Is Google Advertising Really Free?

[ehrenfest]

I don't understand how google can possibly afford to supply me with 6656 MB for e-mails for free, provide me with super-fast searches of the entire internet and tons of other amenities just on add money. I have never clicked on a google add (okay maybe once or twice by accident) and it is easy for me to totally ignore them. I imagine the same is true for other people.

Something is wrong with this picture.

 

[waht]

Google is purely an advertising company. They were able to strike a right balance between the number of ads on a page and the number of hits they receive.

The more ads a website has, the less attractive it will be. So it seems with google, just one ad in their search engine multiplied by gazillions of hits a day will produce revenue.

 

[binzing]

I love Google! Hey ehren, I just realized this. Is your name based on the Ehren from Jackass and Viva La Bam?

 

[moose]

Is your name based on the Ehren from Jackass and Viva La Bam?

Maybe this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ehrenfest
?

 

[B. Elliott]

Google is purely an advertising company. They were able to strike a right balance between the number of ads on a page and the number of hits they receive.

The more ads a website has, the less attractive it will be. So it seems with google, just one ad in their search engine multiplied by gazillions of hits a day will produce revenue.

Dead on. Before Google exploded I had a plethora of search engines that I used for whatever reason. If I was searching for a topic, I would immediately open a Webcrawler, Altavista, Aliweb, Yahoo, Lycos and Infoseek and enter whatever I was searching for, as different engines would pull up different pages.

Before all that I used Gopher, and before that... well... there was no internet. BBS's kept me busy.

 

[binzing]

Alright, that makes more sense!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Plus google has ads on thousands of other websites. Like PF :)

 

[ehrenfest]

I love Google! Hey ehren, I just realized this. Is your name based on the Ehren from Jackass and Viva La Bam?

No. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ehrenfest

 

[ehrenfest]

My point is basically that google makes tons and tons of money due to the completely flawed opinions of companies that online advertising is effective. Honestly, who actually reads the ads by google (like the one called "How to do Energy Healing?" at the top of my page right now) and is interested enough to click on it and eventually buy their product?

It just seems weird how google can be so successful due to the complete misconception that people care about google's ads.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

My point is basically that google makes tons and tons of money due to the completely flawed opinions of companies that online advertising is effective. Honestly, who actually reads the ads by google (like the one called "How to do Energy Healing?" at the top of my page right now) and is interested enough to click on it and eventually buy their product?

It just seems weird how google can be so successful due to the complete misconception that people care about google's ads.

You are misinformed. Google advertising, if done well, can be extraordinary for online stores. Online advertising will only increase. If it didn't work, then companies would have abandonded the idea years ago, they aren't stupid, it's a matter of looking at stats. I know many people who make a living off advertising their store correctly using google.

Each day there are tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of google ad impressions. Even if just 1% of those get clicked, that is a lot of money.

 

[Astronuc]

I'm one of those who ignore adds - completely. I buy nothing as the result of an add, and in fact, I am less likely to buy something that is advertised. One could reason that if it's advertised - it's too expensive (got to pay for overhead like advertising) and it's probably not necessary.

 

[mgb_phys]

Google ads are among the most effective. Much cheaper than large banner ads and ell targeted to specific search terms they are great for small companies.
If you are selling a small windows library it's not very effective to make a TV commercial!

 

[Evo]

I'm one of those who ignore adds - completely. I buy nothing as the result of an add, and in fact, I am less likely to buy something that is advertised. One could reason that if it's advertised - it's too expensive (got to pay for overhead like advertising) and it's probably not necessary.

What kind of company sells without advertising? Advertising can be in a trade journal, trade shows, magazines, newspapers, online, tv, billboards, etc...

 

[Nabeshin]

I'm one of those who ignore adds - completely. I buy nothing as the result of an add, and in fact, I am less likely to buy something that is advertised. One could reason that if it's advertised - it's too expensive (got to pay for overhead like advertising) and it's probably not necessary.

What you have to realize is that everyone thinks like this. I guarantee you that if you surveyed 100 people, 90+ would say they're not effected by advertising. Everyone wants to think this, myself included, so of course advertising companies know this. Mostly they work on subconscious principles, simply trying to put the brand name in your mind, make associations (beautiful girl = pepsi!) and get you to subconsciously choose their product.

 

[Moonbear]

Don't forget that when you do a search for a particular product online, the first few hits at the top of the page, and all the ones down the right column are "Sponsored Links." Of course you click on those if they are selling the product you were searching for. For example, if I go searching online for surgical scrubs for work, all the major suppliers come up as sponsored links (of course I also get a bunch of hits for SCRUBS the TV show merchandise). I'm not going to ignore those links just because they're sponsored, especially when they're the ones advertising the cheapest prices (and certainly better than the brick and mortar stores here offer).

 

[Astronuc]

What kind of company sells without advertising? Advertising can be in a trade journal, trade shows, magazines, newspapers, online, tv, billboards, etc...

Well, of course, in an economy driven by mass consumption, advertisements are certainly design to catch the consumer's attention and prompt the consumer to buy.

I attend technical meetings/conferences, but not tradeshows. I suppose if I'm interested in some technology, I'd contact people who likely use that technology and obtain information. With the internet, I can simply by-pass advertising and go directly to the technology of interest.

I generally ignore add in "magazines, newspapers, online, tv, billboards, . . ."

As for consumables, e.g. food, medicine, clothes, . . . I'd simply visit the appropriate store and buy whatever I needed. If I needed a car, I'd visit a preferred dealer and see what was available, or check a list online.

Actually, my wife does most of the purchasing of household needs.

We have used Consumer Reports in the past for some durable goods.


Otherwise, I prefer to see the product in person.


I generally avoid brand names. I prefer inexpensive stuff.

