Add surveys to your site.

Another Adsense product.

[Broadway]

I saw mention of this new Adsense revenue source:
[google.com...]

It's where a pop-over appears that makes you answer a question before you can read the rest of the page.

The Adsense information suggests that you control a lot of the popup's features (how often, how much text shows, which pages, etc... [I'm not really sure exactly what because I didn't sign up]).

My absolute first thoughts had to do with how it would degrade user experience.

Then I multiplied 5 cents (what you get paid, per SERoundtable) times the number of pages I serve per day. Wow.

I still didn't sign up. I've been bitten and burned by the money bug before.

[ken_b]

I've been seeing more and more of that sort of thing, not sure it's from Google though.

I usually just use my back button and go to the next site in the serps.

I'd guess it could add up to money on some sites though.
.

[netmeg]

Too user unfriendly for me. Not mention - five cents? No thanks.

[ember]

First rule: do not annoy visitors. That would annoy them.

[graeme_p]

Stupid idea. A lot of people will just hit anything to get to the page. Other will hit the back button.

I thought Google has been telling us for yeats that popups are evil and not to be used on any site that uses adsense?

[Marshall]

I thought Google has been telling us for yeats that popups are evil and not to be used on any site that uses adsense?

On behalf of Google - Do as I say, not as I do - or have you not yet figured that out.

Marshall

[eek2121]

This is a way of offering premium content without asking the user to pay. 5 cents per answer is astounding though. I might try it on a trial basis since I was originally considering moving to a freemium model anyway.

[farmboy]

Not bothering the visitor is a good policy.

But if it helps to get some useful information... Hmmmm.

I'm going to have to go have a look.

FarmBoy

[eek2121]

I've implemented the surveys on a trial basis on my website. I gave users a way to give feedback. I will let you all know how it goes.

[eek2121]

Oh one more thing. The 10 cents a question is only for the first question. Below is the complete table (The publisher gets 50%):

1 10¢
2 $1.10
3 $1.40
4 $1.70
5 $2.00
6 $2.30
7 $2.60
8 $2.90
9 $3.20
10 $3.50

That means that if the user answers more questions (Google prompts them to answer more for 7 day access to the site) then you'd make quite a bit more from that user. Overall RPM appears to be thousands of times higher than adsense, depending on whether they answer the survey or not.

[zdgn]

I've also been trying and playing with various scenarios to implement these across multiple properties without jeopardizing user experience.

IMHO, if it takes off, this rather played-down product by Google is potentially a lucrative alternative+supplement to plain AdSense ads for publishers -- and actually very useful for surveyors, considering the genuinely massive audience AdSense Display Network can offer them.

[farmboy]

As an AdSense publisher, do you have to pay for your own visitor surveys or can you display the surveys of others and earn revenue from clicks on those surveys of others?

FarmBoy

[eek2121]

They show surveys from others. There is a 7 day validation period where you don't get paid. After that you get paid based on the size of the survey as listed in the pricing table above. You can also create your own surveys, but it costs money. So far I haven't gotten any feedback despite having a link right above the survey to do so. Many users have completed the survey, so I guess they don't have too much of a problem with it. Bounce rate and average session duration has NOT changed.

Too bad they don't pay you for that first one. ;)

Remember that this isn't a 'supplement' or 'alternative' to adsense ads. This is an alternative to premium memberships.

[ember]

I would think that what you would earn in survey revenue would be offset by the loss in adsense revenue from visitors just leaving the site because they resent having to click on a survey to reach the content. Unless you have a low RPM. Might work then.

[farmboy]

I would think that what you would earn in survey revenue would be offset by the loss in adsense revenue from visitors just leaving the site because they resent having to click on a survey to reach the content.

Couldn't you just put up a survey only on specific pages and have "content without a survey" on other pages?


FarmBoy

[farmboy]

They show surveys from others.

I must have read the page while I was still half asleep and need to return and read again.

So - you don't get the surveys of others from AdSense?

FarmBoy

[tangor]

I'm certainly in the wait and see camp on this one. Not sure if the user really wants to give more info to the Gorg. (wink wink nod nod)

If you lose 100 visitors for every completed survey those rates might not look so appealing.

[netmeg]

So - you don't get the surveys of others from AdSense?

The way I understand it works, say I want to put out a survey - not about my site or the site that's displaying the survey, but just some general question - like 1. Do you expect to buy a car in the next 12 mos, and 2. Are you gonna buy a *new* car. So I pay Google to run my survey on publisher sites.

So yes, you can buy surveys (the same way you buy ads) but since they have to take the survey before they can proceed to your site, it wouldn't make sense to survey them *about* your site.

As noted above - this is not a replacement or addition to running ads on your site, this is more an alternate monetization to running a paywall or paid subscription. Instead of charging X amount a month or year, you put these surveys in and the users need to complete them to access the site, and you get paid.

If I ran any kind of a paid membership or paywall site, I'd absolutely try it. But for a regular ad-monetized site, I think it would send people away in droves.

[Broadway]

I realize that someone has paid to have their survey presented. But separately I was wondering if Google collects this information and then servers you "interest based" adsense later on as you surf around the web.

The one I saw asked if I was going to apply for college soon. I could see how once they know that, they'd be serving you ads for online schools for days and weeks to come.

[Broadway]

With Adsense you can put 3 units per page.
Does this surveys thing affect that?

[eek2121]

I'm probably going to remove adsense from my site altogether. These surveys give very high (triple digit...that is, more than $100) RPMs and my users aren't rejecting them.

[graeme_p]

SOunds a lot more interesting than it did at first. Of course, you have to be based in the US, UK or Canada - so my .uk site with mostly US and UK visitors does not qualify anyway.

WIll high RPMs last?

[Selen]

My worry would be showing different content to users vs. search engines. User can see the survey but search engines can see different (the actual) content? I'm not sure if it is in terms of Google search quality...

[tangor]

It is a google gadget. I'm pretty sure they can tell the difference. How is looks to bing or duckduckgo I have no clue.

[ember]

I usually get an email when there is some new Google thing to try. The only place I have heard about this is here.

[getcooking]

I just encountered the survey on a site. Clicked the back button immediately because hey, guess what, the search I was doing wasn't answered there without completing the survey but it was on the second result in the SERPS (without having to waste my time complete a survey!)

I could see it being a second-pageview sort of thing once you "hook" a new user to your site, but as a first time visitor to that site I wasn't impressed. I actually had considered using the surveys on my own site as an additional source of revenue, but after experiencing it firsthand I won't be adding it unless I can see a way to do it without ticking off new visitors.

[netmeg]

I think the strategy is not to treat it as an ad, but as an access key to a members-only type site.

[ken_b]

I could see it being a second-pageview sort of thing once you "hook" a new user to your site, ...

Sort of setting something similar to a "first page free" thing. As an alternative to asking for registration for additional or deeper pages?

[tangor]

This is (as some suggest) a paywall/subscription penetration tool. Ie. If implemented the protected data is "free" for answering the survey. Who wins? Google. Website loses by giving up control of their paywall/subscription for some pennies and nickles.

[eek2121]

tangor, considering the RPM i'm getting with it, i wouldn't consider it to be 'pennies and nickels'. Also, you can still offer a premium membership to your site. Non premium members have to fill out the survey every day. Premium members don't have to deal with it.