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Comment by nootopian | Hacker News Reader

If anything I find ads on search results can sometimes be useful and more pertinent than natural search results. For example if I am searching for 'cheap flights to bulgaria' I can be pretty confident that the adwords buyers purchasing those keywords currently have a promotion and the ad could have been updated only minutes before. Compare that to natural search results which could be something 'optimised' several months before.

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The ads on the right side of Google's search results are sometimes helpful. But, the search results are being clogged with made-for-AdSense sites. Google's search results would be much better if they closed down AdSense.

Every weblog with AdSense advertising looks better (design wise) with AdBlock+ turned on; there is more negative space and less visual noise.

Agreed. Adwords are auctioned, which means the top ads have the economic incentive to pay most (the ad may be important for smaller share of population, but to pay off more). In regular searches popularity alone wins, $$$ value is not part of the equation.

I live in Bulgaria, btw ;)

I especially find the targeted gmail ads useful. I normally ignore ads as a habit, but the links put in the "Web Clip" section are usually quite relevant.

Every time I notice a relevant ad in my Gmail, it reminds me that I really need to find a way to protect the privacy of my email.

I've never understood why people feel that way. You don't mind a computer scanning your emails to detect spam, why do people mind when it is scanned to select unobtrusive advertising? Maybe I'm just desensitized, which is a scary thought.

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