Do I support Google ads?

December 21, 2005 7:25 PM

When using google to get a link to a commerce site, what are the ramifications for clicking on the "sponsored links" versus clicking on the commerce site as it appears in the non-sponsored links, below the googe ads on the google results page?

For example, I know that I want to check out video cards from x store but I do not know the exact URL to type in, so I use google. The URL and description to x store show up in google ads on the search results page, and directly underneath that, are the page-ranked results, also including that site. I always wonder if I should click on the google ad URL or the search results URL. Since I'm using google as a search engine, perhaps I should click on the search results and only utilize the sponsored ads if I were searching for a general "video cards". I think that the answer to this question is going to be "it depends". I've tried to research it myself but get lost in the noise of google ads. Do I contribute to a price increase if I click on the google sponsored ads at the top of the search page? This question bugs me every time I do a search for a commerce site. Thanks.

posted by aliksd to computers & internet (11 comments total)

Do I contribute to a price increase if I click on the google sponsored ads at the top of the search page?

Of course.
posted by deadfather at 7:29 PM on December 21, 2005

When you click a pay-per-click ad, you cause a transfer of money to the site running the ad (Google), from whomever bought the ad (the store, and indirectly, the store's customers). Whether this is a good thing depends on who you ask, of course. :)
posted by mbrubeck at 7:42 PM on December 21, 2005

If you own Google stock then I'd suggest clicking on the "paid" links if given a choice.
posted by pwb503 at 7:45 PM on December 21, 2005

As a user, you should click on whatever looks the most relevant to you in the search results page, regardless of whether they're paid advertising, or not. That's the whole point of search engines, and advertising in them. Let the business people figure out the money part :-)
posted by arrowhead at 8:44 PM on December 21, 2005

I was going to say that, as a user, you might try to avoid clicking on paid search results. My experience, at least, is that paid search results are at least a little bit more likely to be inaccurate, useless or misleading (and by misleading, I mean that they link to data-miners and privacy-invaders and disreputable merchants and so forth). Maybe you've had better luck with 'em, though.
posted by box at 9:07 PM on December 21, 2005

As a general rule, I click on ads if they're relevant. I'd like to support Google's text ads so that they don't have to resort to something more obtrusive.

For the same reason, I click text ads on sites that I like, even if I know what the destination is or don't particularly care.
posted by danb at 9:44 PM on December 21, 2005

Click on whatever gets you to what you're looking for the fastest. Don't worry about the money part. If you see a sponsored ad and it points you to exactly what you're looking for, then click it. That is precisely why the site paid to put it there.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:07 PM on December 21, 2005

I'd like to support Google's text ads so that they don't have to resort to something more obtrusive.

Too late.

mbrubeck pretty much nailed it, but I'll ad that I'm pretty sure that the blue-tinted "sponsored link" is the sponsor paying the most versus the links in the right column, which pay Google the most at the top and the least at the bottom. It's all but impossible to determine what the pay-per-click rate is for a given ad, without signing up and doing one yourself, but you can usually guess. Most of them are in the general 50-cent range.

Technically you could imagine that you're contributing to a price increase by making the advertiser, who is selling the product you want, pay Google for your click-through -- but it isn't that simple, since this is a fluid market. On the one hand, you are forcing a specific payment to take place -- but on the other hand, you are also contributing to the bottom line of the business, and AdWords are arguably (this is unproven as a general rule AFAIK) more cost-effective than most other types of advertising. You could say you're saving them money doing other types of advertising, and by helping them make a sale (assuming your click does lead to a purchase), you're giving them more money to find more customers. It isn't a closed system, in other words -- the upside for the advertiser is theoretically unlimited.

Google AdWords certainly do make or break many small online businesses.
posted by dhartung at 10:39 PM on December 21, 2005

If it's a big company (Best Buy) I click the ad , if it's a little company (Little Billy's Electronics Depot) I click on the free one if the option is there.
posted by matimer at 5:54 AM on December 22, 2005

If it's a big company (Best Buy) I click the ad , if it's a little company (Little Billy's Electronics Depot) I click on the free one if the option is there.

Thus pruning the tree so that only the thickest branches survive. You would rather all your ads be from Best Buy?

Either do what comes natural or ignore all ads equally. Gaming the system produces unexpected and often undesired results.
posted by deadfather at 7:12 AM on December 22, 2005

Google ad placement is not based on price alone, click-through rates actually play a large part.

I have an ad I'm paying $.37 cents for that is in the #1 position and according to the adWords traffic estimator it would cost around $.74 to beat me out.

Clicking an ad, while not reducing the CPC, could improve the position in the future and then the better posistion could increase overall click-through rates.
posted by Mick at 11:41 AM on December 22, 2005