Posting and Canceling Questions
Posting a question to Google Answers is simple enough, but never free. For putting a question in play, the minimum charges are
So the least you can pay to get a question on the board is $2.50. The listing fee is credited to Google at the time of posting. The researcher’s fee is charged when an expert answers your question — no answer, no payment.
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Your credit card is charged on a schedule determined by your balance and the time of month. If you run up listing fees and researchers’ fees come due of $25.00 or more, your credit card is hit for the full amount. If your due balance stays under $25.00, Google collects the dough once a month. Remember, researchers’ fees come due not when you ask a question, but when you get an answer.
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When you created your Google Answers account (see the preceding section) you did not provide credit card information or any other way for Google to bill you. Google Answers fees are always paid by credit card. You can’t post a question without providing that information. There’s no point in providing it before you ask a question, so the following steps assume that you’ve sat down at the computer, opened up your browser, and want to post your first question to Google Answers.
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Go to the main Google Answers page at answers.google.com or use the Google Toolbar (see Chapter 9) to select Google Answers under the Google button.
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Click the Log in or Create a Google Account link.
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Assuming you have created a Google Account (see the preceding section), log in with your e-mail address and password.
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On your account page, click the Ask a Question link.
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You can also begin setting up your payment information by clicking the My Profile link. But proceeding directly to Ask a Question takes you through the credit card process, too.
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On the Ask a Question page (see Figure 7-1), fill in the Subject, Question, and Price fields, and select a Category.
Figure 7-1: Ask your question, title it, set a price, and choose a category all on this page.
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This seems a lot like work, doesn’t it? It’s worth it. For more about how to fill in these fields and maximize your chances of getting the answer you need at the price you want to pay, see the next section of this chapter.
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Click the Continue to payment information button.
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You might be asked to enter your Google Account password again. No need to include the -ga suffix.
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On the Google Answers: Enter Payment page, fill in your credit card and billing information.
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Click the Pay listing fee and post question button.
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If you click this button, the listing fee of 50 cents immediately becomes collectible by Google. You may also use the Go back and edit question button to reword your query or set a different price. The preview posting of your question as currently worded and priced is displayed below the buttons.
That’s it — your question is immediately posted. Click the View your question link on the confirmation page to see what you did. Figure 7-2 shows a posted question. Note that the time of posting and the expiration date are both listed. Questions remain posted, unanswered, for one month. Answered questions remain in the Google Answers directory permanently.
The View Question page contains enough features to warrant a closer look:
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You might see sponsored links on your View Question page (see Figure 7-2). Other Googlers see them, too. Google’s AdWords program (see Chapter 11) positions these paid links throughout the service, not just on the search results page, where they are prevalent.
Figure 7-2: A question posted to Google Answers, viewed on the poster’s View Question page.
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Use the Edit Question Parameters button to adjust the wording of your question or the price you’re offering for an answer. You may continue to tweak your words and price until the moment a Google researcher claims the question. Once claimed, the question is locked in place — Figure 7-3 shows what you see when you click the Edit Question Parameters for a claimed question.
Figure 7-3: You can’t modify a question in the process of being answered.
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Use the Clarify Question button to add information to your question that would help a researcher better answer it. You can do so at any time.
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Use the Close Question button if you change your mind and no longer want to receive a paid-for answer. On the following page, simply click the Yes, Close Question button. Or if you’re truly indecisive and now want to keep your question alive, click the No, Keep Question button.
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If you close the question, it remains posted, but researchers can’t claim it. And although you don’t have to pay for an answer, you do still owe Google 50 cents for posting the question in the first place.
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Below your posted question is space for the answer (which, when it comes in, is as publicly viewable as your question) and space below that for comments from other Googlers. You don’t pay for comments from the peanut gallery.
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You may post as many questions as you like. Manage your questions, billing profile, and invoice information on your Google Answers account page, which is available through the My Account link on every Google Answers page.
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A fair amount of dialogue can ensue between the person who posted a question and the researcher(s). In some cases, a second researcher joins the party. Researchers may seek to clarify questions, just as users may seek to clarify answers, so more than one researcher might be attempting to clarify a question before one of them finally claims and answers it.
Figure 7-4 illustrates a posted question with a researcher’s request for clarification.
Further down the page (Figure 7-5), the user clarifies the question, and the clarification is met with two more requests for clarification, from two researchers. This back-and-forth continues a bit, until one of the researchers (the second one to ask for clarification) claims the question and posts an answer (Figure 7-6).
Satisfied with the answer, the user rates the answer and tips the researcher (Figure 7-7).
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