Google's got a lot going on in the background that we don't know about—and one of those things is how it rewards its users for their participation. Whether you're an Android user or not, here are some facts to consider if you want to earn more from your online experience with Google.
The company has several different programs designed to reward people who participate in certain activities through its platforms like Search (via iFrame ads), Gmail (through email links) and YouTube (as part of its monetization strategy). One of these popular programs is called "Opinion Rewards" which pays users for answering simple questions about products they've purchased or searched for. This article will explain exactly what this program offers, how much cash you'll make, and whether or not it’s worth participating. Keep reading!
In order to qualify for Opinion Rewards, all you have to do is complete a survey every month. The surveys themselves vary between $0.25-$4 each. Each completed survey results in points that translate into credits that you can redeem for gift cards at places like Amazon, Starbucks, Best Buy, Sephora, Macy's, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, GameStop, Kohl's, Old Navy and many others. You must be 18 years old or older to take advantage of this service. If you meet both criteria, all you need to do is sign up at no charge using either Facebook or your Google account. Once registered, you'll receive a confirmation code via text message that lets you start taking surveys immediately. There's currently no limit set on how many surveys you can answer each month.
For example, I took my first survey today after receiving a text message alerting me that there was available work right away. It offered three separate surveys ranging in price from $0.25 to $3 based upon the number of answers required. As soon as I clicked on the link provided by TextMeUp, I saw the following pop-up window asking me to accept cookies. After clicking Accept All Cookies, the site loaded without any issues. Next, I received another alert saying there were two pending surveys available. Again, once I accepted the terms and conditions, I was able to begin completing them.
Once you finish a survey, simply click on the notification sent to your mobile phone and select Redeem Reward. Then enter your redemption code and/or password on the website where you redeemed your award. In my case, I used my existing Google login information because I already had accounts with most of the merchants listed above. Within seconds, I could see the amount credited towards my next reward card purchase. For instance, when I just started, I earned 10 cents toward getting a new pair of shoes thanks to my recent search history. That may sound small, but keep in mind that a single search query might result in hundreds of dollars' worth of compensation over time.
Overall, the process seems pretty straightforward and easy to navigate — even though it does require that you use your mobile device. However, if you ever encounter technical difficulties while trying to access the surveys, you should contact customer support directly. They handle inquiries related to Opinion Rewards fairly quickly.
As mentioned earlier, the monthly surveys range in value from 25 cents to $4 depending on the question asked. Some surveys ask open-ended ones, requiring you to type in responses rather than choosing options. Others offer multiple choice selections. Depending on the nature of your job or hobbies, you might find yourself qualifying for more expensive surveys. To find out what types of questions you'll likely encounter, check out the full list of Qualifying Questions on the OpinionRewards homepage.
Are there limits placed on the number of times you can take surveys each month? Yes. While there isn't a hard cap set, you can only continue earning until you reach 12 months of nonstop usage. At that point, you'll lose half of your accumulated earnings, unless you choose to delete your account before then.
Not at all. Like other similar services, this opportunity is 100% legitimate and real. And yes, companies do actually recruit opinion leaders such as college students, young professionals, moms, dads, etc., to help spread awareness about specific brands so that consumers feel comfortable making purchases. Of course, it helps if you're someone who likes shopping at stores or researching particular topics. But anyone can join. Just remember that you won't be paid for signing up or doing anything else. Your opinions matter, and so does the fact that you participated in these opportunities.
So why would Google compensate individuals for their thoughts? Well, according to the company itself, it wants to understand consumer behavior better so that it can improve advertising campaigns. By collecting data about customers' experiences across devices, audiences can learn more about product performance and gain insight into areas of improvement. From a business perspective, it also allows advertisers to determine which markets to focus on next and which demographics to target. According to the Opinion Rewards FAQ section, the company says it uses aggregated anonymous data to measure effectiveness, optimize ad targeting strategies, and analyze trends.
If you think you'd enjoy helping Google gather useful information, here's something you may not realize: You can actually make extra money by joining the company's research panel. Since the majority of respondents tend to be younger adults ages 18–34, the company often recruits members in order to fill out demographic panels. So if you fit that description, you can register for free and provide feedback on various subjects including cars, pets, computers, electronics, fashion, travel, music, movies, entertainment, sports, technology, health care, home decorating, education, food and restaurants, and more. Also, unlike the regular surveys, this option doesn't involve having to spend money upfront to get started.
