As with most internet trends, survey sites vary drastically in quality. Some survey sites are utterly useless, seeming to exist solely for the purpose of spreading spam or scamming people out of money. Unfortunately, these are probably the vast majority of the sites that come up when you enter "survey sites" into a search engine.

But there are some legitimate survey sites out there, if you look hard enough. Yes, it's not a myth: It's true that there are companies out there that seek customer feedback via internet survey sites, and some of these companies are truly willing to give money in exchange for the time you spend sharing your opinion. If real survey sites that actually pay are hard to find, it's because they're in such high demand that they don't need to advertise themselves.

The key to spotting the real survey sites is to have a discerning eye. If you don't have a lot of experience judging the legitimacy of websites and let's face it, most people who use the internet are experts at spotting phony websites by now, here are some tips for what to look for.

1. An informative About page: When people are up to no good, they usually don't want to share a lot of information about themselves. Even if a site seems well designed, a lack of an About page is a sign that the people behind the site don't wish to be accountable for what their website offers. An About page should include real and substantial information about the company, including such facts as its country of origin, its founding date, and contact information. About pages should not contain marketing copy or attempts to sell you things.

2. Clear information: If the site contains a lot of vague text, meaningless graphics, and over-enthusiastic testimonials, that's a good sign that the site may be a scam. Legitimate survey sites are clear about what they offer, and they want to make it easy for you to receive your survey offers. If you find yourself going around in circles, being navigated to other sites, or lost in an aimless registration process, it's probably not a legitimate survey site that actually pays.

3. No unrealistic promises: If a site offers to give you large amounts of fast cash, this is a huge sign that the makers of the site have ulterior motives. Real survey sites usually have enough integrity not to offer things they can't deliver, and it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make large amounts of quick money from survey sites.

4. No charge: Legitimate survey sites make their money from the companies that use them. They do not have to charge the survey takers. If a survey site asks you for money, stop right there. You should never have to pay money to participate in online surveys. Think of yourself as an employee, not a customer. Your time is valuable, so the companies should pay you for your participation, not the other way around.