In spite of what Google would like to determine an Internet user’s ad-clicking strategy (relevant ads, solid copy, action words, etc.), that’s not always what drives someone to click or not click on an ad. Let me tell you how I decide to click on an ad on a page or not. The algorithm is pretty simple and I’ll break it down by different situations.

1) Situation 1: I really like the page that I’ve visited. If I’m really impressed with the page I’m viewing, I’ll click an ad on the page, regardless of what it’s for. In fact, if I really like the page, I’ll even try to pick what I think is the highest CPC-bidding ad. Eg. I’ll click on “Sign up for the Capital One card today” rather than “Looking for US Capitols? Find it on eBay.”

2) Situation 2: The page is so-so, but there are interesting ads. This method probably most accurately reflects what Google would like to see in ad-clicking. If I see an interesting ad, sometimes I click it, but no guarantees.

3) Situation 3: The page is so-so, but I see an ad for a company I dislike. This will guarantee I click that ad. Why? It’s costing the advertising company, which I dislike, money. Simple enough.

4) Situation 4: Stinky page, either great or stinky ad. Will not click on an ad, no matter how interesting it is, simply because I do not want to reward the creator of a stinky page with ad revenue.

Now - I’m not preaching that everyone should go out and do this, by any means, just giving an observation on how I view paid ads on a web site. I think it could be beneficial information for Google, even, though the free market of online advertising will probably find that balance for them eventually.