A lot of you out there are helping Google rake in cash without even realizing it. Econsultancy draws our attention to a new study from UX firm Bunnyfoot that shows only 36% of users understand that Google Adwords are actually paid advertisements and not organic search results, even though Google clearly marks them as ads. This is actually an improvement from last year, when Bunnyfoot found that 81% of Google users clicked on Google Adwords and fully 41% of all users didn’t know that they were ads. While Google obviously doesn’t mind that so many people are unwittingly giving ads their clicks, it also means that the company is in a somewhat precarious position: If more and more people start realizing that its Adwords are paid ads and not organic search results, it could significantly reduce the total number of clicks those ads get in the future.
You might be helping Google make a fortune without even knowing it
Published May 19th, 2014 7:15PM EDT
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Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
