# Has anyone ever clicked on a Google ad from an SDMB thread and bought the product? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762 "2006-08-07T21:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/1 "2006-08-07T21:36:49Z")
Just curious. Can anyone here report that one of these ads has actually worked? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/2 "2006-08-07T22:02:57Z")
I for one - no (if I recollect correctly I have never bought anything via a Web ad, in almost 10 years of using the Internet - online businesses that I have patronized I have usually found via word of mouth in fora/mailing list, or via search results). Perversely, I often click on the SDMB ads _when they are for a product or cause I despise_ - to set them back a few ¢ and earn the SDMB a few ¢ . If not for that I’d never even look at them. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/3 "2006-08-07T22:17:20Z")
Maybe. I buy fairly regularly from a company that I found after clicking on an ad in a related thread but I can’t remember if it was an ad for that particular company or whether I got there via links from another business. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/4 "2006-08-07T22:32:06Z")
Once. In 1960. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/5 "2006-08-07T22:36:37Z")
I’d had four or five of them make me curious enough to click though, but I’ve never bought anything from them. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/6 "2006-08-07T22:43:52Z")
Yep. My daughter wanted purple hair for a school dance, and there was an ad for temporary hair dye at the bottom of a thread about some totally unrelated thing. I guess the google engine thinks all manic depressives have neon purple hair. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/7 "2006-08-07T22:53:20Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > Once. In 1960. Did you return it in less than half an hour? ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/8 "2006-08-08T00:05:05Z")
No. Seldom do I even notice the ads at all. They’ve turned into visual white noise to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/9 "2006-08-08T00:26:08Z")
I’ve clicked on the ads a few times but I’ve never bought anything. Half the time the ads are for American service providers anyway, so they’re not very relevant. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/10 "2006-08-08T02:29:38Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > … I guess the google engine thinks all manic depressives have neon purple hair. What, you’re saying they _don’t_? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-clicked-on-a-google-ad-from-an-sdmb-thread-and-bought-the-product/367762/11 "2006-08-08T02:38:21Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > I guess the google engine thinks all manic depressives have neon purple hair. No, it thinks that all manic depressives _want_ neon purple hair.