Early Results Are In: How Polls Are Driving Engagement and Revenue Across the Disqus Network

A few months ago, we launched a lightweight Poll experience built directly into the Disqus comment section. No redesign, no new templates, no extra logins for readers, and no additional cost for ad-supported publishers.

Since then, we have continued to refine the module based on network-wide performance and publisher feedback. Today, we want to share what we are seeing and a few new features now available in Publisher Admin.

How Polls Are Performing   

92% publisher adoption is a confidence signal. When nearly every eligible publisher on the selected network has the feature running, it tells us the experience is working well enough that publishers are not turning it off. That is a meaningful bar to clear.

The +41% comment lift reflects what happens when you give readers a frictionless way to participate before they decide whether to engage more deeply. Polls sit at the top of the comment section, so they reach visitors at exactly the right moment to engage. That interaction carries over into more active threads overall.

The +31% revenue impact comes from two places. The poll module includes an adjacent ad placement that is visible and brand safe, creating incremental inventory without any layout changes. And because polls keep readers on the page longer, those impressions are more likely to be seen.

What Is New

Reference Article Label on Contextual Polls

Contextual Polls now include a Reference Article label that allows readers to jump directly back to the article the poll is based on. This keeps the editorial context intact, encourages recirculation into on-site content, and keeps readers engaged without sending them off-platform. It is a small addition that meaningfully closes the loop between poll interaction and the content that sparked it.

Polls Analytics in Publisher Admin

We have added a dedicated Polls analytics view in Publisher Admin, giving publishers clearer visibility into how Polls are performing on their site. You can now track total and individual poll responses, total and individual average overall response rate, and performance trends across both vertical and contextual Polls.

These insights are available directly in Publisher Admin even if you are not using the standalone Polls product.

The Recommendations Multiplier

One of the strongest performance signals we are seeing across the network: publishers who enable Recommendations alongside Polls see, on average, approximately 30% higher revenue than with Polls alone.

The reason is straightforward. Polls capture a quick reaction at the top of the comments. Recommendations then guide the reader to their next piece of content. Together, they create a natural engagement loop: attention, interaction, and recirculation. That loop extends session time and maximizes monetizable opportunities on every visit.

If you want to capture the full upside of the Polls experience, pairing it with Recommendations is the way to go.

Built for Publisher Control

We know that control matters. Publishers do not want surprising experiences appearing on their pages.

The poll unit is controlled at the publisher level. You choose whether to turn it on or off. You select whether contextual article-based generation should be on or off. If you prefer to keep things simple at first, you can start with vertical-based questions only and layer in article-specific questions later.

Moderators and admins also play a role. When a moderator is logged in, they will see tools to flag and remove any poll that does not feel right for their community. The goal is to give you the benefits of automation while preserving human judgment where it matters.

Interested in Bringing This to Your Site?

If you are not yet using Disqus and want to learn more about how the Poll experience and the Recommendations module could work for your site, we would love to show you what is possible. Contact us to learn more.