Unfortunately, there's no way to accurately estimate the exact amounts that Google makes per page view. Despite being one of the largest advertising networks on the internet, the company keeps mum about its internal financial figures. Instead, you can look at third-party reports that show approximate numbers since they represent actual clicks taken place within a given timeframe. On average, a web publisher earns approximately 50 cents per click or 2 cents per impression. A click refers to whenever a visitor lands on a webpage that contains one of your advertisements, whereas an impression means seeing an advertisement somewhere outside of a browsing session.
However, let's say you publish five articles a week and you write and post fresh content consistently. Over a year, that translates to around 1 million unique views for your blog. Let's imagine that each of those pages contain a banner ad unit measuring 200x250 pixels. We'll assume that you run a standard WordPress theme with a sidebar widget displaying additional banners. With that said, you'd earn roughly $50,000 ($5 x 125 = 6250 impressions / 5 weeks = 1000 impressions per week) during a twelve-month period from running one domain alone. Granted, this calculation assumes that your posts consist entirely of original content, meaning none of them feature sponsored stories.
Of course, there's a chance that your traffic drops off significantly throughout this time frame. Conversely, suppose you decide to put together a weekly newsletter instead of publishing daily updates. You wouldn't necessarily receive fewer total visits, but the frequency would drop since visitors aren't coming back regularly. Therefore, the amount of revenue generated would decrease accordingly.
We estimated the average rate at which publishers earn per click using statistics gathered from sources such as Chartbeat, Statista, SimilarWeb, Alexa Rank, Quantcast, PageFair CPM Report, Media Metrix, Nielsen Site Index, Comscore, OpenX Ads Revenue Calculator, and more. Please note that rates change frequently, so you should refer to our helpful guide for understanding ad revenues in general.
According to a study conducted by Deloitte last year, Apple reportedly made around $1.7 billion in 2017 from streaming royalties. Spotify came in second with $988 million in 2016. Meanwhile, Google pulled in a paltry $831 million due to underreporting royalty payments. Although the latter figure represents a significant decline compared to 2015, when Google brought in nearly $2 billion, it still far exceeds the combined income of Spotify and Tidal.
On the flip side, however, the company did report paying out close to $1.6 billion in 2014, which beat Netflix and Pandora. In comparison, Apple spent less than $100 million on iTunes sales that same year. Nevertheless, despite pulling in lower sums, Google continues to invest heavily in developing digital media offerings. For starters, the company released a subscription video package this past March called Google Play Pass. Unlike traditional cable TV packages, subscribers can watch unlimited shows and movies for a flat fee each month. Furthermore, Google announced plans to launch a live television platform later this year called Live TV, which features dozens of channels for $35 per month.
Google is a company that makes billions of dollars in revenue every year. The search giant must be doing something right to stay afloat for so long. But how exactly does it make all this money?
One way or another, it's clear that advertising plays an important role. And while we're not going to delve into whether or not ads are good here (they certainly aren't), let's talk about one specific type of ad — those that appear on apps and games via its Google Play store.
Because these ads don't actually have anything to do with what users want from their smartphone experience, they often feel like annoying interruptions. Whether it's a banner ad popping up during gameplay or an app notification asking if you'd like to try some new feature, there's always a sense that your time is being wasted when an advertisement appears.
But did you know that you can sometimes earn free money just by installing certain apps and playing around with them for five minutes at most? Here's everything you need to know about getting paid through Google Play.
You've probably noticed that almost every app offered on Google Play has an "Earn Money" section somewhere within its description. This section usually includes information on how much money you'll earn per completed task and other details such as how many tasks you should complete each day in order to reach said earnings level. It also offers instructions on how to redeem your reward credits once obtained.
If you spend more than 15 minutes reading any given app's Earn Money page, you may notice that it contains links leading back to the same app itself. These links will direct you to additional pages where similar earning opportunities are advertised.
