How to Make a BuzzFeed-Style Quiz to Boost Website Traffic

You’ve seen them everywhere: “Which Disney Princess Are You?”, “What City Should You Actually Live In?”, “How Well Do You Know 90s Pop Culture?”. BuzzFeed-style quizzes are more than just internet candy; they are legitimate, high-octane traffic magnets.

In an era of ad blindness and short attention spans, a well-crafted personality quiz can generate thousands of shares, capture valuable leads, and turn casual browsers into loyal readers. But you don’t need BuzzFeed’s engineering team to replicate this success. With the right strategy and a powerful BuzzFeed style quiz maker like SurveyMars, you can create addictive quizzes that drive real, measurable growth for your website.

Why BuzzFeed Quizzes Are a Traffic Goldmine

It’s simple psychology. BuzzFeed didn’t invent quizzes; they perfected a formula that taps into fundamental human desires: self-discovery, social validation, and a bit of fun.

l  The “For Me” Effect:

Personality quizzes are inherently personal. The user is the star of the show. This creates an emotional investment that a standard blog post can’t match.

l  Built-in Virality:

People don’t just take these quizzes; they share their results. A result like “You’re a ‘Bold Innovator’” is a form of social currency—it’s a badge people want to display on Facebook or Twitter, bringing you free, targeted traffic.

l  Data-Driven Lead Generation:

Unlike a generic pop-up, a quiz is a value-for-value exchange. Users happily provide an email address to get their personalized results, giving you rich data about their preferences and personality.

l  Sky-High Engagement:

Quizzes demand interaction. This reduces bounce rates and signals to search engines that your site has engaging content, which can indirectly boost your SEO.

A BuzzFeed-style quiz is not a test with right or wrong answers; it’s a personalized experience that users feel compelled to share.

Anatomy of a Viral Quiz: The 5-Question Formula

Deconstruct any successful BuzzFeed quiz, and you’ll find a consistent structure. Follow this blueprint for maximum shareability.

1. The Click-Worthy Title

The title is the #1 determinant of whether someone clicks. It must be irresistible.

Use “You” and “Your”: “What’s YourInterior Design Style?” outperforms “An Interior Design Style Quiz.”

Invoke Curiosity or Challenge: “Can We Guess Your Age Based on Your Snack Choices?” or “How Well Do You ReallyKnow ‘Friends’?”

Keep it Short & Punchy: Aim for under 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off in social feeds.

2. The “Speed Date” Length

Attention is a scarce resource. Don’t ask 20 questions.

The Sweet Spot:7-10 questions is ideal. It’s enough to feel substantial but short enough to complete during a coffee break.

Progress Bar: Always show a progress bar. This subconsciously encourages completion by showing the user how close they are to the finish line.

3. Visual-First Questions

BuzzFeed quizzes are 90% visual. Text-only questions kill the vibe.

Image-Based Answers: Instead of listing “Pizza, Salad, Burger, Sushi,” show mouth-watering picturesof each food. The brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.

GIFs & Memes: For pop culture or humor quizzes, using a reaction GIF as a question (“How does this meme make you feel?”) is pure engagement gold.

4. Personality-Based Scoring (Not Right/Wrong)

This is the core differentiator. Assign points to personality traits, not correctness.

Example: For a “What’s Your Productivity Style?” quiz:

Answer A (Wake up at 5 AM): +2 points to “Early Riser”

Answer B (Work best after midnight): +2 points to “Night Owl”

Answer C (Depends on the day): +1 point to “Flexible”

At the end, the trait with the highest score determines the result.

5. The Shareable Result

This is your payoff. If the result is lame, no one shares it.

Positive & Flattering: Make the user feel seen and smart. “You’re a ‘Strategic Mastermind’” is better than “You’re kind of lazy.”

Include an Image: Every result should have a shareable graphic (e.g., a “Strategic Mastermind” badge).

The CTA: This is your traffic driver. “Get Your Custom ‘Mastermind’ Work Plan” (linking to a blog post or product page).

Building Your Quiz: A Step-by-Step Guide with SurveyMars

You don’t need to be a coder. A versatile BuzzFeed style quiz maker like SurveyMars handles all the complex logic and scoring behind the scenes. Here’s how to build one from scratch.

Step 1: Define Your Goal & Audience

Before you open the tool, answer this: Who is this for, and what do I want them to do?

Example: Goal:Capture emails for my new ebook on sustainable living. Audience:Eco-conscious millennials. Quiz Idea:“What’s Your True Sustainability Personality?”

