1) Google Consumer Surveys provides concise surveys to millions of respondents each month through partnerships with hundreds of publishers. 2) The presentation reviews lessons learned from GCS's approach of using shorter surveys, simpler formats and clear incentives to obtain higher-quality responses compared to traditional online panels. 3) The presentation outlines plans to enhance GCS by adding features like demographic and geographic targeting, custom screening, automated analysis and a mobile app to reach over 1 billion Android users and expand the potential respondent pool.

1. Monica Barsetti Plaza & Jon Sadow
what’s next for
Google Consumer Surveys
#next4gcs

2. Google
Confidential
looking back at
where we’ve been

3. 65%
of research suppliers believe the “quality of
online panel sample is worse than
commonly acknowledged”
91%
of research buyers place “highest data
quality” at the top of the list of important
attributes when selecting a Research Supplier
while…
Greenbook Research Industry Trends Report, Spring 2012
the worst kept secret
Google
Confidential

4.
Long questionnaires result in lower
response rates.
Effects of Questionnaire length on Participation and Indicators
of Response Quality in a web survey (Galesic, Bosnjak 2009)
Long questionnaires lead to reduced
response quality and increased
straightliners.
Effects of Questionnaire Length on Response Quality
(Herzog, Bachman 1981)
“
“
”
”
Matrices/grid formats introduce measurement error
and are more difficult for respondents.
“ Presentation of a Single Item Versus a Grid…
(Callegaro, Shand-Lubbers, Dennis 2009)

5. “focus on the user and
all else will follow.”

6. “focus on the user and
all else will follow.”
respondent!
∧
_________!

7. our approach
• shorter surveys
• simpler formats
• character and response limits
• clear incentive
• privacy & anonymity

8. The [Google] surveywall approach resulted
in more accurate estimates on the
whole than other traditional online,
panel-based survey platforms.
Surveywalls: A Breakthrough for Survey Customers or
DIY Run Amok? (Nielsen & RTI International, 2013)
“
”Perhaps it won’t be long before
Google… is the most trusted
name in polling.
Nate Silver, Election Polling Guru, 2012
“
”
A Comparison of Results from Surveys by the Pew Research Center
and Google Consumer Surveys (Pew Research Center, 2012)
[Across 48 questions] the median difference between results
obtained from Pew Research surveys and using Google
Consumer Surveys was 3 percentage points.“

9. 275+
publishers hosting surveys

10. millions
of respondents per month

11. hundreds of millions
of answers to date

12. Google
Confidential
what’s next
for GCS

13. Google
Confidential
too long bad data
effective, but limiting
what we’ve learned

14. Google
Confidential
the sweet spot

15. Google
Confidential
why? smarter, modularized surveys

16. Google
Confidential
why? smarter, modularized surveys

17. making a good thing even better
• rep. samples of real consumers
• demo + geo targeting
• custom screening
• automated analysis and insights
• user friendly survey creator
• complete raw data
• recurring surveys & timelines
but now, with full cross-tabs!

18. $1.10 - $3.50 per complete
for up to 10 questions

19. features & services us them
analysis & visualization included
completed data sets included
programming included
incidence of 20-60% included
project support included
mobile targeting Included
TOTAL up to $3.50/complete
price per complete
+ add-ons
what about the other costs?

20. features & services us
(3-7 days)
them
(8 days)
cost per complete $3.50 $3.00
analysis & visualization $0 $1,500
completed data sets $0 $500
programming $0 $625
incidence of 20-60% $0 $0*
project support $0 $0
TOTAL $1,750 $4,125
example: 10 questions, n=500
*Increased cost below 50% incidence

21. 40% lower project cost
on average

22. we have a solution.
how do we go even bigger?

23. Google
Confidential
1 billion
Android devices

24. Google
Confidential
57% of people now own a smartphone in the US
consumers are now spending nearly 40%of
their internet time on mobile
average consumer spends 2 hours per day
on mobile apps
where the people are
Source: KPCB Internet Trends - Mary Meeker, May 2013

25. going mobile

26. going mobile
• downloadable application
• apps, books, music & movies
for free
• potential for 1B respondents
• same creation experience
• offline functionality
• compatibility across devices

27. a look into
the future

28. 21%2013 smartphone
global penetration
(expected)
1.5xglobal mobile traffic
growth y/y
Source: KPCB Internet Trends - Mary Meeker, May 2013

30. enhanced automation
• behavioral models
• read/write API
• advanced survey design
• cross-question insights
• interactive cross-tabs
• additional output formats
• language translation

31. get started today
GCSprojects@google.com

32. Thank you!
mbarsetti@google.com
jsadow@google.com
#next4gcs
g.co/consumersurveys