According to a recent survey, half of adults do not recognize ads in Google search results.
There are several studies which suggests that many people do not know the difference between organic and paid ads. However the fact that 50% of adults could look at Google search results like these and still be unable to see the difference is shocking.
The Statistics
The study consisted of 1,328 adults who were shown a picture of the Google search results for ‘walking boots’.
According to the study, the participants’ attention was drawn to the first three results that were at the top of the page. These results were each distinguished by a small orange box containing the word ‘Ad’ in white letters. The participants were then prompted with three different options and asked if any of them applied to the first three results.
The survey participants were allowed to select more than one answer for each of the search results. Thus some of the participants could for example have said that the ads in Google search results were both the best results and paid links.
Half of adults do not recognize ads in Google search results.
To clarify the above results, 60% of the adults identified the ads in Google search results as paid links, while 49% only identified them as paid ads. This means that only 49% selected the correct option.
The survey results were also split between newer and more experienced internet users. The newer users were internet users who have been using the internet for less than five years. The study discovered that there were 160 newer users, compared to the 1,113 experienced users.
The responses to the same question as above, was then split into the two groups:
34% of newer internet users and 51% of experienced users chose only the correct answer.
This shows that newer internet users are less likely to identify ads in Google search results. Only 34% of newer internet users and 51% of experienced users chose only the correct answer.
Studies on PPC Ads
Another study which was performed on 103 people, discovered that 36% of the participants did not know that PPC ads were indeed adverts.
The relatively small group of participants were asked to take UX tests which made use of eye-tracking technology. Afterwards the participants were asked if they saw any ads.
Another study was performed on 1,010 UK internet users. They were asked whether they know which links were paid ads in Google search results. The results show that 50.6% of the participants were unable to identify ads.
50.6% of the participants were unable to identify ads.
Why are people unable to identify ads in Google search results?
Why can adults and experienced internet users still not see ads in Google search results when they are so clearly marked with a yellow label? Google is clearly doing their part in pointing out that it is in fact an ad so can definitely not be held responsible.
However, there are still some ways in which Google attempts to reduce the visibility of the ads in Google search results. After all, Google does have an interest in increasing the amount of visitors each of its ads get.
For example, up until a few years ago Google added a shaded background behind their ads, although there were no yellow labels at that time.
Google have also recently started experimenting with using green ad labels instead of the more noticeable yellow label. It could be an attempt to make the ad label blend in with the green URL. Or perhaps it is simply an experiment to find the best performing format.
There are eye-tracking studies that show internet users simply do not look at certain elements on a Google search results page. Is it possible that they simply do not see these ads in Google search results or are they just not processing it?
Whatever the reason is for 50% of adults being unable to identify ads in Google search results, there is clearly a problem here.