Is Google Tricking People Into Clicking On Paid Ads?

Short answer: Yes.

Look, I work with paid search advertising, so I might be gnawing a bit on the hand that provides my kibble, but have you seen paid search results lately?

To the average consumer, search engine results pages are just that - results for a search. They provide links that the user presumes are the most accurate source of information, services, products, or any other content they have stated a need for. And I would guess that many users would claim it doesn't matter which result they click on, as long as it serves their need. This makes sense.

However, if you work with or are even just aware of the system and how Google serves organic and paid search results, you had to have noticed the ever-so-subtle shifting in paid ad display lately. Lately, even I've mistakenly clicked on a paid ad result thinking it was the top organic result.

How did this happen, and why?

Well, the "why" part is easy; the more paid clicks Google gets, the more money they get.

Here's the dirty secret of Adwords (from Google's perspective): There are only so many ways someone's going to search for a particular thing. This means that there are only so many keywords that are going to provide value and volume to a paid search advertiser. This also means there are only so many impressions and clicks that a given campaign can achieve before realizing diminishing returns. (Note: one other thing this means is more competition and higher CPCs as more marketers enter the arena and strive for top 4 positioning. This actually could lead to lower margins for advertisers, and less likelihood of Adwords use).

Google knows this. They can't MAKE people search more or differently.

What can they do? For one, they can find ways to make people click more on the results that make them money.

Ultimately, this isn't a huge deal. Heck, for my Adwords programs it could mean higher budgets and better/higher results. SEO clients, on the other hand, especially those on the first page or number one listing, it may be a bit of a nuisance. But the prevailing question when dealing with Google (or any search engine) should always be this:


Is the user getting what he or she is looking for?

Paid results are great for everyone involved, but they aren't always the most relevant for a user. Let's face it, there is usually a sale or offer on the other end of a paid search click by nature. Organic results aren't normally so closely tied to commerce.

Back to the question: Is Google tricking people into clicking paid search ads versus organic?

Before we evaluate the specific differences, let's do a little I SPY with search results pages now (2012) vs. 2009:

2009 Google Search Results Page:

2012 Google Search Results Page (same search):

Can you spot the differences?

Okay, now look at some of the specific updates in search results listings:

1. Lighter background behind paid search results.
Um, can you even tell where the paid ads and organic listings begin? You'll just have to trust me on this, but that background used to be much more distinct.

New Google Search Results Page. Where do paid ads begin and end?

2. Ads taking up more space.
Again, take a look at the results above. This is the first screen you see for paid search results. How much space is dedicated to paid ads vs. organic? 75% vs. 25%?


3. Ad SiteLinks.
Google recently introduced new links in paid search ads which can drive clicks to different pages while presenting varying calls to action and messaging. Again, pretty great for advertisers. But can you tell the difference between these two listings?

Paid search ad example

Organic search listing example

Note the links below each ad - pretty similar, huh?

4. Extended Headlines.
Here's another example of a new paid search ad. This time the ad is pulling in the first line of copy from the ad and placing it in the headline, making it closely resemble an organic listing page title:

Extended paid search ad headline resembles organic search title

The caveat with a few of these ad features is that the keyword used need to have a high quality score to use them, which is why the features really only happen in top three listings. Despite this fact, the truth remains that most of these paid results are driving towards a business goal, rather than simply providing information or content that a user is looking for.

From an advertiser's perspective, more clicks is great, but at what cost? If more clicks come from less relevant searches because the users are mistakenly clicking on paid ads, that means more wasteful spending, which means higher cost per conversions and lower ROI. In other words, higher click volume is good as long as that higher volume continues to be of higher value.

So, do users click on paid links by accident? Is it off-putting? Does it undermine Google's policy of always giving users the best results? I suppose there's no clear answer, but my guess is yes on all counts.

What do you think?