Web
Analytics Made Easy - StatCounter
  • Send Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Guest Authors
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Subscribe
    • Brand
    • T&Cs
    • Privacy
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Ad & Media Strategy
    • Ad and Media Verification
    • Ad Networks and Platforms
    • Ad Products
    • Ad Revenue Optimization
    • Local Advertising
    • ROI Measurement
    • RTB Advertising
  • Ad Operations
    • Ad Serving
    • Ad Targeting
    • Ad Trafficking
    • Ad Metrics
    • Audience Measurement
    • How-To’s
  • Social Media Advertising
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
  • Advertising Challenges
    • Ad Viewability
    • Ad Fraud and Spam
    • Ad Inventory Quality
    • User Privacy
  • HOT TOPICS
    • Ad Blocking
    • Mobile Advertising
    • Local Advertising
    • Native Advertising
    • Ad Viewability
    • Programmatic Buying
    • RTB Advertising
    • Monetization Strategy
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Ad Tech Daily
  • Send Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Guest Authors
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Subscribe
    • Brand
    • T&Cs
    • Privacy
  • Contact
Home Ad & Media Strategies Google Introduces Behavioral Targeting Through Google Ads

Google Introduces Behavioral Targeting Through Google Ads

By
Ad Tech Daily
-
March 12, 2009
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • email
  • Buffer

Ad Operations OnlineYesterday’s post in the Google AdSense global blog* confirms what we all thought it would happen: that Google will finally make a business decision to leverage their unrivaled wealth of information coming from their search capabilities and attempt to implement a form of BT (Behavioral Targeting) to unsuspecting users.

Claiming to “driving monetization with ads that reach the right audience“, here’s what the official announcement says:

“Over the next few months we’ll start offering interest-based advertising to a limited number of advertisers as part of a beta, and expand the offering later in 2009. Whether the advertiser’s goal is to drive brand awareness or increase responses to their ads, these capabilities can help expand the success of their campaigns and should increase your earnings as advertiser participation increases.”

All’s good and well, only, as with many other Google initiatives that fall into the gray area of privacy intrusion, this is an opt-out feature. That means that the aforementioned users will be subjected to behavioral targeting of the Google ads they may bump into any given site – and yes, I do realize the irony of having a certain ad slot right here – unless they proactively seek a way out of it.



Here’s how it works: “To develop interest categories, we’ll recognize the types of webpages users visit across the AdSense network. As an example, if they visit a number of sports pages, we’ll add them to the “sports enthusiast” interest category. You can visit the Help Center to learn more about how interest categories will be developed and your associated account settings. […] by visiting the new Ads Preferences Manager, users can see what interest categories we think they fall into, or add and remove categories themselves. The Ads Preferences Manager can be found by clicking on most “Ads by Google” links you see on Google ads throughout the web.”

Going back a little while, do you remember the roll-out of the “web search history” across Google accounts? Again, this was an opt-out feature – that has, privacy wise, the same approach as the current rolling of behavioral targeting. One would hope that, having already opted out of it (“No, I most certainly don’t want you to observe and store the URLs I visit!“), common sense would prevent future invasions from happening. Clearly not the case: behavioral targeting is active even if you surf while logged into a Google account with web history deactivated.

While it’s quite obvious what drove this initiative to life in the first place, I really dislike the approach: nobody should be subjected to tracking and behavioral targeting unless they have specifically agreed to it! While you, readers, may be knowledgeable enough to avoid this and stay updated on the online ad industry news and practices, the average internet user is not. Considering the extremely wide reach of Google’s content network, one’s chances to come across sites carrying Google ads – and be tracked and targeted – are very, very high.

Google calls this “privacy innovations“. I call it “deception“. What do you call it?

