What is a link survey?
A link survey is a survey on its own web page that people open from a link or a QR code. You can share it anywhere a link fits, so it reaches people who never visit your website or app.
One survey, one link
A link survey lives at its own address. Anyone who opens the link sees the survey as a full page, on a phone or a computer, and nothing needs to be installed on your site. The same link works in an email, a newsletter, a chat with a customer, a social post or a QR code on a receipt.
Link surveys reach people your website can't: guests at an event, shoppers in a store, partners, or customers who bought through someone else. They also suit longer surveys, since a full page gives each question room.
The trade-off is context. A website survey knows the page and the moment someone answers from, while a link survey knows only what the link carries. A tag on each link, such as the newsletter or the table it was printed for, gives that context back.
- Opens
- From a link or a scanned QR code
- Shared in
- Email, chat, social posts, print and events
- Needs
- Nothing installed on your site
- Also called
- Hosted survey, web survey, shareable survey
Where to share a survey link
Share the link where people already are, at a moment when they can spare a minute.
- In an email or a newsletter, with the first question in the message
- In a support reply or a chat, once the issue is solved
- In a social post or a community forum
- On a receipt, a menu, a table card or packaging, as a QR code
- At an event, on a screen or a sign, as a QR code
Link surveys and QR codes
A QR code is a link survey in printed form: scanning it opens the same page on the phone. Put one on anything physical, such as a receipt, a counter, a hotel room or an event badge, and say what it is for next to the code, such as “Rate your visit in 30 seconds”.
Point the code at a survey that can change without a reprint, and print a separate code for each place you want to compare, each with its own tag on the link.
How to track where answers come from
Add a tag to each link you share, such as ?utm_source=newsletter or ?utm_source=table-3, and keep it with each answer. Splitting the answers by tag then shows which place brings the most answers and how scores differ between them.
Say 300 people answer in a month: 180 from the newsletter link, 70 from the QR code at the counter and 50 from a social post. The newsletter brings 60% of the answers, and the counter code tells you how in-store visits compare.
- Newsletter link
- 180 answers
- QR code at the counter
- 70 answers
- Social post
- 50 answers
- All answers
- 180 + 70 + 50 = 300
Link survey vs website survey
Both can run the same questions. They differ in who they reach and in what they know about the moment.
| Link survey | Website survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Reaches | Anyone with the link or code | Visitors on your site or app |
| Opens | When someone opens the link | On a trigger, such as a scroll or exit |
| Knows | The tags on the link | The page, the device and the moment |
| Best for | Email, events, print, longer surveys | Feedback on a page or a task |
How to get more answers to a link survey
The link has to earn the click. Say what the survey is about and how long it takes, and make the first question easy.
- Name the time it takes, such as two questions in under a minute
- Put the first question in the email, so one click starts the survey
- Send soon after the experience you ask about
- Check that the page works on a phone, since many links open there
- Close the survey once you have enough answers
How Usertick runs link surveys
Every Usertick survey can run as a link survey on its own hosted page, with every question type, logic, languages and themes. The page uses a Split, Cover or Card layout, and the link is created on the first save and never changes. Copy it, open it or share it to social networks from the Share step.
The Share step also draws a QR code for the link, to download as a PNG or an SVG. The code points to the live survey, so edits never need a new print. Any tag on the link, such as ?utm_source=newsletter, is kept with each answer, where workflows, Google Sheets, webhooks and the API can read it. Results shows link answers together, so to compare places there, use one survey per place or a first question that names the place.
Answers from the link land in the same Results and inbox as every other channel, and the Summary shows responses, completion rate and median completion time. A survey can move between the link, the website and email and keeps its settings for each.
Mistakes to avoid with link surveys
Small choices that keep the results useful.
- 01
Sharing a link without context
A bare link gets few clicks. Say what the survey is for and how long it takes.
- 02
Using one link everywhere
With one untagged link you can't tell the newsletter from the QR code. Tag each link with its source.
- 03
Printing a code you can't change
A printed code outlives most survey plans. Point it at a survey you can edit, and test the scan before you print.
- 04
Leaving the survey open forever
Old links keep collecting answers long after the event. Set a closing date or a response limit.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The page fits any screen, and a QR code opens it right on the phone that scanned it.
Not in Usertick. The code points to the live survey, so edits show the next time someone scans it.
Yes. In Usertick, Opens at and Closes at set the window on every channel, and a response limit closes the survey after a set number of responses.
They can be. With anonymous responses turned on, Usertick stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID with any answer, which holds for website, link or QR code surveys and not for surveys sent through Usertick email.
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