According to recent studies, search engine users have little knowledge of Google's business model. In addition, users cannot sufficiently distinguish organic results from advertisements, resulting in result selections under false assumptions. Following on from that, this study examines how users' understanding of search‐based advertising influences their viewing and selection behavior on desktop computer and smartphone. To investigate this, we used a mixed methods approach (n = 100) consisting of a pre‐study interview, an eye‐tracking experiment, and a post‐study questionnaire. We show that participants with a low level of knowledge on search advertising are more likely to click on ads than subjects with a high level of knowledge. Moreover, subjects with little knowledge show less willingness to scroll down to organic results. Regarding the device, there are significant differences in viewing behavior. These can be attributed to the influence of the direct visibility of search results on both devices tested: Ads that were ranked on top received significantly more visual attention on the small screen than the top ranked ads on the large screen. The results call for a clearer labeling of advertisements and for the promotion of users' information literacy. Future studies should investigate the motivations of searchers when clicking on ads.

中文翻译：

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用户对广告的了解如何影响他们在搜索引擎中的观看和选择行为

根据最近的研究，搜索引擎用户几乎不了解Google的商业模式。另外，用户不能充分区分有机结果和广告，导致在错误的假设下进行结果选择。在此之后，本研究研究了用户对基于搜索的广告的理解如何影响他们在台式计算机和智能手机上的观看和选择行为。为了研究这个问题，我们使用一种混合的方法方法（ñ= 100），包括研究前访谈，眼球追踪实验和研究后问卷。我们显示，与搜索知识水平较高的主题相比，搜索广告知识水平较低的参与者更有可能点击广告。此外，知识不足的对象显示向下滚动到自然结果的意愿较低。关于设备，观看行为存在显着差异。这可以归因于搜索结果对两个测试设备的直接可见性的影响：在大屏幕上排名靠前的广告比在大屏幕上排名靠前的广告获得了更多的视觉关注。结果要求对广告进行更清晰的标记，并提高用户的信息素养。