I can't click on things I can't see. ;)

How else do you expect me to find singles in my area?

Only by accident.

Intelligent, clear ads, yes. And normally only on networks that know their audience/my habits. Probably 1 in 30 instagram ads, 1 in 500 facebook. Trusted small bloggers ads are a bit better ratio.

The better question is... Do you guys click on CTAs (Call of actions) at the end of content marketing articles?

Very rarely, and if I do it's usually a Youtube ad. Read into that what you want

Sometimes i do. Just so the one who paid for the ads pay more to the publisher. :P

Confession time: when I google something and find a sponsored and a normal link, that lead to the same page, I click the ad. Just so it "pays off".

Only on affiliate links on a blog, and only if I'm gonna get that product anyway. Why not help them make some extra money?

What are the main reasons not to click ads? Too many bad experiences? Ads not being convincing enough?

How could the quality of ads be improved?

I click on a handful a year. Usually it's because it's 100% based on a site I've been to already or something I have an interest in. Recent example, I bought some Nike sneakers a few months ago and in my Twitter feed was a SAVE 20% offer/ad from them. Clicked.

On the other side of the token though, other brands that buy lists of brands I like to simply spam/convert me suck. They may have solid click-throughs, but it feels "dirtier" to me.

This is a double edged sword. Everyone wants contextual, relevant ads... but is against companies building better data models on them - using ad blockers etc. It's at the point now where if you want the best experience possible, you need to let the advertisers learn about you.

Sometimes!

With very, very, very few exceptions, no. I'm usually not in the market for anything that would be suggested on any of the sites I'm casually browsing, and if i'm on a shopping website I usually have a fairly good idea of what I want. As has been suggested in the thread, I do somethings use the affiliate links or other direct-linked ads from all blogs or hardware sites because they're both convenient and trustworthy.

Sometimes, if it fits me contextually.

Yes, and I won so many iPads I built a mansion out of them…

I will click some Google sponsored results, some Twitter ads if they seem of interest, rarely a Facebook ad. I find some YouTube ads entertaining but I’ll skip nearly all, and won’t click as it will take me away from what I actually wanted to watch.

I used to really dislike Google Ads because I didn’t trust them, but now I’ve played around with the other side of it, I trust it a bit more.

I don’t block banner ads because I once was part of a site that had them. So I understand why publishers run them, and how low the money is. It’s sad those ‘You might also like ads’ have become so prevalent, as they are just shit. But maybe they convert well sadly.

This has always been a question in my mind too, the web Ad business is worth trillions yet I often wonder if it's all based on lies and brand insecurity.

I see proof of this sometimes when a brand is paying for a Google Ad even though they are the number 1 result.

I've known clients that were paying thousands each month just because thats what they've always done and they were scared to stop as it might have an impact.

I never click on ads nor I can see them.

Yes.

Yeah... unless my eyes ignores them

It depends. Some publishers have really smart ways to display beautiful and relevant ads in context that attract me click it pleasantly.

Very Very rarely.. Usually I see ads for stuff I've already shopped for or have added to my cart on some site and navigated elsewhere (diff site)..

Only on text or static ads.