For example, in my favorite game called Call of Duty Mobile, I was notified of two separate ways that I could receive extra cash without even having to play the actual game. One method requires me to watch a video commercial for 30 seconds and then tap Yes whenever prompted by the system. Afterward, I'm told that I earned 1 cent for completing this simple step. Another option allows me to answer questions about Call of Duty Mobile which generates 5 cents worth of credit after answering 10 questions correctly. Both methods sound pretty easy to pull off, so why wouldn't anyone use these options to generate extra income?
Well, both activities require you to keep your phone unlocked throughout the process. If you lock your screen or otherwise disable notifications, you won't see these prompts pop up. In addition, since these ads come directly from Google rather than third parties who own the games themselves, they technically fall under the category of "safe mode." Safe mode means that your personal data remains private and secure while using the device. As far as advertisers go, safe modes tend to be less intrusive.
So how much money can you really expect to earn from completing these steps? Let's say you answered only 50 percent of the Call of Duty mobile quiz correctly. That would net you 4 cents worth of credit. By comparison, watching a single YouTube clip and tapping yes earns 3 cents. So depending on how accurate you were, it might pay you better to simply open the Call of Duty app instead of waiting for the timer to run down.
While it isn't impossible to earn hundreds of dollars per month from these kinds of promotions, it takes quite a bit of luck to land the best payout. You'll likely get different results based upon factors including your geographic location, general internet speed, and available hours. While the average user can generally expect to earn between.01 and 2 cents per hour spent completing tasks, some lucky people are able to earn over 20 times that amount.
To find the fastest path towards large sums of cash, check out our full guide detailing how to maximize earning potential on Android devices running stock software.
And remember, you might never notice these ads unless you dig deep enough into an app's settings menu. Many popular apps allow users to customize various aspects of their appearance, including turning off advertisements entirely. On iOS, Apple gives developers greater control over content placement, but Android still lets users opt out of unwanted ads altogether.
Sometimes you can score yourself a nice chunk of change just by signing up for promotional emails sent straight to your inbox. All you have to do is click a link provided by Google telling you about a special deal happening on Google Play. These deals typically involve either giving away free items or offering steep discounts on already existing products.
In July 2018, Google gave away free movie tickets valued at nearly half a million bucks. Users received free passes to major movies released later that summer, along with access to digital copies of selected titles. A little over a year earlier, Google had similarly surprised gamers with a giveaway distributing 500,000 codes for discounted Xbox 360 consoles. When you sign up for these sorts of email lists, you become eligible for prizes ranging anywhere from free smartphones to Amazon gift cards. To qualify, however, you'll need to provide your email address and agree to occasional messages from companies looking to share exciting news regarding their services.
This strategy works well because most regular folks rarely bother opening promotional emails from unknown senders. Instead, they rely heavily on Gmail filters and spam blocking tools to automatically weed out junk mail before ever reaching their eyes. Companies are starting to take note of this trend, resulting in a growing number of marketing firms willing to offer incentives in exchange for someone taking a few moments out of his or her busy schedule to read an email promoting yet another app he or she doesn't care about.
Of course, the downside is that you could easily end up wasting your time trying to win giveaways that ultimately weren't real anyway. For this reason, experts recommend setting aside at least three days every week dedicated solely to responding to promotional emails. Otherwise, you risk missing out on legitimate offers distributed by trusted sources.
The above strategies for scoring free gifts work great for smaller amounts of money. However, if you're ready to start racking up larger chunks of cash, consider investing in a premium subscription service such as Google One. With this plan, you can avoid paying monthly fees for things like music streaming or storage space.
Instead, you pay upfront annually for one price that covers multiple perks. Some subscribers choose to save money by opting for lower tiers, but others enjoy unlimited cloud storage capacity, unlimited photo backups, and more. What's especially cool about Google One is that you can upgrade anytime you wish. Simply contact customer support to request a refund if you decide you no longer need a higher tier package.
As part of its rewards program, Google routinely sends customers small bits of spending money known as "rewards credit" for performing everyday actions. Depending on your choice of subscription, this credit ranges from $5-$50. Since you can accumulate rewards credit in bulk, it's possible to turn a tidy profit by selling unused funds back onto the platform. Just head to My Account > Your orders & refunds > Returned Credits to claim your savings. Keep in mind that this benefit comes with restrictions. Rewards credit expires after 90 days, meaning you shouldn't wait too long to sell off your unspent balance.
