Great ways to use survey tools
If you are an online marketer or SEO, then you should consider the following uses for online surveys.
Prospective client surveys
Before getting started with a new client, you might want to get to know them first by providing a simple online survey form for them to fill out. Some great questions you could ask include the following.
- What websites do you own? (main domain, blog, additional sub-domains)
- What social media profiles do you use? (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+)
- What local search profiles have you claimed? (Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp)
- Have you worked with another online marketing or SEO agency? If yes, what services did you use? What were the results?
- Will you be working with more than one online marketing or SEO agency simultaneously?
- What are the top 10 pages you would like your online marketing strategy to be focused upon?
- Do you have any special online tools that could be used to attract links? (online calculators, widgets, industry-specific database)
- What are your online marketing goals?
- Do you use Google Analytics? If yes, can we have access?
Basically, ask them about anything you think you will need for your campaign so you know what you are working with early on.
Client satisfaction surveys
Client satisfaction surveys can be very useful not only to find out if you are on the right track with your client’s online marketing campaign, but also to find out if you can expand your services with them. So instead of just asking if they are happy with their results so far, if they are receiving enough communication about their campaign, and so forth, you can also ask them if they are interested in additional services they are not taking advantage of.
To keep your survey fresh from month to month, you can also ask about specific new trends. For example, this month would be a great time to ask your clients if they would be interested in mounting a campaign on Pinterest and optimising their site with images so it will be Pinterest friendly.
Website usability
If part of your online marketing involves creating or optimising websites for conversion, some basic website usability testing might be required. Invite people to try out the website, then send them a survey about their likes and dislikes of the website’s functionality. You might learn about a particular pain point that others experience which you might not have even thought about.
Link bait
Whether you are creating link bait for a client or for your own website, survey tools can help. One of the top trends in blogging is crowdsourced posts – posts where you get various people in a specific niche or industry to answer one or more questions, then compile the answers into a blog post. Not only do you get a lot of great information, but you get the promotional power of everyone you include in the list sharing it with their audience.
5 top survey tools
The following are some great survey tools that will allow you to get the answers you need. The best part – they all offer free basic membership!
Google docs forms
Google Docs offers their own survey tool with their Forms application. Simply log in to your Google Account, go to Google Docs, and create a new Form. You can choose text based answers, multiple choice, list answers, and more, making answers required when necessary. You can also choose from almost 100 pre-designed themes. You can embed forms onto your website using iframe code, share the link to the form, or email the form directly from Google Docs. Return to the form within Google Docs to see survey results!
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a widely recognised survey provider. They allow you to create surveys from scratch or choose from over 60 templates for different categories and industries including the following for customer feedback.
- Website Feedback
- Business to Business
- Customer Satisfaction
- Customer Service
- Software Evaluation
Their account options range from free for 10 questions and 100 responses per survey to $65 (US) per month for unlimited questions and responses, customisable survey forms, and more features.
Qualaroo
KISSinsights allows you to add customer feedback directly to your website with easy, targeted questions that will pop up on your site. It is the perfect way to do quick usability testing with your website’s visitors! Plans range from free for surveys with up to 30 responses to $49 (US) per month for customisable surveys with an unlimited number of responses.
Zoomerang
Zoomerang is on of the best survey tools for feedback. Surveys can be sent via email, Facebook, Twitter, or your own website. Zoomerang offers a variety of different types of surveys including the following.
- Customer Satisfaction
- Business
- Marketing
- Market Research
- Meeting and Event Planning
- Social Media (Twitter and Facebook)
- Mobile SMS
Plans range from free for an unlimited number of surveys with up to ten questions and responses to $599 per year for unlimited surveys, questions, and responses, customisation, data export, and more.
Smart Survey
Smart-Survey offers affordable software which you can use for customer satisfaction, specific industries, employee opinions, training feedback, and more. They allow you to cancel at any time, or simply downgrade your account and upgrade when you need it without losing your survey data. Plans range from free for an unlimited number of surveys with up to 50 responses per month to £29.99 (UK) per month for unlimited surveys with up to 1,000 responses per month, custom themes, and more.
Do you use survey tools to learn more about prospective clients, customer satisfaction, or website usability? Have you had success with crowdsourced posts? Please share your tools and tips in the comments!
