Jay and I were discussing our KeywordWorkshop.com reader base yesterday. Understanding exactly why readers visit our site and what they expect from it can be difficult.

One of the simplest solutions is to offer readers direct feedback through simple surveys. So we've decided to start gathering some useful data to ensure we're delivering the super-relevant content our readers crave.

SurveyGizmo has been plugged through the web press lately as a solid survey tool. It has a free subscription package, so I thought, "Why not? I'll test it."

Now I have no previous "survey" experience - this is all new to me. So there are a few "musts" on my list:

1. It must be simple (I don't want to hurt my head trying to get this working).
2. It must be time-efficient (I don't have days to set this up).
3. It must require minimal maintenance (see both reasons above).

SurveyGizmo claims all of the above with a "Surveys have never been Easier or More Powerful" blurb on their main page. Will this make my entry into the survey world all-so-easy?

Step 1. Signing Up
This process is as simple as it should be. It's a matter of entering the usual "registration" details like name, email and password. So far so good - time to build some surveys.
 
Step 2. Choose Your Survey
I honestly never expected so many survey options, types and variables. I’m surprised, especially considering I signed up only to the free subscription.


 

Creating a new survey is a simple two-step process where you name your survey and choose your survey type. It's highly likely that your survey type is included in one of the 50+ pre-made survey templates, so the hard work is already done. The templates include:

• Market, product & pricing research
• Customer satisfaction
• Employee satisfaction
• Lead generations
• Landing pages
• Website formsNewsletter sign-ups
  

After seeing all the options I realised SurveyGizmo is much more than just a simple survey tool. It has powerful research and data tools that go well beyond my needs and knowledge. But the beauty of SurveyGizmo is that I can still easily use the tool for the most basic of surveys. As my survey skills grow and our feedback starts trending, I will learn some of the more advanced features to make the most of them.

Step 3. Options Galore
After creating a survey, it's just a matter of adding questions and options to suit. I've selected the "Embeddable" theme so I can easily embed our survey inside KeywordWorkshop.com.

There are options galore inside each survey (too many to list here) depending on which button and survey type you select. Whether you're looking for radio buttons, check-boxes, drop-downs or rankings, urveyGizmo has them all and more.

 I have 5 key questions to ask in our first simple survey:

1. How often do you do keyword research?
2. What are you using keyword research for?
3. What is your favorite keyword research tool?
4. How many different keyword research tools have you tested?
5. Would you pay for keyword research to be done for you?
   

Radio buttons are all I need for this survey and I can quickly turn any question into a *required field if I need to. A list of pre-filled answers are ever-present if you're lucky enough to be asking "common questions". In the case where your question might be "What state do you live in?" this will save you typing every US state into the answers box. And that's a relief.

I add my questions and "publish".
 
Step 4. Embed & Enjoy
I want our survey to "look professional" and sit inside our website as though I made it myself. So a simple copy-and-paste of the embed code means that's exactly what I get - a fully-functioning survey live in our website. It’s that easy.

Step 5. Reports
There are more reporting options in SurveyGizmo than I know what to do with. As our report data grows, I will share with you some of the datasets we're using to improve your time on our KeywordWorkshop.com.
I can also add the survey URL to our mail-outs, which will be very handy for some post-op intelligence.
 
Walk the Walk
SurveyGizmo aren't lying - they do offer powerful and easy survey solutions. Even with the free service you can easily create professional surveys that will allow you to better understand what your readers want from your website.

You can easily take this service to a much higher level with all the tools and options SurveyGizmo provide. For now, I've ticked off my "must" list - a simple, time-effective and maintenance-free survey system.

I'm really looking forward to collecting some data and publishing the results, so remember to take part in our survey. You can also sign up for your own free SurveyGizmo account.