There are a plethora of legitimate sites on the internet that will reward you for spending the time to disclose your opinions and information.
At the same time, there are also sites that are data mines or outright scams that do not deliver the rewards they claim.
That is why you should proceed with caution and to do a little research before spending your valuable time on it.
YouGov is old by internet standards and has a long track record of what one can expect when taking its surveys and polls.
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Some Important Facts about YouGov
What is YouGov?
The market research company, YouGov, is a survey site that pays rather than costs. Where you can get paid to share your opinions.
Most surveys offered on the site are purely opinion, along with some financial and technical job experience information.
Headquartered in the UK and founded in 2000, YouGov has been around for over a decade. Though located in the UK, the site has several million members from over 100 countries.
How YouGov Works? Is It Legit?
YouGov is not a scam site. It is free to use and does pay respondents – eventually. What Can I do on YouGov’s Site?
There are three basic functions of the site once a person has joined:
YouGov paid surveys
Offers paid surveys as a way to earn cash. Once a person signs up with their email address, they will receive on average 5-7 surveys a week.
The number and frequency of survey emails depend on some seasonal factors and where a respondent is located.
Most surveys are relatively short, with the longest taking around 20 minutes. Like most survey sites, there is greater.
One downside is that the email does not reveal how long those particular offerings will take to complete or the size of the reward.
On the plus side, it is simple to find out, so you can know before deciding whether you want to join a particular survey or not.
By clicking the link, you will see the approximate time required and how many points the survey pays.
It is also good to know that YouGov almost never sends a survey that you are not already qualified for.
View Survey Results
The front page of the survey panel website has a section where you can view the latest results of all surveys there will be a section with the latest results.
Invite Friends
YouGov allows people in some countries to earn some extra rewards by inviting friends to join up on the platform as well.
If this option is available in your country, a link on the home page allows a user to share with friends, you will, however, not get an extra reward just by inviting friends.
If a friend joins through your invitation link, you will get paid a reward once the person has taken a certain number of surveys.
Be aware, the rewards for inviting a friend are not large and you can only invite someone from the same country you live in.
Does YouGov Really Pay? How Much?
Points that can be exchanged used for a long-range of different rewards are awarded for every survey a member takes on YouGov.
In some countries, those points are mainly exchanged for gift cards or products.
Other countries offer cash through PayPal or prepaid Visa gift cards.
Some segments of the YouGov community can participate in a lottery where you use your points to gain more chances to win the lottery.
Though the prizes you can earn in the lottery can be large, there is also not a chance that you will win.
How Much Do I Get Paid?
After completing a survey, you will be directed to the YouGov website, where you can find out how many points you just earned, along with how many you have in total.
Compared to most paid survey sites, YouGov offers reasonable rewards for surveys compared to the time spent to complete one. It is simple and takes a small amount of time to participate.
On your first visit to the site, you get your first 100 points just for signing up and taking a very brief welcome survey (approximately three minutes).
Participants can decide whether they want to participate in a certain survey by seeing what the reward is, and the estimated time to take it.
This is not a site where a person can get rich and it does not have many daily opportunities as “Get-Paid-To” sites like PrizeRebel or Swagbucks.
YouGov is, however, super straightforward to use, and the surveys are about noteworthy topics.
How do I Join?
YouGov is available in most of the world, as you can see on the map below. One of the best features of YouGov is that its panels are specific to each country.
In most cases, surveys are in your local language and relevant to where you live.
You should check each local YouGov website to see if you are interested in joining and are not under 18.
Is There Support?
Support is important on any survey site, and YouGov has it. If you have any questions, the first step is to view the FAQ section.
There is a separate FAQ page for each country and definitely worth your time.
Should you have further questions, you submit them to the YouGov support team. Response time tends to depend on the country.
Some are quick to respond, while others can be quite frustrating.
Things to Consider Before Using YouGov
It is important to make sure that any site you are working with is reliable.
While YouGov is a unique and exciting way to make a little extra income or get rewards for answering a few questions, there are some people who attempt to take advantage of those who are unsuspecting.
Here are some things you should consider before determining whether to work with a specific site.
Be Sure Any Personal or Private Information on the Site Stays Private
The only way YouGov can ensure who you are and how will get paid is to gather personally-identifying information (Real name, address, PayPal address, etc.).
A good quality, legitimate paid survey site always has a strong, thorough privacy policy that guarantees that none of your confidential information is communicated with third-party sources.
