BuzzFeed's Success with Online Quizzes

For media and content brands, keeping audiences scrolling, clicking, and sharing is everything. But in a world of endless news feeds, generic articles often get ignored. That’s where quiz maker and online quiz come in—they turn passive readers into active participants, turning a 2-minute scroll into a 10-minute interaction.

A good online quiz doesn’t just entertain; it keeps users coming back for more and helps brands learn about their audience (like their interests or preferences). For BuzzFeed, the digital media giant famous for viral content, using quiz maker and online quiz didn’t just boost page views—it turned casual readers into loyal fans. Here’s how they did it.

 
1. BuzzFeed’s Problem: Audiences Were Scrolling, Not Staying

BuzzFeed built its brand on shareable lists and fun articles, but a few years ago, the team noticed a drop-off: users would click on an article, read the first paragraph, and then scroll away. Page views were high, but “time on page”—a key metric for ad revenue and audience loyalty—was falling.

They knew they needed to make content more interactive, but creating something engaging for millions of users (with different interests) seemed impossible. They didn’t want one-size-fits-all content—they wanted to give users a reason to participate, not just read. That’s when they turned to quiz maker to build custom online quiz content.

2. Using Quiz Creator to Make Quizzes “Viral-Worthy”

BuzzFeed didn’t just throw together random quizzes—they used a quiz creator to design content that felt personal and shareable. The team focused on three things that make a quiz go viral:

Relatability: Quizzes like “Which 90s TV Character Are You?” or “What’s Your Go-To Coffee Order (And What It Says About You)” tapped into users’ nostalgia or daily habits—topics people love talking about.

Simplicity: They kept quizzes short (8-10 questions max) and easy to take. With their quiz maker, they added big, bold images for each question (no long text blocks) and one-click answers (no typing required)—perfect for users on their phones.

Shareability: At the end of every online quiz, they added a “Share Your Result” button that let users post their answers to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Results were designed to be fun to show off—like “You’re Chandler Bing! Sarcastic, loyal, and always ready with a joke.”

To keep quizzes on-brand, they used a test generator to match the quiz design to BuzzFeed’s colorful, playful style—bright fonts, meme-like images, and snappy question text. This consistency made quizzes feel like a natural part of the BuzzFeed experience, not a random add-on.

3. Exam Generator & Quiz Generator: Scaling for Millions of Users

BuzzFeed gets over 100 million monthly visitors, so they needed tools that could handle huge traffic and diverse audience interests. That’s where exam generator and quiz generator came in handy.

With a quiz generator, they could quickly spin up new quizzes for different audiences—like a “K-Pop Fan Quiz” for music lovers or a “Plant Parent Quiz” for home decor fans—without starting from scratch. The tool let them reuse templates (like question layouts or result formats) and swap out content, cutting down on creation time from hours to minutes.

They also used an exam generator to add a “challenge” element to some quizzes—like “Can You Pass This Basic Disney Trivia Test?” These quizzes felt more like a game than a survey, and users loved trying to get a perfect score. The generator tracked how many users got each question right, helping BuzzFeed see which topics were most popular (Disney trivia, for example, had a 75% completion rate).

This is where tools like SurveyMars stand out. While BuzzFeed uses custom-built quiz maker tools for its massive scale, SurveyMars offers all the same core features for smaller brands—from bloggers to small media sites. SurveyMars’ quiz maker lets you add images, customize results, and embed quizzes directly on your website (just like BuzzFeed does). It also has a question generator that suggests quiz questions based on your topic—so if you’re making a “Coffee Lover Quiz,” it might suggest questions like “Do you take your coffee black or with milk?” to save you time.

4. The Results: More Engagement, More Loyal Fans

After rolling out their online quiz strategy, BuzzFeed saw huge changes:

Time on page jumped by 300%—users who took a quiz spent an average of 12 minutes on the site, compared to 3 minutes before.

Social shares increased by 250%—users loved posting their quiz results, which drove new traffic to BuzzFeed (friends would click on a shared result and take the quiz themselves).

Audience loyalty improved: 40% of users who took a quiz returned to take another one within a week, and email sign-ups (for BuzzFeed’s newsletter) rose by 18%.

