How to Make Money on the Web Doing Research

The exponential growth of the Internet has created many new ways to make money in lieu of the traditional 9 to 5 office job. Among these opportunities are companies and individuals that seek researchers to quickly and efficiently gather needed information.

1. Create an account at Mahalo. Mahalo is a human-powered search engine that offers two ways of making money. Under Mahalo Answers, the Mahalo community can post answers to questions posted by its users. The person whose answer is selected as the best will receive a tip in Mahalo dollars. In Mahalo Tasks, you can complete research tasks posted by other users and get paid in Mahalo dollars. Each Mahalo dollar translates into $1 U.S. and you are paid for your work via PayPal.

2. Step 2

   Sign up to be a guide with ChaCha. ChaCha is a mobile answering service. Users text or phone in questions and guides quickly use their expertise or web searching skills to provide an appropriate answer. ChaCha guides must have a U.S. mailing address and be legal to work in the country. In addition, you must pass a test verifying how quickly and accurately you can research information on the web and commit to comply with the company's strict guidelines. Training materials are provided.

3. Step 3

   Apply to be a researcher for ClicknWork or AskDownUnder. These companies hire people to conduct online research. In this case, you are paid directly by the customer upon completion of your work. Most of the research has to do with business writing or business related questions. You can join for free, but both sites do require you to pass a test before you can start working.

4. Step 4

   Join an online outsourcing company like Elance or Guru. You can create a profile listing your resume and experience in web research or other professional tasks such as web design or editing. Elance and Guru both operate as bidding sites. You can browse through the available research projects that users have posted, then send proposals for suitable jobs stating how much you would charge to complete them. When you win a bid, you will then go over the details of the research assignment directly with the customer and the customer will pay you through the site.