Does Average Joe surfer know.

that someone pays every time they click...

[akmac]

...on the "sponsored links?

The reason I ask, is that when I mention this to people they are invariably surprised. Many assume that people are paying a flat fee to be listed, and are shocked that they are directly "costing" someone.

I would (very roughly) guestimate that the number of people who know that you just paid for their click is between 1 and 5 percent.

What do you think?

[europeforvisitors]

I doubt if most people understand, but I don't they really care, either.

[akmac]

Perhaps many don't/won't care, but many others do/will.

When I know I'm "Just Looking" I don't click sponsored listings. When I'm ready to buy, I do. Knowledge changes behavior.

[triso]

I certainly doubt that many people know. I have heard people say, 'what, are they ads'. even to paid ad inclusion in google search results pages.

The average internet user hasn't a clue about just about anything.

[Tropical Island]

I talk face to face with all my clients (tourism business) and most don't have a clue. They just say that everywhere they looked for our area we were there. When I ask which link they actually clicked most mention the little box with my info - AdWords.

I've had local business people ask me how to get on my site like "Joe" is. I realize they are talking about the AS ads on my sites.

You would think that they would be a little sharper.

Conclusion - there is still a huge market that AdWords hasn't tapped yet and that can only mean growth for us as publishers.

[Zygoot]

You're right. The average internet user doesn't know it.

[Tearabite]

I consider myself an above-average surfer, and i didnt even realize this until recently.

As a surfer though, i have never (ever)clicked ad-links - i'm really surprised about how many people actually DO click them..
Based on posts i've seen here at WW, it looks like many, MANY people do click them.. (that's why i'm using Adsense now!)

.

[webpro00801]

Yes - my mother in law was on a simple blog I had started, and she clicks an AdSense ad, and then calls me up and says:

"I'm on your site, who is so and so blah blah.." - on my site? I never heard of what she is talking about! Turns out she clicked the ad and had no idea. This is someone who is smart, savvy, and has been on line as long as most of us... just no clue it was an ad or that she left my site...

[jomaxx]

That's the worst for me: Not that people don't know about AdSense charging advertisers per click (irrelevant to the end user and it's not always true anyways), but that they're unaware they they are leaving your site. Or, when they get there, they're actually unaware that they have left. I'm constantly getting emails that assume I am the owner of sites that I merely link to.

[truezeta]

Yeah, I didn't know it was "per click" for a long time.

[europeforvisitors]

Or, when they get there, they're actually unaware that they have left. I'm constantly getting emails that assume I am the owner of sites that I merely link to.

I regularly get e-mails from people who think I own a cruise ship, run a national tourist office, or am responsible for French foreign policy (and I'm not even French).

[celgins]

Most surfers don't have a clue that they are generating revenues when they click Adsense ads.

However, many surfers these days do realize that affiliate banners means someone is getting paid if a purchase is made.

[miguelito]

Yup, it's frustrating particularly on forum sites.

Although we don't want people clicking just for the sake of the site, many believe that we are paid just for the very positioning of the adverts and i often get emails from forum users saying "you must be making a fortune with all those google ads!"

I have to really bite my lip and not reply...."hell no, i get nothing unless you click" but i would never do that as you never know who you are talking to on internet ;) ( apart from being against TOS)

[dollarshort]

Its up to the site to sell, we just bring them there,
What about a poorly designed site that could not sell a lifesaver to drowning person.

[jdancing]

I feel guilty about clicking on an adword, so I copy and paste the URL so the advertiser does not have to pay.

[Essex_boy]

Oddly enough ive doen that to....

I know many people who use the web that didnt realise that you had to pay when someone clicks your ad.

[thegreatpretender]

They wouldn't know unless somebody tells them.

[jetteroheller]

Normal surfers have no idea about it.

Even some self nominated internet professional have no idea about the amount of money involved.

[Mistra]

It is better for average Joe not to know. You don't want the web be saturated with Made For Adsense sites do you?

[Pfui]

I'm a sharp, way-over-average Internet user but this pay-per-click info is news to me. In fact, I'm still confused!

