An examination of searcher's perceptions of nonsponsored and sponsored links during ecommerce Web searching

Abstract

In this article, we report results of an investigation into the effect of sponsored links on ecommerce information seeking on the Web. In this research, 56 participants each engaged in six ecommerce Web searching tasks. We extracted these tasks from the transaction log of a Web search engine, so they represent actual ecommerce searching information needs. Using 60 organic and 30 sponsored Web links, the quality of the Web search engine results was controlled by switching nonsponsored and sponsored links on half of the tasks for each participant. This allowed for investigating the bias toward sponsored links while controlling for quality of content. The study also investigated the relationship between searching self-efficacy, searching experience, types of ecommerce information needs, and the order of links on the viewing of sponsored links. Data included 2,453 interactions with links from result pages and 961 utterances evaluating these links. The results of the study indicate that there is a strong preference for nonsponsored links, with searchers viewing these results first more than 82% of the time. Searching self-efficacy and experience does not increase the likelihood of viewing sponsored links, and the order of the result listing does not appear to affect searcher evaluation of sponsored links. The implications for sponsored links as a longterm business model are discussed.

The Brand Effect of Key Phrases and Advertisements in Sponsored Search

“…For further discussions of key word advertising, see [16,30], which are part of a small but growing body of literature on key word advertising. Jansen and Resnick [31] report that searchers have a bias against sponsored results, but introducing searchers to relevant sponsored results overcomes this bias (i.e., it becomes positive). Brooks [6,7] also shows how the ad rank affects clicks and conversions, following a curvilinear function of the ad's rank.…”

“…Hotchkiss [27] has noted that slight variations in how the individual links are displayed on the SERP can affect user evaluation. There is also an element of trust in terms of whether or not the link is sponsored, as shown by Jansen and Resnick [31], who have also pointed out the interplay of title and result summary as determinants of relevance and nonrelevance for a given result. Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa [42] have shown that perceived company reputation and willingness to customize products and services can significantly affect initial trust.…”

User-Generated Content: An Examination of Users and the Commodification of Instagram Posts

“…However, prior research suggests that brand names are more likely to be noticed as recognized as sponsorship cues than other types of cues (Jansen & Resnick, 2006). Therefore:…”

“…The Pew Internet and American Life Project (Jansen & Resnick, 2006;Fallows, 2005) reported that users trust search engines, but they do not understand how they work in terms of ranking them within the search's return of links. 38% of people who use search engines reported attentiveness between the sponsored links and links that were returned organically with no monetary ties to their place on the search engine (Jansen & Resnick, 2006). However, others have found that less than 10% recognize when content is sponsored (Sass, 2015).…”

“…However, others have found that less than 10% recognize when content is sponsored (Sass, 2015). Also, using results from a user study, Marable (2003) reported that searchers trust search engines to present only unbiased results on the first page, not realizing that 41% of selections were sponsored search listings (Jansen & Resnick, 2006). Because of this ambiguity in the prior research, this project proposes research questions instead of hypotheses, to be explored with four parts: RQ1a: Do users recognize content as sponsored when it includes #ad?…”