Interest-based advertising

Tech tips -

Search engines, what would the web be without them? Can you imagine if you could only visit sites if you could remember the URL? The web would be close to useless. At least it would be to me. I only ever type the URL for a dozen, at most, web pages directly. My home page for heaven's sake is www.google.ca .

Have you ever wondered what the owners of the search engine get out of the service they provide through your free access to unlimited internet searches?

It is not really that hard to figure out. Zip on over to Google and search for something simple like Toyota or Honda and then take a look at the ads conveniently placed on the search returns page. I will bet you dollars to donuts that they are for some type of automobile or car dealership. That's right, Google uses your search criteria to determine what ads it will place in front of you.

To take it a little further, Google knows and records what ads you are clicking and the IP address you are currently using. From your IP address, they can get a pretty good idea where you live so it is possible to send you more localized content.

And, maybe something you didn't know, all those sites you visit with the little "ads by Google" section are in a way reporting back to Google about your surfing habits via Google's AdSense software and cookies. Websites get paid for displaying Google ads relevant to the sites content. All this for the sake of refining the ads it delivers to your browser.

Say you visit a lot of automotive websites. Google will automatically associate you as being interested in cars so you are going to see more car ads when you visit websites displaying "ads by Google." Google calls this interest-based advertising. You can see what interest categories Google has assigned you by clicking on the "ads by Google" wording on any website, and then clicking the Ads Preferences Manager. (You can also just type www.google.com/ads/preferences in the address bar).

You can remove any categories that you have been included in, or you can add your own interest categories. There is also an "Opt out" button to avoid this type off targeted advertising altogether. You should be aware though that you will still see just as many ads.

All this is specific to the computer and browser you are using. If you switch to another computer, the preferences and categories don't follow you. Many people have privacy concerns because off all the information that is being collected about your surfing habits and for how long it is being kept.

I don't worry too much about this as not that much information about me personally is being stored. Google already has tones of information about me anyway through my use of other Google products like Gmail and documents. If you are a Gmail user you have already noticed that the ads you see while reading are directly related to the content of the email you are viewing.

toddmusseau@gmail.com