Make Sure You Know What YouGov is Guaranteeing
Paid survey sites are often a bit unclear on their compensation structure. YouGov makes it plain you shouldn’t assume you will get a cash dollar reward every time.
The best survey sites operate by a points system, pay by way of prepaid gift cards, or cash via Pay Pal.
On many sites, you get a certain number of points. Points are accumulated and can later be exchanged for certain services or products, or be applied towards gift cards.
The minimum requirement for access to your earnings is often overlooked. YouGov requires a total of 25,000 points to get your first cash award of $50.00.
Be sure that you verify the details of payments and learn if there is a withdrawal.
Is YouGov Legit?
YouGov is a time-honored and trustworthy site that collects international data from individuals from different social, economic, and political backgrounds.
The site has tens of thousands of contributors from all walks of life and offers valuable data to researchers from a variety of different fields, while also rewarding participants for their participation and time.
If you have a business, there is no limit to how much benefit you can obtain from the information and resources on this site.
The site consists of predominately of polls and surveys and of differing lengths.
Normally, it will not take you any longer than 30 minutes to complete even the lengthiest survey on the site.
This is an enormous benefit, as some paid survey sites have you answering endless questions for a pittance.
YouGov keeps your information confidential, so you will not have to worry about personal information being given to other businesses or being published in a data study.
They have a strict and inclusive privacy policy that ensures all personal data remains private or there is nothing that links you to your responses when the data is given to the organization that acquired it.
YouGov recognizes that privacy invasion is one of the greatest factors that prevent people from contributing to this type of research.
YouGov offers points as a reward for partaking in various polls and surveys.
Points can be accumulated over time and then redeemed for a variety of various products like t-shirts and tote bags.
Points can also be exchanged for pre-paid gift cards that can be used at a variety of retailers like iTunes, Amazon, Walmart, and more.
There is also the option of exchanging the points for a pre-paid Visa gift card, which can be used wherever Visa is accepted as a method of payment.
See Related: 15 Top Apps Like Qmee – Get Paid Online
A Review in Summary
On the other hand, Trustpilot’s reviews have varied widely from an 8/10 down to a 4.6/10.
The Better Business Bureau recently gave YouGov America, Inc and “F” rating due to “59 complaints filed against the business,” and “Length of time business has been operating.”
Like most survey sites, opinions can be divided between those who rapidly earn enough points to cash out and those who don’t and give up.
The key thing that came up in most reviews is the time it takes to earn the points needed to cash out.
YouGov is a market research firm that also has member panels you can sign up for, and be compensated for answering surveys and/or giving your opinion.
The company has been headquartered in the UK since 2000, so it has been active for a while now. YouGov IS NOT a scam site.
It’s free to join and make use of, and it actually pays.
So Why the Controversy?
As we stated earlier, the wide disparity in reviews has much to do with false or misplaced expectations.
NN from the Isle of South Uist, Scotland reflects how unrealistic expectations skew the reviews.
In the theguardian.com, she writes:
I have been completing YouGov surveys for what feels like years, hoping that I might eventually make some money out of it.
There are no details on my profile, but I would guess it must be about four years.
Surveys used to come in every week, then they slowed down.
Now I get one every two weeks and every second or third is a prize draw, so a waste of my time.
The surveys take about 15 minutes but can take less if the questions are too silly!
My total points are now 3,175–still a long way from the 5,000 needed to earn that elusive £50.
This is beginning to feel a bit of a sham and not ethical.
I could give up, but my question is–how often does it pay out and how long does it take?
In my experience, that is a lot of time to invest. I have written to YouGov in the past with similar questions but get little satisfaction.
A spokesman for YouGov notes that NN may not have received the number of surveys she expected due to a number of reasons (her demographic profile, country, or a number of panelists.
The spokesman added:
In order for our findings to be representative of the public, we need the right numbers of each age group.
With regard to the prize draw survey, this is used to ascertain certain interests, likes and dislikes.
This information should lead to the member receiving more surveys in future, as many are sent to those whom we know have certain traits.
But it isn’t a guaranteed thing, and we can’t promise a certain volume of surveys to any panellist for those reasons.
What You Think Pays
Regardless of expectations, one thing is certain with YouGov – what you think pays!
If you want to know how to make money on YouGov, just log on and tell people what you think.
There is a persistent need for consumer data that presents a unique experience for consumers as well.
You can leverage your invaluable opinions and demographic data as a way to earn a modest amount of money.
Businesses will pay for your information, your opinion, and your contribution.
In turn, that gives you the opportunity to make a little extra cash on the side.
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