • If you need to see how the test variations performed against secondary goals
  • Given that the the platform requires you actually code a new page with a unique URL, this tool can be good for radical redesigns.
  • Great insights into other information about your testing groups, like whether or not they're mobile, screen size, browser, or really any dimension available in GA.
Read full review
Cons
  • There are some additions we would like to see, such as a better experience in the Performance section. It'd be great if we could see an overall view of the metrics instead of having to drill down. We do a monthly KPI report which takes me a while to create due to the back and forth nature of comparing metrics within Get Smart Content. I also have to use Google Analytics to help with this.
  • We had some issues with the tool not updating Eloqua contacts, but that has since been resolved. The process for discovering the cause of the problem was lengthy and frustrating.
  • It would be great if you could see metrics of an A/B test within the campaign/rule, instead of having to go to the Performance section and find it. A small snapshot of info would be very helpful and it would allow us to compare and update the rule without leaving that page.
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  • You can only optimise for one goal, so if you have several conversions, like phone call and email you need to do it manually.
  • It seems not to work that well for pages with lower amounts of traffic - not great for new or niche sites.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Content Experiments just makes it is simple and easy to implement A|B tests. We will be evaluating other tools in search of a more robust system for multivariate and cross-page testing, such as Optimizely or Visual Website Optimizer. However, for basic testing, you can't really beat it.
Read full review
Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Using the free tool, overall "live support" is limited. However, there are plenty of online resources to get started. If you need handheld support, it is best to upgrade the service or hire a developer through one of Google's partner agencies. There could be more support for understanding what makes a test useful or not.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Get Smart Content is what we primarily use to serve up segmented content. The only other method or tool we've used to do so while leveraging our Demandbase variables is Optimizely. We selected Get Smart Content because they make the process of segmentation using Demandbase variables easy
Read full review
Google Website Optimizer was a better product but has been discontinued. We have also used Test and Target , which has more features but we have been doing fine with Google Content Experiments. Most testing situations can be handled with Google Content Experiments.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Allows to set up automations for several different scenarios.
  • Allows tracking links and the display of the stats/reporting.
  • It has ability to duplicate campaigns, which saves me a lot of time.
Read full review
  • Doing good experiments/Optimize has helped to take out the guesswork of the things we want to implement.
  • We have done fairly complex changes such as changing navigation and managed to see improvements outcomes immediately before we have to request developer.
  • Our teams have become more data centric in how they approach changes.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Bound Screenshots

Screenshot of Campaign viewScreenshot of Segment viewScreenshot of Segment list