#69 Dry your eyes, say your goodbyes, another one dies, it’s Google Optimize!

This week Dan and Dara talk about the very recent announcement that Google Optimize will be sunset on 30th September 2023. No exceptions, no extensions, it'll be gone for good for everyone - the free and paid versions! They discuss how this will affect the analytics and CRO industries, and whether Optimizely or VWO will be suitable replacements for the current Opimize users. They also think about the future of Google's proposition and whether the GMP will be rolled into the GCP.

Dan mentioned that April 3rd 2023 is when we launch our new GA4 Immersion 6-week cohort training course - 50% early bird discount per ticket available now!

Here's Google official announcement of the Google Optimize sunset on September 30th (not 31st...).

Dan referred to a blog from Marianne Stjernvall titled 'Sunset of Google Optimize September 30th 2023 - What you need to do and what does this mean to CRO?' that is well worth a read.

Here is the announcement from VWO about their new free tier looking to sweep up all the free Google Optimize users no doubt!

And the reading Dan and Dara did that made them think about Optimizely replacing Google Optimize is - Optimizely's page on how they're 'powered by Google', their press release on 'Optimizely and Google Cloud Partner to Drive Joint Innovation & Next-Gen Experimentation' and their blog post on 'Google Cloud & Optimizely partnership will empower marketers to unlock their digital potential'.

And finally, here's the ChatGPT poem for Optimize (RIP):

Google Optimize, our trusty friend

With you, our websites did ascend

You helped us to test and to tweak

Our online presence, unique

You were young, just five years old

But in that time, you made us bold

To try new things and take a chance

With data-driven marketing at our glance

But now you're gone, and we must say

Our hearts are heavy on this day

Though Optimizely and VWO

Will try to fill the void you'll leave, it's true

We'll always remember the impact you made

On our digital presence, in every grade

Rest in peace, dear Google Optimize

You'll be missed by many companies, that's no surprise.

In other news, Dan maybe repeats himself and Dara never learns!

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Intro music composed by Confidential - check out their lo-fi beats on Spotify.

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Quote of the episode from Dan: "I think that it's not about the tool, I think it's about how Google's maybe quite obviously now pivoting and refocusing their attention onto to fewer but maybe more detailed tools."

Quote of the episode from Dara: "Does the GMP need to exist going forward? Because with Looker Studio now sitting more firmly in the GCP, GA4 underpinned by GCP, testing and experimentation being pushed into GCP with the Optimizely partnership. Even Google Tag Manager moving towards server-side reliant on GCP too. Is the GMP as its own entity going to become a little bit redundant?"

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