So let's say I'm on Site A, and I click on a Google ad for Site B that takes me to Site B... Who pays whom for the, um, referral?

Does A pay Google who pays B?
Does B pay Google who pays A?
Or...?

Also, is an average per-click cost a penny, or a nickel, or...?

(Aside: Perhaps my ignorance stems from my intentionally avoiding ads -- sorry, advertisers! -- because blocks and columns of ads darn near everywhere makes them seemingly blur together, like page after page of Classified Ad columns in the newspaper.)

TIA for your info.

[bts111]

Yep, they are clueless and I love it.

[joeking]

Don't think people get it - hence the success of adlinks

[jchampliaud]

...or am responsible for French foreign policy (and I'm not even French).

And I though it was just me!

[malachite]

There's clueless, and there's clueless ;) I don't mind receiving enquiries, but...

I regularly get e-mails from people who think I own a cruise ship, run a national tourist office..

You're not alone there EFV. My visitors seem to assume I own every hotel featured on my site. I wish!

If I had a pound for every time I get asked whether there are any rooms available for such-and-such night, I'd make more than I do from Adsense. They never tell me which hotel they want to book, either! Guess I'm supposed to be psychic. :o

I'm convinced Joe surfer has no idea what he's doing.

[John Carpenter]

I feel guilty about clicking on an adword, so I copy and paste the URL so the advertiser does not have to pay.

Google deserve their money too, don't they?

[slade7]

I manage an intranet with about 40 users, and EVERY DAY I go through this routine:

User: How do I get to the $whatever page I want to look at?

Me: Just go to the intranet site and click on it.

User: How do I do that?

Me: Do you know where the intranet site is?

User: Well, it used to be on my desktop, but $blahblahblah

Me: Nope - it's on server X - always has been. So all you have to do is open a browser...

User: What's a browser?

Me: the big blue E!

ETC....

[abbeyvet]

I have several friends who are bright people and use the internet pretty regularly, as ordinary surfers. Whenever I have occasion to watch them in action it stuns me how little they understand.

Almost none of them recognise anything that is not a moving image as an ad. The whole concept of text ads is foreign to them.

Most of them call in the local 'computer doctor' if they need to set up an email address, so this would be pretty advanced stuff to them. And as I say, these are not stupid people.

[jfodale]

When I know I'm "Just Looking" I don't click sponsored listings. When I'm ready to buy, I do. Knowledge changes behavior

I'm just the opposite. When I'm just looking around, I do surf ads that interest me. If I'm surfing, and I read a page with great content, I make a point to really look at their ads. Kind of a reward for great content if you will.

Note, I am not just clicking ads and then closing windows. I only click ads I'm interested in and I'm always taking an honest look at the page the ad brings me to. I've often made online purchases in this way.

Besides, is this not why the advertiser is advertising in the first place? To bring in targetted traffic? I know how AdSense/AdWords work and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that kind of practice.

[Publisher]

The bottom line is that advertising works for advertisers. When beer companies pay millions of dollars for a 30 second ad during the superbowl, one doesn't feel guilty watching it, even though they're not buying beer. When you watch some of the silly ads on tv that are "lifestyle" ads and don't even explain the benefits of their products, advertisers are paying for improving their image. When you watch a movie and there's a Dell computer on the desk, with the logo in plain site, even if the computer is owned by the vilest villain ever, it still registers that Dell is out there.

So on the internet, advertisers are equally willing to pay for impressions, clicks, or whatever it takes to bring business their way. The really great thing about the cpc system is that small advertisers don't have to have gazillion dollar ad budgets to compete. I know of small advertising agencies that have a minimum of $250,000 annual budget before they'll even talk to a prospective client.

If there's something of interest to me on an ad, I click it. That is what the system is for...whether the clicker knows that it just cost the advertiser 10 cents or not.

[vincevincevince]

I've found that stating product prices in adwords brings much more qualified traffic. If you don't think they'd click if they knew the product price then they probably won't buy at that price either! And they do find out the price before they checkout...