The nine most commonly Googled side hustle ideas right now
As the cost of living crisis continues to burn holes in peoples’ pockets, more of us are turning to alternative or supplemental forms of income – also known as a ‘side hustle’.
Google now sees roughly 3,800 people per month searching for ‘easy ways to make money’, and an astounding 24,000 looking for ‘how to make money online’.
To that end, domain and hosting provider, Fasthosts, has looked at how side hustle searches have skyrocketed over the past year. So, from feet pics to app testing, here are the nine most commonly Googled side hustle ideas right now.
1) Paid surveys
Average monthly searches: 5,200
Top of the list for the most popular ways to make money at home. ‘Paid surveys’ has seen a startling 49% increase in search volume between December 2021 – just before the cost of living crisis really started hitting home – and now.
We’re not surprised. If you find a provider that has pay outs and does so quickly, it’s something you can accomplish in your spare time with the TV on in the background.
2) Sell clothes online
Average monthly searches: 3,300
Since December 2021, the term ‘sell clothes online’ has seen a 72% increase in searches to roughly 3,300 per month. With websites like eBay that have been around forever, and newer apps such as Vinted and Depop letting people snap a pic and sell their unwanted clothes from the comfort of their own home, it’s no surprise people are looking to declutter and make cash at the same time.
3) How to make money on TikTok
Average monthly searches: 2,600
It may be a saturated market – with roughly one billion users as of the end of 2021 – but that doesn’t stop people from trying to capitalise on their TikTok account. ‘How to make money on TikTok’ has seen a 24% increase in searches since December 2021.
There are a number of ways to cash in with TikTok: you could join the Creator Fund, sell merchandise to your followers, go live and collect gifts, or parner with brands for collaborations. Of course, you’ll need a significant following to do the majority of these.
4) How to sell feet pics
Average monthly searches: 2,100
Perhaps the most interesting (or eyebrow-raising) side hustle on this list, is people looking to make some extra cash with a lesser seen asset of theirs. Compared to December 2021, there’s been a 96% rise in people searching for ‘how to sell feet pics online’.
There are a number of websites devoted to helping people sell snaps of their tootsies – whilst still remaining anonymous. But you can also go down the entrepreneurial route and use a virtual private server to set up a VPN. This, along with a pseudonym, will keep you completely incognito.
5) How to become a virtual assistant
Average monthly searches: 1,200
The side hustle that’s seen the highest increase in searches in the past year or so, ‘how to become a virtual assistant’ has seen a 170% rise. Usually working from home, a virtual assistant will carry out administrative duties – such as appointment scheduling and diary management – to clients and executives.
6) How to start dropshipping
Average monthly searches: 900
Those interested in starting a lucrative side hustle may have seen ‘get rich quick’ videos popping up on their social media, with dropshipping being a prominent feature.
For the uninitiated, dropshipping is method of order fulfilment where a seller doesn’t need to have the products it sells in stock. Instead, the seller purchases inventory as needed from a third party, like a manufacturer or a wholesaler, who will send and fulfil orders.
There’s been a 25% increase in searches for ‘how to start dropshipping’ since the end of of 2021, but not so many people that it’s become an oversaturated market.
7) App tester
Average monthly searches: 800
A modest 800 searches per month for ‘app tester’, and one that has seen no increase or decrease in popularity over the past year or so. App testing paints the picture of requiring more time, and as we alluded to earlier, people are all about making money quickly and easily i.e. with very little effort.
8) Earn money playing games
Average monthly searches: 600 per month
Coming in at the penultimate spot is ‘earn money playing games’ with around 600 searches per month, a 2% increase on December 2021. If you’re playing games anyway you might as well get paid for it, right?
We can’t see this being as lucrative as work from home-rs may believe, or more likely to pay in vouchers rather than actual cash, which may explain its lower search volume.
9) How to earn money on YouTube
Average monthly searches: 600
Unsurprisingly, ‘how to earn money on YouTube’ has seen much fewer searches than TikTok – given the meteoric rise of the app. This term hasn’t seen any increase – or decrease – in popularity over the past year, but it’s still a sought-after source for people looking for a side hustle.
