by Bryan Belrad

Created on: January 18, 2011   Last Updated: January 19, 2011

Maybe you've wondered about so-called "paid-to-click" websites at one time or another. Maybe you've dismissed them as scams. Maybe you've tried one, and had your worst suspicions confirmed. Or maybe you've never even heard of these self-proclaimed online money machines before.

When I first heard of PTC, I was skeptical. Having been involved with business on the Internet since its inception, it seemed plausible that a person may be able to make money clicking through advertising. But plausible is a long way from real.

The way PTC works seems feasible. Advertisers pay to put up ads on the site. Users who click on those ads get a portion of that money, a penny or so for each click. The advertisers get guaranteed traffic to their own sites, where, presumably, some portion of those visitors buy whatever it is they're selling; the users get paid for doing the visiting; the PTC site owners keep a bit of the advertising fee for themselves. It seems to make sense (or 'cents' if you're a user). But as with all things that seem like easy money, one must proceed with suspicion.

I tried to do some background checking on the concept. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts scouring the Internet, I wasn't able to find a single bit of reliable information concerning the validity or viability of these kinds of "opportunities". Every one of these PTC websites is chock-full of "success story" testimonials, but those don't exactly inspire confidence. The site owners could have made them up, for all we know.

So, it seemed the only way I was going to be able to get to the bottom of this mystery was to see for myself - and then report my findings for your benefit, dear reader. I decided to do a study. I'd conduct an experiment to see what I could learn about the authenticity of PTC sites. To do so, however, I first had to set my skepticism (and common sense) aside.

That, because the first Red Flag of PTC comes when a user first signs up: the membership fee.

As a general rule, it is a very bad idea to work for or with any organization that charges you money in exchange for giving you the ability to earn money. Not only is that counterproductive for you, but it makes you wonder: if they're making money off of you joining, what incentive do they have to actually deliver any product or service at all?

That said, there are PTC's that let you join for free; you only pay for "premium" membership, which promises certain benefits like being paid more, paid faster, and other perks. I tried out

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