Ads for Google products, by Google, do they pay?

Or are they considered freebies like PSA's?

[androidtech]

I have a page on my web site that is "attracting" AdSense ads authored by Google themselves. For example, ads for Froogle, ads for the Google toolbar, ads for their Enterprise Search product (which I never even knew existed).

These ads are mixed in with other ads for non-Google authored products, so it seems as those the ads by Google Inc. are simply plain old AdSense ads.

However, I wonder if:

1) Google pays for these ads (bids on the related keywords along with everybody else).
2) And if they do, or even if they don't, if they pay AdSense commissions to the site owner like with other ads. Or are they treated as "filler" ads like PSA's.

Anybody have an data on this?

Thanks

[Jenstar]

I confirmed with Google, they are paid ads.

[androidtech]

Thanks Jenstar!

[Bluepixel]

But I guess they are 3 cent ads :-)

[alika]

I oftentimes see them in the top two spot of the first ad unit, which means they must pay higher than the others.

[mike schmitz]

Wrong - Google is not an auction where higher bids are at the not. It is a combination of click-through rate and CPC = RPM.

M

[Bluepixel]

alika, how do you know they must pay more than the others?
Google can put their ads wherever they want, it's their system :-)

[alika]

We do know that ads placed at the first ad units pay more, while the 2nd and 3rd ad units pay less. Taking Google's word that they do pay for the ads they place, one can assume that any ads -- including G's -- that shows at the first ad unit pays more than what advertisers showing in the other ad units pay.

Of course, it all depends if people ACTUALLY believe Google's words that they pay. From the posts here, it appears people do not.

[dataguy]

Google runs ads on one of my sites all the time, and pays quite nicely...