Just one year after Google [GOOG] launched Google Website Optimizer, the free A/B split and multivariate testing platform has shed its “beta” status and gone mainstream.

Formerly available only to AdWords users, Google Website Optimizer can now be accessed by anyone with a basic Google account. Even if you only have so much as a Gmail account, you can start testing your website — for free — regardless of whether you’re running a paid search campaign. (No worries, AdWords users, Website Optimizer still works seamlessly with the rest of the Google product suite.)

Companies of all sizes are getting results with Website Optimizer. And since it runs independently of your analytics program — or in sync with it, if you have Google Analytics — there’s little room for argument between departments as to whether or not your company should be testing. You should.

To find out more about Google Website Optimizer, visit their new…

• Website – Unglued from the AdWords site, you can visit Google.com/websiteoptimizer directly.
• Blog – Subscribe to websiteoptimizer.blogspot.com for product updates, case studies and ideas worth testing.

Why is FutureNow so excited about Google Website Optimizer? A few reasons:

1. Authorized Consultant – FutureNow was one of the original firms to be invited to test GWO with clients, and the case studies have been remarkable so far. Is yours next?
2. Writing the book on GWO – Bryan Eisenberg & John Quarto-vonTivadar, inventors of FutureNow’s patented Persuasion Architecture® methodology, have teamed up to write Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer, in book stores this August.
3. It works! – The results speak for themselves.

Of course, knowing what to test — design elements, copy, etc. — is everything. If you’d like to start testing and you’re not sure if you need to hire a firm, here are several free resources to get started with Google Website Optimizer.

Got questions about Website Optimizer or testing in general? We’d love to hear your comments.