The idea of getting paid to answer a series of questions sounds a little too good to be true, and when you combine this with all the misleading information on the internet, it’s understandable that some people are skeptical of the paid survey industry. But the key is knowing where to look. Google, for instance, usually isn’t the best source for finding paid online surveys because it is so full of spam results. It’s better to go straight to the reliable sources for paid online surveys—but what exactly are these sources?

Any time you are looking for sources of information on paid online surveys, the idea is to find resources that help you save time. Taking online surveys is all about efficiency. If you have to waste too much time finding surveys and preparing to take them, then it is just not worth it. So when looking for sources of real paid online surveys, keep in mind that it is all about helping you be more efficient.

Survey review sites

Start with websites that review online surveys. Sure, some of these sites may not have all the information you are looking for, but they can at least give you the gist of what to expect from various survey sites, and they can also give you important advice about the survey business in general. This way, you don’t have to spend hours sifting through Google results trying to find that rare piece of gold. Instead, experts in the survey business will direct you to the surveys that are actually worth your time.

It’s a good idea to find at least a couple of survey portals that direct you toward reliable survey companies. Take a couple of hours to go through all the review sites you can find, and bookmark any that seem to give good survey leads. If a site doesn’t seem to offer much, don’t bother with it anymore.

Online forums

There are a number of thriving internet forums devoted to small communities of people who are passionate about taking surveys and sharing information with other survey-takers. It can be hard to gain entry into some of the more exclusive online communities, but if you are truly committed to this business and are willing to contribute your part to the discussion, you can find a welcoming web home that gives you good leads. Just be careful whom you trust.

Social networking

Though there are many thriving online forums, these are actually an old way of sharing information online. Today, many savvy survey-takers use social-networking services to find leads and share information relating to paid online surveys. Set up a Facebook profile and a Twitter account, and follow people who seem to know their stuff when it comes to online surveys. You will still have to filter out a lot of bad or potentially misleading information, but Facebook and Twitter make it very easy to ignore the unhelpful information and focus on what is actually useful.