Google And Your Fat Fingers

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Mobile devices are great.  We all love receiving content on screens we can fit in our pocket.  But how many times have you inadvertently clicked an ad on your mobile device by accident because your fingers are too big (or you can blame the small display)?  This has become known as the “fat finger” problem and Google is here to rescue you.  The search giant has announced that in its ongoing effort to deliver quality leads for advertisers, it is implementing what they call confirmed clicks.

Here’s how the confirmed clicks scenario works. When you click the border of an in-app  image ad on your mobile device you will now receive a Visit Site prompt, confirming if you really want to visit that site.

Image Source: Google

Allen Huang, a product manager at Google, stated in a blog post, “We find that most accidental clicks on in-app image ads happen at the outer edge of the ad unit likely when you’re trying to click or scroll to nearby content.”

According to eMarketer.com and research they reported on, the fat finger problem is definitely real.  It states that research shows 13% – 38% of clicks on ads were accidental.

Google’s confirmed clicks does adds an extra click to the advertising process but it can result in better conversions.  Huang states, “In our initial tests, we found that confirmed clicks notably improve mobile conversion rates, with a slight decrease in clickthrough rate as accidental clicks are avoided.”

Google’s reasons for implementing confirmed clicks is two-fold.  One, they want to provide a good experience for users and two, they want to drive quality leads to advertisers.  Is this a win-win solution for all involved?  Time will tell but according to its blog, Google states that the confirmed clicks solution is only the beginning, given that the mobile device market will continue to grow and change.  Stay tuned for more mobile innovations from the search giant.

Image: FatFinger by Shutterstock []

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About the Author

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Bruce Gibbs is a Search Engine Marketing Manager at YP (formerly AT&T Advertising Solutions), where he manages search campaign performance, optimizes paid search campaigns, and analyzes data to correct account performance issues. He is located in the greater Atlanta area.

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