Making Money Doing Online Research

Many people become interested in making money by performing online research, only to find themselves the victim of a scam designed to make money off them instead! If you have gone this route you have probably heard terms like, "a proven business opportunity", "a guaranteed six-figure income" and "be your own boss".

The good news is that there are a number of reasonable and legitimate options for making money online by performing research. Even better news is that they are likely to earn a reasonable fee. Let's have a look at some legitimate options:

1) Knowledge or information based services are one way of making an income by performing online research - these are services that ask you to use any skills or experience you might have as a way of earning some extra cash. You could choose to join a company that hires your services for their customers or one that refers you to those who need what you have to offer. Membership may be free or paid.

2) Using services like Google Answers can save internet surfers time. It is also one way of making money doing online research. People in need of information post queries on computing, shopping, entertainment or food related issues. A price is set by the researcher based on how much work was involved and three-fourths of the price goes to the researchers and the rest to Google.

3) Companies like ClicknWork and AskDownUnder can also be a useful way of making money doing online research. These concerns hire online researchers who provide Web search and information services for customers. Such services range from business writing to finding answers to business-related questions. It is free to join but researchers need to pass a test before acceptance.

4) If you are an expert in your field then supplying advice to others could be a snap. Most sites offering this kind of opportunity are fee-based for users and employ teams of researchers around the world who provide expert advice on a range of topics.

Kasamba.com offers such a service and employs online experts in categories like religion, relationships and travel. Advice is offered by e-mail, chat or phone. Rates are set by the minute or hour. Try supportfreaks.com, surfbrains.com and bumperbrain.com or LiveAdvice and Keen for telephone advice rather than making money doing online research.

5) There are also a few affiliate marketing, referral and pay-to-read-email and programs that are not scams. European Telework Online and FreeMoneyGuide are two examples of programs that actually pay their members for the work that they do. These are both good opportunities for earning money by doing online research.

However, be cautious as it may not be cost-effective based on the money you will need to spend on bandwidth and telephone calls.

6) There are also other opportunities for making money doing online research such as signing up with outsourcing companies such as guru.com and elance.com.