4 ms·

I mean, Google Ads are still clearly separated and are labeled as such (there's even a "hide sponsored results" button. Not sure why people even click on the ad

I mean, Google Ads are still clearly separated and are labeled as such (there's even a "hide sponsored results" button. Not sure why people even click on the ads when the actual result is right below but that's not usually me.

wredcoll 10mo ago
Really? At least half the time the real results are below "the fold" for me.
- satvikpendem 10mo ago
  Depends on your screen size. Regardless lots of people scroll down anyway since they've been trained to by ads. https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png
  - Kye 10mo ago
    Do they? I haven't seen any research. My non-scientific experience watching people use Google tells me they mostly cycle through the ads at the top until they get to the right thing, or forget what they were doing and follow the first advertiser's funnel.
schmichael 10mo ago
Step 1: Google made an excellent search engine where the top result is often the right choice for many common queries. Step 2: Sell the top result slot. Step 3: Profit.
- satvikpendem 10mo ago
  That's why it makes a cool 100 billion in profit every year. It's one of the best money printers ever conceived, because it controls the distribution. We'll see how OpenAI does.
qingcharles 10mo ago
This is not how most users perceive it. To us techies, sure. Whenever I watch any regular person using Google though they invariably always click whatever the top result is (usually sponsored) and don't see any distinction.
- satvikpendem 10mo ago
  Sure, but then the advertising model is working then, at least for Google and the companies that pay them. If people don't want to read a big heading literally called sponsored results [0] then I don't know what to tell them. Or they just don't care because they're not paying anything to click. [0] https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png
  - czep 10mo ago
    While true, it's still a user-hostile move. You kinda have to meet your customers where they are. If people are clicking ads without knowing it, that's a serious design problem. Yes, people should learn to read, but the risk of placing too much burden on users is that all it takes is one ambitious product manager to push an A/B test that generates huge revenue wins while enshittifying the product for everyone else.
    - satvikpendem 10mo ago
      I'm not sure it is a problem, as it's Google's page, they can do whatever they want with it, and they'll of course do the profit maximizing action. Who is anyone to say it's a serious design problem?
      - Marsymars 10mo ago
        It's a design solution to "people not clicking enough ads".
  - rpdillon 10mo ago
    Good screenshot! Ads take up the majority of the space on that page, and are styled to look almost identical to search results. That's a problem for people like me that expect a search engine to primary deliver search results, not ads.

wredcoll 10mo ago

Really? At least half the time the real results are below "the fold" for me.

satvikpendem 10mo ago
Depends on your screen size. Regardless lots of people scroll down anyway since they've been trained to by ads. https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png
- Kye 10mo ago
  Do they? I haven't seen any research. My non-scientific experience watching people use Google tells me they mostly cycle through the ads at the top until they get to the right thing, or forget what they were doing and follow the first advertiser's funnel.

schmichael 10mo ago

Step 1: Google made an excellent search engine where the top result is often the right choice for many common queries. Step 2: Sell the top result slot. Step 3: Profit.

satvikpendem 10mo ago
That's why it makes a cool 100 billion in profit every year. It's one of the best money printers ever conceived, because it controls the distribution. We'll see how OpenAI does.

qingcharles 10mo ago

This is not how most users perceive it. To us techies, sure. Whenever I watch any regular person using Google though they invariably always click whatever the top result is (usually sponsored) and don't see any distinction.

satvikpendem 10mo ago
Sure, but then the advertising model is working then, at least for Google and the companies that pay them. If people don't want to read a big heading literally called sponsored results [0] then I don't know what to tell them. Or they just don't care because they're not paying anything to click. [0] https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png https://i.imgur.com/JvEsDpH.png
- czep 10mo ago
  While true, it's still a user-hostile move. You kinda have to meet your customers where they are. If people are clicking ads without knowing it, that's a serious design problem. Yes, people should learn to read, but the risk of placing too much burden on users is that all it takes is one ambitious product manager to push an A/B test that generates huge revenue wins while enshittifying the product for everyone else.
  - satvikpendem 10mo ago
    I'm not sure it is a problem, as it's Google's page, they can do whatever they want with it, and they'll of course do the profit maximizing action. Who is anyone to say it's a serious design problem?
    - Marsymars 10mo ago
      It's a design solution to "people not clicking enough ads".
- rpdillon 10mo ago
  Good screenshot! Ads take up the majority of the space on that page, and are styled to look almost identical to search results. That's a problem for people like me that expect a search engine to primary deliver search results, not ads.