Sponsored link

As sponsors link (also sponsored link, English: sponsored link ) a paid entry is referred to within search results.

Companies that want to have assigned a high position in the list of search results in search engines, have the opportunity to buy a good position within the search results for specific search queries by keyword advertising. The best known such advertising programs are Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. Billing is in these programs mostly on the number of clicks on the purchased link ( Pay per Click ).

In the large general search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing paid search hits are marked as advertisements. They are summarized in an advertising block and not mixed with the natural search results. This ad block will normally be displayed to the right of the natural search results. In rarer cases are displayed advertising blocks on the natural search results (also including at Yahoo).

Google Inc. has implemented with sponsored links 2002 worldwide around 294 million U.S. dollars, Yahoo purchased Overture subsidiary even 667 million. A 2003 study estimated that the world market for such sponsored links has grown by 2007 to around seven billion U.S. dollars.

Assessment

Sponsors Links come especially to criticism if it is not clear what the search engine results are displayed on a front rank only on the basis of payments. Many users also complain about the clogging of the search result list for them unwanted and useless references. There are a number of browser extensions that automatically clean up the search results of major search engines by advertising links and represent only the natural search results.