Website Survey Software

I sometimes use a website survey software script on my site.

But it's not just any survey program, it's the brainchild of Avinash Kaushik. Kaushik is the author of the very popular Web Analytics: An Hour a Day . When Kaushik speaks, people listen and they greatly benefit.

I've been caught in the past thinking I knew what my customers wanted. At times, I've been embarrassingly wrong. The secret to learning about a web visitor's experience is easy - you simply ask them.

That's simple in theory, but how can you integrate website survey software without being intrusive or interrupting the visitor's experience? That's what Kaushik has figured out for you.

The Three Most Important Questions

According to Kaushik, the greatest survey in the world contains just three questions. They are:

What is the purpose of your visit to our website today?
Were you able to complete your task today?
If you were not able to complete your task today, why not?

Kaushik, along with a company named iPerceptions, has created free website survey software that is easily installed on your web pages and will ask these basic questions.

While programs like Google Analytics will tell you WHAT happened on your site, a permission-based exit survey like 4Q can tell you WHY something happened. You need both in order to maximize your user's experience.

4Q Website Survey Software - Installing the Script

Setting up the 4Q survey on your site is simple. You simply register for a free account, modify the survey to best suit your particular business, and then paste the given script into the web page that will activate the survey.

Let's say you decide the place the script on your homepage. This is a good choice since your homepage is probably the most viewed page on your website. You then set what is called the Invitation Response Rate. This is simply the percentage of visitors that will be invited to take the survey.

Setting the Invitation Response Rate to 50% means that out of 100 people that land on your homepage, 50 of them will be invited to participate in the survey.

Below is a screenshot of my homepage and what the survey invitation window looks like.

The visitor is asked if they would be willing to complete a 4 question survey AFTER they are finished visiting the site. If they decline, the invitation window disappears. If they agree to participate, the invitation window still vanishes, but a second survey window opens up behind the user's browser. The invitation screen explains this so as not to cause any confusion.

When the visitor is finished, they can then proceed to take the survey. Results are instantly tabulated and can be accessed at any time by simply logging into your 4Q account.

Below is the first part of the results report, showing an overall satisfaction score and task completion percentage.

You can also review Satisfaction Rate over time, Purpose of Visit over time, as well as all open-ended commentary. It's the user-typed commentary that can really help you understand your visitor's experience.

Here are a couple of additional points to keep in mind.

Using this service is 100% free
You can turn it off or on whenever you want.
You have complete control over the rate at which the survey invitation is shown.
Your data is secure and can only be viewed by you.
You can upload your own logo onto the survey invitation screen.

Are There Any Drawbacks to the 4Q Survey?

There will be some people out there that simply won't like the fact that the survey invitation pops up just as the user lands on the page that contains the survey script.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of pop-ups either - but keep this in mind. This is an exit survey. Its purpose is not to get the user to take the survey immediately. Rather, it simply asks permission to complete the survey AFTER their web visit.

The survey invitation is short and sweet and the user has to only click 'Yes' or 'No' in order to immediately continue their web visit.

This is about as unobtrusive as you can get while still maximizing user participation.

Avinash Kaushik Meets Barry White

Kaushik likes to joke about his deep Barry White voice. You can draw your own conclusions by watching him speak about the benefits of permission-based exit surveys and how they can help improve your website.

When your ready to sign up for your free survey account, simply visit the 4Q Survey Homepage.

Website survey software has never been this easy!