by David Safier
You've seen the ads on BfA and elsewhere, the strip of short ads like the example at right (on BfA, they're about 1 screen down on the left, right below "Recent Posts") and the banner ads with pictures and copy.
If you've never thought about them, here's how they work.
They're called "click-through ads" because the advertiser doesn't pay unless someone clicks on the link.
As you see in my example, the ads range from "Defeating Democrats" to "Stand with the President." They come up based on a combination of the advertisers' preferences and some complex Google algorithm. And the arrows at the top circled in blue allow you to scroll through to see more advertisers.
Now here's the interesting thing. If you click, say, on "Defeat Democrats in 2010," you'll be taken to the NRSC site, a place you may not normally go. But at the same time, you'll be taking a little money out of their pocket. Same thing if you click on a pic of Sarah Palin or Ann Coulter, both of whom appear frequently on the right side of BfA, which may take you to humanevents.com. In the process, you'll learn a little more about how those people present themselves to their supporters — always a useful thing to know.
And if you want to "Stand with the President," clicking on that ad will tell you how to do it.
And that, in case you were interested, is how Google Ads work.