 

[esbo]

A key point with advertising is that you can only buy what is in the shops, and if a new
product is not backed by big advertisng campaign, most stores will not touch it.

I expect google know most people will only use a tiny fraction of the 6 gig of email
space, a few pennys worth, which is a small price to pay for a complete invasion of
their privacy. Also they can target their advertising and pidgeon hole you into certain
categories, such as "mug who will buy anything", they only have to find a few mugs to make it worthwhile.

 

[ehrenfest]

What kind of company sells without advertising? Advertising can be in a trade journal, trade shows, magazines, newspapers, online, tv, billboards, etc...

Um--companies that sell things that are useful. Such as book publishers (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl holding a new Quantum Field Theory book in a TV commercial?) or companies that make office supplies (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl reloading an automatic pencil in a commercial?). Those companies don't really advertise in ANY medium.

 

[B. Elliott]

Um--companies that sell things that are useful. Such as book publishers (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl holding a new Quantum Field Theory book in a TV commercial?) or companies that make office supplies (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl reloading an automatic pencil in a commercial?). Those companies don't really advertise in ANY medium.

there's tons of ads for books such as that in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy Magazine.

 

[Cyrus]

Um--companies that sell things that are useful. Such as book publishers (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl holding a new Quantum Field Theory book in a TV commercial?) or companies that make office supplies (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl reloading an automatic pencil in a commercial?). Those companies don't really advertise in ANY medium.

No no, I am pretty sure they have what could be a nice looking girl selling paper supplies. Instead; however, they put this girl in a stupid red staples polo shirt and slacks, and tell her to smile and sell paper supplies. The polo shirts always too big for her, and destroys any curves she might have. Thats exactly what I want to see on tv.....

Just put the damn girl in a nice dress and have her say what's being sold at the store. I don't want to see some ugly girl in an oversized polo shirt selling anything. I don't even want her on the tv. It reminds me of those fat women in underwear they had on those dove posters all around town. People complained and they took them all back down. Nasty.

Yep, sex sells. I am glad. We need ads like europe that have naked women selling things like perfume. I am not buying any, but god bless those ads.

Sexist? You bet.

 

[Evo]

Um--companies that sell things that are useful. Such as book publishers (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl holding a new Quantum Field Theory book in a TV commercial?) or companies that make office supplies (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl reloading an automatic pencil in a commercial?). Those companies don't really advertise in ANY medium.

Uhm, yes they do. I suppose you haven't noticed the ton of tv ads for Sharpies either? Those just stand out because there have been so many of them.

 

[Evo]

Yep, sex sells. I am glad. We need ads like europe that have naked women selling things like perfume. I am not buying any, but god bless those ads.

Sexist? You bet.

You are so bad...

 

[Cyrus]

Side 1: Its true though. I remember seeing a big ad with a topless woman in the metro subway station. It was fantastic. That would never fly in the states because people here are too damn insecure about sex. Brasilian soaps also have naked women.

Side 2: Women should not be allowed to wear mens polo shirts, ever. I hate walking into staples and seeing small women wearing a medium sized mans shirt that's twice as big as it should be. Its horrible. A lot of companies have this policy. I hate it. Give women a womens polo shirt. Its a different cut, and size. I don't need to see women wearing huge baggy shirts at a store.

 

[lisab]

Side 1: Its true though. I remember seeing a big ad with a topless woman in the metro subway station. It was fantastic. That would never fly in the states because people here are too damn insecure about sex. Brasilian soaps also have naked women.

Side 2: Women should not be allowed to wear mens polo shirts, ever. I hate walking into staples and seeing small women wearing a medium sized mans shirt that's twice as big as it should be. Its horrible. A lot of companies have this policy. I hate it. Give women a womens polo shirt. Its a different cut, and size. I don't need to see women wearing huge baggy shirts at a store.

Hey, it can be a lot worse than polos. I had a job for a while at 7-Eleven...had to wear the SMOCK. It was made with fabric with the 7-Eleven logo all over it.

It was already stained when I got it. Nice.

 

[Moonbear]

Um--companies that sell things that are useful. Such as book publishers (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl holding a new Quantum Field Theory book in a TV commercial?) or companies that make office supplies (when is the last time you saw a beautiful girl reloading an automatic pencil in a commercial?). Those companies don't really advertise in ANY medium.

Yes they do. You don't see them in commercials, but they are advertised, everything from free copies sent to professors for review to product placement in the stores (yes, the name brands are at eye level while you have to look up or down to find the generics). Remember the old "Flick my Bic" commercials for cigarette lighters? Commonplace, useful items (even for non-smokers, a disposable lighter comes in handy for lighting birthday candles and fireplaces), but they make sure you choose their brand.

When I was in college, it was common to get coupons and ads early in the term for all sorts of office supplies, sometimes bundled into boxes or bags containing a few free samples of items (we used to get things like shaving creams and soaps free in those boxes, all with the expectation if we try them we might like them and keep buying the same brand). Ever get a free sample in the mail and decide you liked the product? There are a LOT of ways of advertising.

 

[Moonbear]

Side 1: Its true though. I remember seeing a big ad with a topless woman in the metro subway station. It was fantastic. That would never fly in the states because people here are too damn insecure about sex. Brasilian soaps also have naked women.

Side 2: Women should not be allowed to wear mens polo shirts, ever. I hate walking into staples and seeing small women wearing a medium sized mans shirt that's twice as big as it should be. Its horrible. A lot of companies have this policy. I hate it. Give women a womens polo shirt. Its a different cut, and size. I don't need to see women wearing huge baggy shirts at a store.

I'm sure the women working in those stores would agree. Nothing worse than being handed a uniform that's two sizes too big and having to schlep to work in it day after day (even worse if they make you pay for your own uniform).