[fspeech]

The two times that Google succeeded in getting my family to follow through on ads:

1) My 10 year old, in trying to download ITunes, clicked on a download site ad and installed malware that I had to rescue him from while he was in tears;

2) My wife while trying to pay for vehicle license renewal clicked on a DMV look-alike site that attempted to charge her $30 handling fee for something that DMV does for free.

The other cases for their clicking on Google ads are mostly well known websites such as Amazon defensively placing ads to protect those who couldn't distinguish an url from a search query in the address bar or an ad from an unpaid search result.

So it seems to me the ad model is really built on preying on the technologically naive to subsidize the technologically savvy. While in general the technologically sophisticated should be able to charge for their services to the technologically naive, it would be better if it could be done with informed consent instead of trickery.

[fspeech]

Both cases were the results of clicking on ads from direct Google search returns, when the users really intended to go to a known website through the address bar but they didn't know the complete url or couldn't tell the difference between that and a search or a search return from an ad.

I am fine with most display ads even though I find those that hijack my browser functions annoying and use blockers for that reason.

[drpgq]

I'm sure if you could make a graph of IQ versus the amount of Google Adsense ads clicked it would be interesting to say the least.

[fspeech]

I would say "technological sophistication". I would not call my wife or my son low IQ (they really aren't :-). But people can be good at many things while still blissfully unaware of the shenanigans employed by the technologically sophisticated.

[shostack]

How do you know the first ad was even on the Google Display Network? You sitting there watching him click it and following the redirects seems to be the only way you could know that. In which case you allowed him to click and I'd argue it was not his fault you got malware, but yours.

Your second example also sounds like a situation where you heard a (likely inaccurate) complaint from a second party, and are attributing it to a sketchy ad when in reality it could very well have been a site that ranked well organically and had affiliate links to the look-alike site.

You statement of "the other cases for their clicking on Google ads" could use some clarification. The digital media space is vast, and while Google has a large market share, they are not the only players, so I'd love to know how you can attribute both of these examples (which sound like you were not present to observe and have info from less savvy second parties) to Google.

Publishers absolutely have done shady things to drive ad revenue. You'd be shocked at how many attempt to arbitrage cheap clicks from low-quality traffic sources straight into high CPM impressions that they can bundle into direct buys. There are many other things that go on.

What frustrates me with these threads is when people try to summarize an entire industry's best and worst practices by a couple anecdotal experiences using language that indicates a lack of knowledge of said industry, and frankly lacks any real credibility based on the information provided. That sort of comment isn't really constructive--it is jumping to poorly informed conclusions.

Count-point...if I run ads driving people to awesome video tutorials about a somewhat complex product, and it shows a high CTR and engagement rate, am I evil? I'm not holding a gun to anyone's head, and people's actions speak louder than words.

[scholia]

Scamming via lookalike sites is very common, and Google should be ashamed of itself for its part in conning people out of money for no reason except to line its own pockets. In the UK:

"Google is coming under increasing pressure over taking money to promote copycat websites. Among the more printable comments sent to us this week from readers who have fallen for taxreturngateway.com was: "I believe Google is implicated in this as it is well aware of what's happening and why – and it too should be prosecuted". Others ask why Google couldn't at least move copycat sites to below the official sites on its search results page." http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/30/tax-return-pass...

I had to deflect my own wife from one of these, because of the deceptive way Google was displaying ads above organic search. I've experienced the second -- the (failed) attempt to install malware -- myself.

[shostack]

So now we get down-voted for poking obvious holes in people's broad sweeping generalizations when they've attacked an entire industry? Mmmk, sounds good.