Even though rewards credit doesn't expire immediately, it's important to understand that Google reserves the right to cancel payments at any point due to suspicious activity. Sometimes, accounts that abuse this policy wind up receiving a permanent ban from the Google ecosystem. Therefore, it's wise to periodically review returned credit balances to ensure nothing looks fishy. Fortunately, returning unused credit is relatively painless thanks to helpful tutorials posted next to relevant buttons.
Another perk associated with Google One is that you can now use your credit card to shop online. Previously, consumers were required to manually add purchases to their accounts, making the whole process inconvenient and prone to human error. Now, adding a purchase to your account happens automatically, which means you don't have to worry about forgetting to enter payment info.
It turns out that collecting small amounts of money is easier than amassing huge wads of cash. Thanks to Google Adsense, virtually everyone who uses the web to consume media gets paid for providing visitors with free entertainment. Basically, websites earn money whenever readers scroll past ads placed near particular articles. Most sites use automated systems that constantly monitor traffic patterns and feed visitors targeted ads accordingly. Those that produce high levels of clicks receive a portion of whatever money publishers collect from advertisers.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows that they can participate in this system. Before learning how to boost your chances of scoring some quick cash, ask yourself if you regularly visit websites featuring stories related to topics you're interested in. If the answer is yes, congratulations! Next, figure out what kind of website you frequent and look for signs indicating whether or not you've seen an advert recently. Then, grab the necessary skills needed to perform basic keyword research by heading over to Google Trends and typing in keywords related to your interests. Finally, create a profile at Google Ads and begin searching for terms that you think correspond with the types of posts on the site you love.
Google is a company that's always looking for ways to make your life easier, which means it has plenty of tools at its disposal. One such tool is the service called Google Opinion Rewards (GOR).
It allows users in certain countries to fill out online surveys about their experiences with specific brands or topics. The questions are pretty general — they don't ask personal information like your address or phone number — so there aren't any privacy concerns here either. Users also won't see anyone else's answers, as it keeps your responses completely anonymous.
But what happens when you complete one of these surveys? Do you end up getting something valuable instead of just another survey reward certificate? Is GOR even worth using? Here's how it works and whether you should sign up right now.
Before we dive into those other details, let's talk about exactly who gets paid through this program. According to the official website, people located in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, UK, US, and China are eligible. If you're not part of one of these regions, you might still be able to use GOR if you live near an area where it operates. It will depend on the availability of local markets, though.
To qualify for rewards, you need to have signed up for GOR before March 1, 2021. You'll receive points based on the amount of time between each completed questionnaire, similar to how loyalty programs work. Once you've reached 500 points, you can exchange them for gift cards ranging from $0.50 to $5 per card. Gift cards can be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
This all sounds great in theory, especially since most Americans probably didn't know where their next Amazon payment was coming from until recently. But does GOR really offer anything unique compared to other avenues? Does it actually add value to our daily lives? Let's find out.
The answer is yes, but only sometimes. While the average user may never break into the thousands of dollars' worth of points needed to get a physical check in the mail, some users could pull off much bigger numbers. For example, someone earning $100K/year could potentially redeem over 20,000 points within a year or two.
However, keep in mind that GOR isn't a perfect system. Because it uses data collected via questionnaires rather than direct purchases, it doesn't count toward marketing research requirements mandated by agencies like Nielsen. That means companies like Facebook and Netflix can't legally include GOR among their own "marketing communications" reports.
Also, because GOR relies mainly on third parties like Survey Sampling International, Intuit Quick Response Lab, InMoment Research Services Inc., and MarketTools LLC, if you want to withdraw funds directly from your account, you must wait 30 days after completing your last survey before doing so. This gives your earnings time to accumulate enough points to cover withdrawal fees.
In other words, while GOR offers real credits to users, you shouldn't expect to walk away with actual cash every month unless you hit big bucks. Even then, there are caveats.
According to the official FAQ page, GOR partners can choose to send gift cards to customers in lieu of paying out cold hard cash. They can also decide to charge higher processing fees because their clients tend to spend less overall. Some partners may opt to take both approaches together.
Because GOR provides a way for marketers to collect useful consumer opinions without giving out too many private details, it seems likely that GOR will continue growing in popularity in the future. After all, it already accounts for around 5 percent of global market researchers' revenue.