Step 2: Craft Your Results (Start from the End!)

This is a pro-tip: Build your results first. In SurveyMars, create your 4-5 personality outcomes (e.g., “The Zero-Waste Warrior,” “The Conscious Consumer”).

Write a 2-3 sentence description for each that is insightful and funny.

Upload a custom image for each result that will be displayed at the end.

Step 3: Build the Quiz with Scoring Logic

Now, create your questions. For each answer option, you’ll assign points to the relevant result.

SurveyMars Logic: In the SurveyMars quiz maker, you use the “Personality Quiz” template. For the question “What’s your go-to mode of transport?”

“Bicycle” → +3 to “Zero-Waste Warrior”

“Electric Car” → +2 to “Conscious Consumer”

“Public Transit” → +1 to both

The platform automatically tallies the scores and shows the winning result.

Step 4: Make it Look Like BuzzFeed (Design)

BuzzFeed is bright, bold, and branded. SurveyMars’s design studio lets you:

Upload a Cover Image: Use a bold, high-quality photo for the quiz start page.

Custom Colors: Match the button and background colors to your brand (or go with BuzzFeed’s signature bright pink and blue if that fits).

Fonts: Choose a clean, modern, sans-serif font. No Comic Sans.

Step 5: Gate the Results for Leads (Optional but Smart)

To turn traffic into leads, don’t show the result immediately.

The Email Gate: In SurveyMars, set up a “Form” step before the results. The copy should read: “Enter your email to unlock your personalized sustainability personality report!”

Value Exchange: This feels fair because the user is getting a personalized outcome in return for their email.

Step 6: Promote & Drive Traffic

The quiz won’t go viral in a vacuum.

Embed it: Place the quiz prominently on your homepage or a dedicated landing page using SurveyMars’s embed code.

Social Blast: Share it on all your channels. Run a small paid ad targeting people interested in your niche.

Email Newsletter: Send it to your list with the subject: “I made a fun quiz for you…”

Beyond Traffic: Converting Quiz Takers into Customers

The traffic spike is great, but the real ROI comes from what you do with the data.

l  Segment Your Email List:

Now you know which subscribers are “Zero-Waste Warriors” and which are “Conscious Consumers.” Send them hyper-targeted content and product recommendations.

l  Retargeting:

Use Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics to retarget everyone who took the quiz with ads for your relevant products.

l  Content Ideas:

See which result was most popular? Write a deep-dive blog post about that topic and email it to everyone who got that result.

Creating a BuzzFeed-style quiz is no longer a complex coding project. With a dedicated BuzzFeed style quiz maker like SurveyMars, you have a drag-and-drop platform that handles the scoring logic, design, and analytics. It’s the fastest way to create a piece of content that people actually want to interact with and share. Stop just writing blog posts and start creating experiences that drive traffic, capture leads, and build a community around your brand.

Ready to create your first viral quiz?SurveyMars is the ultimate BuzzFeed style quiz maker for marketers and creators. With intuitive personality logic, stunning visual templates, and powerful lead capture features, it has everything you need to build a quiz that blows up your traffic numbers.

Stop wondering and start quizzing. Create your first BuzzFeed-style quiz with SurveyMars today!

FAQ: BuzzFeed Style Quiz Maker

Q1: How many questions should my BuzzFeed-style quiz have?

Keep it between 7 and 10 questions. Any fewer and it feels insubstantial; any more and you’ll see a significant drop-off in completion rates. The goal is to make it feel quick and fun, not like a chore.

Q2: Can I add images and GIFs to my quiz in SurveyMars?

Absolutely. SurveyMars supports rich media uploads. You can add a cover image, an image for each question, and even use GIFs in your answer options to make the quiz feel exactly like a BuzzFeed post.

Q3: Should I make people enter their email to see the results?

It depends on your goal. For maximum virality and traffic, show the result immediately and thenask for an email to get a “detailed PDF report.” For lead generation, gating the result behind an email form is highly effective, but expect a 20-30% drop in completions.

Q4: How do I create the “Which X Are You?” personality logic?

SurveyMars handles this automatically. When you set up a “Personality Quiz,” you create result categories (e.g., “Leader,” “Creator”). For each answer choice, you assign points to one or more categories. The result with the highest points at the end is shown to the user—no coding required.

Q5: Can I see which results are most popular?

Yes, SurveyMars provides detailed analytics. You can see exactly how many people got each result, which questions were skipped, and even the average time spent on the quiz. This data is invaluable for refining your next quiz and understanding your audience better.