Yes. And sometimes it even connects people with 'I have this thorny problem to which I would love to buy a solution instead of relying on manual workarounds' with people selling the actual solution, leading to win-win for everyone.

Or they could just Google for it, or ask an expert.

Interesting ironic comment. Googling for a solution is implicitly asking Google to serve you ads regarding that solution.

Search results aren't ads, they're links to resources you asked for. Just like the contact list on your phone.

I'm sure you know that when you use Google, search results are a side effect which is used to draw you to use Google, the main product being provided are the ads.

We're talking about the user's perspective here, not Google's. For the user the search has one purpose, and that isn't looking at ads. Just like nobody opens a newspaper to look at them.

The point was that nobody really needs advertising to learn about available products. Google search stays just as useful if you block the ads, the other way around nobody would use it.

I think that's too narrow a scope you are putting on people who do searches. I in fact have searched on Google for ads, when I was looking for car insurance. I'm sure other people have searched for ads as well, I can't be the only one.

I guess kickstarter is basically advertising and should be banned.

Paying for an ad on a result in a google search for legos is manufacturing demand for a product?

I think any serious discussion has to be about the ad medium.

I had email thanks to netzero way back in the day because it was ad driven, I think it's perfectly fine for an adult to consent to ads in exchange for services. I couldn't afford AOL, so without that service I have no idea how I would have gotten into email. I couldn't afford 10 cents a minute long distance calls and my physycial mail never got to my grandparents overseas.

Billboards on the other hand... those are intrusive... buildings with their company logos by the highway, maybe those are too.