Google and Ads

article on bbc news site

[ownerrim]

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

interesting piece that seems to validate a lot of common sense conversation here.

[ken_b]

Almost 50% of those questioned said they would trust search engines much less, if they knew information about who paid for results was being hidden.

I wonder if this transfers to websites that blend ads into the site design so they appear less like ads.

[Visit Thailand]

I wonder if this transfers to websites that blend ads into the site design so they appear less like ads

I for one get a little angry when a site has made the ads look like internal links. I loose trust in that site and would likely not return.

I for one like to know if I am clicking on an ad, but that is just me.

[hyperkik]

I think the typical site that disguises ads as internal links is more interested in the ad revenue than in your return business.

[sailorjwd]

I think the issue of ad blending with internal site links isn't that cut and dry.

If a person is searching on Google to learn 'How to build widgets' and they click on your serp link.. Then read the page about building widgets and/or see an ad link that says 'Build Your Own Widgets' and click it - what's the problem? - as long as they get the information they are looking for. I think the advertiser would be happy too.

What I hate is search and then click on a site that is just a listing of other SERPs - no usefull info.

[maximillianos]

Agreed. I think that blending the ads (and remember, they still say "Ads by Goooogle" above them) is a way to get related content out to your visitors. If the ads were not so relevent, and if they were mostly spam, I would not try to integrate them so well because I don't want that kind of reputation for my site. But in general, Google's ads are good content, and highly relative to what the user is looking for or reading about.

I relate it to RSS feeds. People integrate RSS feeds all the time and they are just links to other sites. The only difference here is G is paying us for it...

[wonderboy]

I was amazed to watch my friend who is relatively new to the internet doing a few yahoo searches, every search he completed he clicked on one of the sponsored links without hesitation. I questioned him as to his reasons... He just said it was because they were at the top... He didn't have a clue he was earning yahoo money.
It just surprised me that people still don't know how to search properly, and sure, some sponsored links are relevant to the search.... But he was clicking on Kelkoo, eBay etc...

How I wish I owend one of these search engines with so many click happy people out there =)
W.

[Brett_Tabke]

Thread running over here...

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