A featured WebmasterWorld thread has a discussion about the rational that triggers people to click on a Google AdSense ad. There are many possible answers to the question listed in the thread, here they are summarized.
- "Compelling on topic or relevant supplemental information"
- "They don't know it's an ad (well "blended")"
- "They know it's an ad but want to get the hell out (MFA)"
- "Just boredom"
- "because they are basically stoopid!"
- "they want to buy something the ad represents"
- " If they get something for FREE"
- "If they find the caption of the ad attractive"
- "If they trust your site they feel the ads are also genuine."
- "Plain old laziness"
- By "mistake"
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.