So long as consumers remain willing to provide feedback voluntarily, it's unlikely that Google will face major regulatory backlash anytime soon. However, there is reason to believe that regulators may eventually crack down on the practice altogether.
For example, European Union lawmakers voted earlier this year to force tech giants to share customer data across platforms once they reach 50 million monthly active users worldwide. At least five EU member states plan to introduce legislation aimed specifically at cracking down on digital market research firms in May.
If regulators ever decided to go against the grain and ban the entire industry outright, GOR would become obsolete overnight.
Yes! Just remember that you'll need to meet certain thresholds to access these perks. As mentioned above, you'll first need to accrue at least 500 points during your qualifying period. Then, you'll need to turn in 10 surveys in order to get a check good for $1.00. To redeem for gifts, you'll need to achieve at least 2,500 points. Finally, you'll need to log in to your Google account and change your settings so that surveys start appearing in your inbox.
Once again, the key takeaway is that GOR is designed primarily to help businesses improve products and services. Companies can use the platform to gather important insights into everything from product development to advertising campaigns.
That said, it's possible for individual users to rack up enough points to get checks larger than the ones offered as rewards. And, according to the site's Terms of Service, participants whose primary purpose is to generate commissions from selling others' goods or services are allowed to join. So long as you stick to fulfilling surveys, you should be fine.
As discussed previously, GOR may eventually come under fire from the government. When that day comes, however, it's highly unlikely that the service will disappear entirely. Instead, users may simply find themselves restricted to participating in surveys alone. Or, worse yet, advertisers may begin opting to conduct online experiments instead of relying on human respondents.
Either outcome would mean the end of Google Opinion Rewards as we currently know it.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to convert your GOR points straight into money. Unlike Apple Pay Cash and PayPal Credit, there's no option to transfer your balance directly to a bank account. There's no app, web portal, QR code, or special chip embedded inside your rewards certificates.
Instead, you'll have to rely on retailers accepting Google Wallet payments. Keep in mind that this list is limited to stores that accept MasterCard Debit Cards issued outside of North America. Most brick-and-mortar shops will require you to present a physical copy of your GOR card along with ID.
Here's a full list of locations where you can shop with Google's rewards currency:
Best Buy
GameStop
Macy's
Office Depot
Target
Walmart
You can visit GOR Reward Locator to search for nearby merchants that participate in the program.
Remember, GOR requires you to set your preferences to view surveys from the email inbox. If you'd prefer to skip this step, you can adjust your settings by going to My Activity & Settings > Preferences. From here, select Email Notifications and uncheck the box next to Show me surveys sent by Google.
After setting your preference, head back to the main menu and click Get Started. A pop-up window will appear asking you to verify your identity. Click Submit and confirm your choice to continue.
Next, enter your name, birthday, country, mobile number, postal code, language preferences, gender, age range, occupation, marital status, household income, education level, and relationship status. Answer honestly, as Google will match your profile with relevant surveys.
Finally, review the terms and conditions and click Create Account. You'll then be directed to a new screen titled Your Profile. Under Payments & Benefits, scroll down to Earnings & Bonuses, followed by Points Breakdown. Scroll down further, and expand All Other Benefits. Now, click Join Program.
A pop-up window will open asking you to agree to the terms and conditions. Accept it, and you'll be taken to a final confirmation screen. From there, you can finish signing up by clicking Continue.
Now, whenever you complete a survey, you'll automatically receive entries towards racking up GOR. Each entry represents 25 cents. You can track your progress by logging into your Google Dashboard. Go to my activity & settings > Manage your Surveys and select Enter your PIN to gain access. Select View Balance to see how close you are to cashing out.
When you finally hit the threshold for redemption, follow the steps outlined above to claim your rewards. Remember to save your receipts and proof of purchase in case you encounter any issues redeeming your GOR.
One thing to note about GOR's rewards process is that you can only redeem your earned points for gift cards twice a year. These limits exist to prevent abuse. Since everyone starts with zero points, you can only benefit from redeeming rewards early once you've been actively involved with the service for several months.
With luck, you'll find yourself reaching the minimum required point total sooner than later. Otherwise, try searching for communities dedicated to answering GOR surveys. Chances are that someone else went through the same experience you did a few years ago, making it easier to connect with potential employers.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.