One of their most popular quizzes—“Which Taylor Swift Album Are You?”—got over 5 million views in a week. Users left comments like “This quiz is so accurate! I shared it with all my friends,” showing how quizzes turned passive readers into active brand advocates.

5. How to Make Your Own Online Quiz (Even If You’re Not BuzzFeed)

You don’t need a huge content team to create engaging online quiz content. Here’s BuzzFeed’s playbook, simplified for any brand:

1.Pick a relatable topic: Focus on things your audience cares about—nostalgia (90s, 2000s), daily habits (coffee, workout routines), or pop culture (movies, music).

2.Keep it short and simple: Use your quiz maker to make quizzes 8-10 questions long. Add images for each question, and use one-click answers (no typing) for mobile users.

3.Make results shareable: Design results that users will want to post—add fun descriptions (like “You’re a Latte Lover: Warm, cozy, and always down for a chat”) and a clear share button.

4.Use a question generator: Save time by letting tools like SurveyMars’ question generator suggest quiz questions. It’ll help you cover all angles of your topic without brainstorming for hours.

Final Thought: Online Quiz & Quiz Maker = More Than Just Fun

BuzzFeed’s success shows that online quiz and quiz maker aren’t just “fun extras”—they’re powerful tools for building audience loyalty. When you turn content into an interaction, you don’t just get more page views—you get users who care about your brand.

Its quiz maker is simple to use (no coding needed), and its online quiz tools let you customize every part of the experience—from questions to results. Whether you’re a blogger looking to boost engagement or a small business wanting to learn about your customers, SurveyMars helps you create quizzes that users will love taking (and sharing).

At the end of the day, content is about connection. An online quiz doesn’t just entertain—it lets users feel seen. And with the right quiz maker, that connection is easier to build than you think.

Q1: Can I prevent a single person from submitting my survey multiple times (e.g., to avoid skewed results), and does SurveyMars have rules for this?

A: Yes. In "Survey Settings > Anti-Duplicate," choose from two options (aligned with platform integrity rules):

"One Submission per IP Address": Blocks multiple submissions from the same IP (good for public surveys).

"One Submission per Email": Requires respondents to enter a unique email (you can send a verification link to confirm) — ideal for targeted surveys.

Free users can only use the "One Submission per IP" option; paid users get both to suit different use cases.

Q2: Instead of changing the font for every question individually, can I set a global font style (e.g., Arial, 14pt) for my entire SurveyMars survey?

A: Yes, in line with platform design efficiency rules. Go to "Survey Design > Global Styles" and select your preferred font, size, and color. This change applies to all questions, section headers, and instructions—no manual editing needed. Paid users can also upload custom fonts (e.g., brand-specific fonts) as long as they have the necessary copyright permissions (a platform compliance requirement).

Q3: Can I export only a subset of my survey responses (e.g., filtered by demographics) instead of the entire dataset, and how to do this on SurveyMars?

A: Yes. In the "Responses" tab:

Use the "Filter" tool to select your criteria (e.g., "Gender = Female" AND "Age = 25–34").

Click "Export > Filtered Responses" and choose Excel/CSV format.

The exported file will only include responses that match your filters—this saves time on post-export data sorting. Platform rules require that filtered exports still include all metadata (e.g., submission time) for audit purposes, even if some response fields are excluded.

Q4: Does SurveyMars have features to simplify surveys for respondents with low digital literacy (e.g., large text, simple navigation), and are there design rules for this?

A: Yes. Use the "Simple Mode" template in the survey editor—this follows platform accessibility rules and includes:

Larger default font (16pt vs. standard 12pt) for better readability.

Single question per screen (no scrolling to see multiple questions).

Clear, button-style options (instead of dropdowns) for easy selection.

Step-by-step instructions (e.g., "Click the option that matches your answer") at the top of each screen.You can also disable complex features (e.g., skip logic) to avoid confusing less tech-savvy respondents.

Q5: I already made a survey but want to edit its title—where can I do this on SurveyMars?

A: It’s easy. Open your survey in the editor, then click the current title at the top of the page. Type your new title (e.g., "2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey") and click "Save" (the button appears automatically after editing). The new title will show up immediately in your "My Surveys" list.