I have to say whenever I visit a website that I like, or use a free tool within a website, I click one of the adsense ads within that website (assuming it has adsense). I believe that this is the right thing to do, in a way I am paying the owner of that website for their service, indirectly. Does anyone else do this?
If you are clicking the ads just to 'reward' a good website, you are essentially forcing that advertiser to pay that website. That is not your money to reward the website with. If you want the website to be rewarded financially, send them a donation or buy something from them. By clicking ads without interest in the ad you are just contributing to the ineffectiveness of AdWords content network ads. Stuff like this makes people wary to advertise on Google's content network. As a result those click prices will just gradually go down. So indirectly you are actually potentially harming that website's future adsense earnings. If lots of people did this on a website, they could even get banned for suspicion of click fraud.
Yes, if you believe that an ad is really interesting and you really believe that you may buy that product, then yes you should click the ad. But if you don't care about the ad and don't care about what you clicked, then you are essentially stealing money. If you're using an "adsense blocker" type of extension on your browser, you are stealing money.
This is exactly why I hit the check mark to turn off content bids. You're rewarding a website by giving them a commission but stealing money from the advertiser. It's not the right thing to do. It's pretty stupid.
vansterdam's hit the nail on the head. If you want to "pay the owner of that website for their service", use your own money, nor someone else's.
I only click when I have sympathy with a website. When its open source software or a script or something similar.
I do the opposite, i only click if i find the link interesting, or need that info. I find the adsense links on Gumtree rather good, amongst others.
I only click if I think the advertiser is son of a b*tch (to make them lose money). Those affiliate jerks spamming the helll out of adwords with their .info sites and 1 cent clicks...
You're only hurting the site that you're trying to benefit (the one with that Ads you're clicking!) ... if you never convert to a sale or spend any time at the ad site, not nice at all.
clicking on Google ads is just cheat with advertisers if you think that some remuneration should be given to webmaster. But I only click when i find something fine in Google ads.
I have to click their adsense sometimes. Take it easy, no one force me to do. I just give an example. About a week ago, I was surfing around in dp forum . One adsense ad attract my attention . That is the information what I am looking to know . I move the mouse hover on the title, no links appear at the buttom of my IE. I right click property and had no luck to find the link too . So I click the ad to know more of the site . That is all. lol