*http://adsense.blogspot.com/2009/03/driving-monetization-with-ads-that.html

  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • email
  • Buffer
  • TAGS
  • Ad Serving
  • Ad Targeting
  • ads preferences manager
  • adsense
  • advertising
  • adwords
  • Behavioral Targeting
  • browser cookie
  • BT
  • Google
  • google account
  • google ad sense
  • google ads
  • Google AdWords
  • google content network
  • interest based advertising
  • online advertising
  • opt-in
  • opt-out
  • optin advertising
  • optout advertising
  • privacy
  • web cookie
  • web history
  • web monetization
  • web privacy
  • web search history
  • web search;
Previous articleFrench Online Video Audience Grows 16 Percent in the Past Year to 27 Million Viewers in January
Next articleAd Networks Gone Bad: The Vizi Drama Continues, Malware Ads Were Allowed To Run
Ad Tech Daily
https://adtechdaily.com
Launched in 2008, Ad Tech Daily (initially known as "Ad Ops Online") is a news resource dedicated to all things ad tech. We feature news, interviews, events, commentaries that are relevant to professionals in the ad tech industry. Occasionally, you will see news covering the larger sphere of online advertising and online marketing.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

black and white round analog clock
Ad & Media Strategies

EntityX Secures Funding to Revolutionise Contextual Targeting

Ad & Media Strategies

Leading Publisher DPG Media Adopts Xandr Ad Server

Ad Tech Daily
Ad & Media Strategies

Smartly.io Sets New Standard for Creative Automation of Social Advertising

Ad & Media Strategies

Flashtalking Further Strengthens Its Global Presence with Top Technology Leadership

Ad & Media Strategies

The Golden Ticket to Targeting Success in 2019

Ad & Media Strategies

ClickFellas Chooses Digital Element to Increase Accuracy of IP Geotargeting Services

Send your announcement

To send us your announcement or press release, please see available options at: https://adtechdaily.com/submit-a-story/.

Advertisement

Featured

low angle photography of high rise towers

Vertical Impression Awards: Digital out-of-home advertising awards determined by data.

Advertisement

Sponsored

Organize Your Inbox (and Never Waste Time on Email Again) With SaneBox. Sign up today and save $25 on any subscription.

Advertisement

From our guest authors

Benefits of SME Partnership Programmes: Real-Life Lessons and Success Stories

Why Facebook Is the Best Platform in the World – and You Shouldn’t Spend...

When Audiences Adapt, So Must Technology

Advertisement
Ad Tech Daily is your daily source of news and insights into the ad tech industry.

Recent Jobs

  • Ad Tech Daily

    Editorial Assistant

    • remote
    • Ad Tech Daily
    • Freelance
    • Part Time

latest

  • Anzu and Adform Team Up to Advance Utilization of In-Game Advertising January 15, 2021
  • DemandJump Announces Account-Based Attribution for B2B Marketers, Aligning Marketing Actions to Revenue Outcomes January 15, 2021
  • Vertical Impression Awards: Digital out-of-home advertising awards determined by data. January 15, 2021
  • Kenshoo to Acquire Signals Analytics to Fuel Intelligent Go-to-Market for Brands in Era of Digital Acceleration January 14, 2021
  • The Ozone Project Launches Manchester-Based Regional Hub January 14, 2021
  • UK Charity Stonewall Reveals Unprecedented Marketing Campaign January 14, 2021
Advertisement
  • Ad & Media Strategy
    • Ad and Media Verification
    • Ad Networks and Platforms
    • Ad Products
    • Ad Revenue Optimization
    • Local Advertising
    • ROI Measurement
    • RTB Advertising
  • Ad Operations
    • Ad Serving
    • Ad Targeting
    • Ad Trafficking
    • Ad Metrics
    • Audience Measurement
    • How-To’s
  • Social Media Advertising
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
  • Advertising Challenges
    • Ad Viewability
    • Ad Fraud and Spam
    • Ad Inventory Quality
    • User Privacy
  • HOT TOPICS
    • Ad Blocking
    • Mobile Advertising
    • Local Advertising
    • Native Advertising
    • Ad Viewability
    • Programmatic Buying
    • RTB Advertising
    • Monetization Strategy
© Copyright 2008-2020 - Ad Tech Daily