Google's Efforts To Combat Accidental Clicks Could Harm Its Revenues!

Goliath Google's latest SEC filing points to a possibility that its future revenues could be hurt while trying to contain "accidental clicks" on Web advertising. The effect could be felt on Google’s near-term advertising revenues.

This year's filing entails the familiar language that the company would continue to take steps to enhance the relevance of the ads displayed on Google as well as its Network members' web sites. Furthermore, these steps would get translated into removing ads that generate low click-through rates or that send users to irrelevant or otherwise low quality sites, in addition to terminating Google Network members whose web sites that don't meet its quality guidelines.

As far as the accidental clicks are concerned there would be efforts to curtail them and that these steps would affect the near-term revenues. "These steps could negatively affect our near-term advertising revenues." states Google's filing. "Both seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional retail seasonality have affected, and are likely to continue to affect, our business."

The language about accidental clicks is being considered new to Google's filings.

Moreover, Google has altered the clickable area around the text-based ads to include just the title and URL. This measure is expected to reduce the number of accidental clicks and increase advertisers' return on investment.

Efforts had also been made earlier to reduce accidental clicks on AdSense, see: AdSense Changes Text Ads To Help Reduce Accidental Clicks.

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