[lit-ideas] Re: The Magic of Images: Word and Picture in a Media Age
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:51:50 -0700
Here are notes from a study on consumer reaction to advertising that has
been embedded into search engines.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
How Do Users Feel about Ads in Search Engines?
Consumers Union did a study to see how users perceive search engines and
advertising on search engines. The following paragraphs contain a number of
words that are strongly biased against advertising. All of these comments
and attitudes can be found in the study.
First of all, the study finds that users have a naïve trust in search
engines to deliver the best, unbiased information on a search. They feel
that the sites listed at the top are the most trustworthy.
In general, users don’t understand how search engines work. They don’t
understand how sites are ranked. They don’t know that search engines are
commercial enterprises. They don’t realize that many search engines included
paid items in the results list.
When they search, they are searching for information. If they notice that
links are advertising, they skip over those links. Users like it when
advertising is highlighted because that "lets them ignore the ads". If they
are searching for information and they click on a site that turns out to be
commercial, they immediately back out of it so they "don’t waste time" on
those sites. Users find it intolerable for advertising to be inserted into
information.
When users find out that a search engine is placing paid links at the top of
the list, they react very strongly. Their emotions include: dismay, shock,
revulsion, annoyance, betrayal, anger, disgust, disappointment, and
helplessness. They are disturbed and stunned. One said "it feels yucky to
see advertising in a search engine".
When users realize a search engine is inserting paid links in the results,
the search engines lose credibility. Users switch to another search engine.
A construction worker made a fascinating comment. “People like me may only
get to learn stuff online.”
This section is a summary of a study by Consumer WebWatch, a project of
Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. The
study is at www.consumerwebwatch.org/news/searchengines/index.html
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