This representative study of German search engine users (N=1,000) focuses on the ability of users to distinguish between organic results and advertisements on Google results pages. We combine questions about Google's business with task-based studies in which users were asked to distinguish between ads and organic results in screenshots of results pages. We find that only a small percentage of users is able to reliably distinguish between ads and organic results, and that user knowledge of Google's business model is very limited. We conclude that ads are insufficiently labelled as such, and that many users may click on ads assuming that they are selecting organic results.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the aspects to be considered when evaluating web search engines' accessibility for people with disabilities. The authors provide an overview of related work and outline a theoretical framework for a comprehensive accessibility study of web search engines, regarding the principles of disability studies and the idea of inclusion.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a literature review, and an aggregation of recommended actions in practice, mainly the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's (WAI) evaluation model.FindingsA good way to conduct an accessibility study in a comprehensive manner is the WAI methodology consisting of three‐steps: preliminary review to quickly identify potential accessibility problems; conformance evaluation to determine whether a website meets established accessibility standards; and user testing to include real people with disabilities in a practical use. For the use case “web search engines” some special issues have to be taken into consideration.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper can be seen as a brainstorming and describes a theoretical concept of how to do. Conclusions about actual barriers of web search engines and criteria of satisfaction for people with disabilities do not exist as of yet; the model is not tested so far.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical implications for researchers who want to conduct an accessibility study, especially of web search engines. Findings of such studies can have practical implications for web search engine developers to improve accessibility of their product. The accessibility of web search engines does not only have implications for people with special needs, but also for the elderly or temporarily handicapped people.Originality/valueThis paper combines findings from web search engine research with aspects of disability studies. Therefore, it provides insights for researches, search engine developers and educators in practice on how important accessibility of web search engines for people with disabilities is, how it can be measured and what aspects need to be considered.

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ZusammenfassungAnleitungen zu verschiedensten Themen, sogenannte Tutorials, erleben seit einiger Zeit einen regelrechten Boom im Web. Immer mehr Angebote werden online gestellt; entsprechend steigt auch der Bedarf an geeigneten Plattformen und Suchinstrumenten, um diese Vielzahl für den Nutzer zu bündeln und durchsuchbar zu machen. Der Beitrag nähert sich dem bislang wenig beachteten Phänomen Tutorial und der Suche nach diesem speziellen Format an. Beleuchtet werden die verschiedenen Begriffsverständnisse der Bezeichnung ‚Tutorial‘ ebenso wie die gesellschaftlichen Treiber, die für den zunehmenden Trend, Tutorials zu produzieren und zu rezipieren sorgen. Derzeit existierende Spezialsuchmaschinen als eine Möglichkeit der Suche nach Tutorials werden in einer Marktsichtung zusammengetragen und mit ihren jeweiligen Stärken und Schwächen beschrieben. Die Erkenntnisse daraus münden in den Anforderungen an eine optimierte Suchlösung für diesen Anwendungszweck und ihre beispielhafte Umsetzung.