An evaluation on how keyword advertising affects Google search results

This thesis examines how advertising affects Google search results. Based on the uses and gratification theory that suggests users use media to gratify their information needs, the study raises the question, how does the presence of advertising influence a user's online experience?; Research reveals that users are becoming more tolerant towards the presence of advertising on Google search results because of simple and non invasive ads. Google has been able to generate more than half of its current revenue by selling advertisement and allowing the market place to set the price of search keywords.; In the market place, corporate advertisers have a two-fold advantage. They rank higher in search results because a large number of sites link to them and possess the ability to buy various keywords. Thus small business advertisers have opted to bid on specific phrases to generate traffic to their web sites rather than compete with corporate advertisers.