Good Questions at the Right Prices | Google AdWords For Dummies

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The best way to maximize your Google Answers experience is to ask the right question, at the right price. Asking a difficult, multi-part question and offering $2.00 for its answer might not attract the best — or any — researchers. Offering $30.00 for the answer to a simple question will create a researcher feeding frenzy, but leave you feeling ripped off. Additionally, posting an unclear question (even though it can be corrected with the Clarify feature) is liable to generate time-wasting clarifying conversations, perhaps leading to the researcher feeling ripped off or you feeling obligated to tip heavily.

Good questions = good answers

First off, certain types of question head straight into a dead end because of Google’s legal restrictions. In some cases Google will even delete the question from public view. So don’t do the following:

Don’t place any personal contact information in your question: Don’t ask researchers to phone you or e-mail you privately. Google Answers is decidedly an open forum. While you’re at it, avoid putting up anyone else’s contact information, too. I have seen researchers answer questions in part by providing phone numbers or addresses. But for regular users, the only contact information permissible is the Google Answers user ID name.
Don’t ask for help doing something questionably legal or outright illegal: For example, requesting assistance in making unauthorized music downloads would probably get your question removed or at least incite warning comments from researchers.
Don’t spam: If you try to use the Google Answers space to promote your Internet business or sell products, you’ll get bumped off for sure.
Don’t get X-rated: References to porn, and especially links to it, are over the line.
Don’t cheat on your tests: Google Answers encourages student use while doing homework, but getting a researcher to answer a test question is against the rules. The two uses are separated by a fine line, to be sure, and questions stay or go at Google’s discretion.

Questions spawn related questions all too easily. Asking multipart questions isn’t against the rules, but you should know what you’re doing. Don’t ramble on with every query that enters your head. Be aware, too, that you’re essentially bidding for a researcher’s time, and the more complex your question(s), the more money you should offer. Researchers are generous, and chances are good that you’ll get a bit more than you asked for in a simple query.

Tip

If you want to hit several points of a query subject, try breaking the subject apart and posting a few low-priced queries. This clarifies your needs to the researchers, and gives them a chance to focus on specific questions rather than grapple with a bundle of them. It doesn’t hurt, too, to spell out explicitly the parameters of the answer you need. Include what you already know, and explain what you need to know.

The Google Answers directory is a virtual laboratory of questions, comments, and answers, in which you can discover what works and what doesn’t. Surf the directory by following these steps:

Go to the Google Answers home page by clicking the Google Answers Home link on any Answers page or by using the Google Toolbar (see Chapter 9).
Scroll down the page to see the Answers directory topics.
You can drill into the directory from two angles. Either click a subject area in the Browse previously asked questions section, or click a question from the Recently answered questions column. To follow along with this example, enter the directory through a subject heading, as shown in Figure 7-10.

Figure 7-10: Get into the Answers directory from the Answers home page.
Click any subject category.
On the category page (see Figure 7-11), click a question, click a subcategory, or scroll down the page to view a summary of comments, answers, and prices in that category.

Figure 7-11: The category directory pages.

You can discover a lot just by glancing down a main category page. Many question titles are fairly explanatory; the price is right there in the far-right column, and you can see the Comment and Answer traffic each question has attracted. Click a few questions, too, to see how researchers handle various types of questioning. You might be amazed at the detail and depth of the answers. Pay particular attention to the star-rated answers — most ratings are five stars, signifying an extremely successful transaction between seeker and expert. Asking a good question is half that equation.

Remember

Creating a descriptive heading for your question and placing the query in an appropriate category are both as important as good phrasing of the question itself. As I write this, an open query requests information about activity in Saudi Arabia immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and is vaguely titled “current events.” After a day, no answers or comments were attached to the question. When creating the query title, don’t worry about crafting a good sentence. You can even word the title as if it were a Google search string. (While you’re at it, you might want to try Googling your query before posting to Google Answers.) Do whatever it takes to convey the subject of your query precisely.

Putting your money where your query is

Setting your own price for the Google Answers service might seem awkward, and it’s best to avoid the temptation to bottom-line your every query. Likewise, don’t pay too much for simple questions because you’re reluctant to appear cheap. Google recommends estimating how long it will take to research your question and then pricing it accordingly. This advice, although relevant to the researchers, is nearly pointless to regular users who aren’t information experts and can’t anticipate the type of research needed. A better bet is to gauge, roughly, how demanding your question is based on two factors:

Speed: Do you have a deadline or are you just impatient? Then attracting a quick answer has more value to you.

Complexity: If your query contains more than one part or more than three sentences, chances are you’re requesting more than $2.00 of expertise.

Tip

If you have plenty of time, one pricing strategy is to start at the bottom and work your way up. Post a $2.00 question and see what it brings in. Interested users post comments regardless of price, because they’re not getting paid. If your $2.00 post doesn’t get the attention you want, raise the stakes to $5.00, and so on.

The overwhelming majority of questions are priced at $20.00 or less. Browse through the directory (see the preceding section, “Good questions = good answers”) to get a feel for the type of questions being answered at certain price points.

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