Google puts a lot of weight in
search ranking around relevance. So it didn't come as a complete surprise when I saw a quick survey pop up from the bottom of the page asking for feedback.
The call-to-action —new to me
— took me by surprise. I haven't seen other reports around the Web on the quick desktop survey. And there was no reward after answerING the simple question: How satisfied are you with these
results? The options in the survey run the gamut: Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, Somewhat dissatisfied, and Very dissatisfied.
It was not a survey
question to gain access to content. The survey appeared in the bottom right corner of the desktop browser window. I found it while searching for an event hosted by author Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.
Tom Maxwell at 9to5Google points to a string of commentS from people who have experienced
Google surveys in mobile apps from YouTube to Maps within the past two months.
One reader, earlier this year, experienced a quick mobile survey in the Google PlayStore on mobile. "Looks like
they are trying to work on better search results! SpiderDice writes. "They've been listening to us!"
Mikeluscher159 witnessed a similar mobile survey in Maps. The Maps survey asked questions
such as whether the location is good for families, popular for dinner, quiet, and more.
It turns out Google has an app called "rewards" where the survey asks questions -- not always about
Google. Answers earn the person PlayStore credits -- usually between $0.10 and $1 per question, but it adds up.
Reports from a variety of countries where people can earn credit range from $10
to more than $60. Most say it relies on geolocation tagging.