Logged into Google? You may see more ads
Summary: Google may be using its properties--iGoogle, Gmail and Apps--to step up its behavioral ad efforts.That's the conclusion from Piper Jaffray Gene Munster who tracks 400 searches on Google and Yahoo each month.
Google may be using its properties--iGoogle, Gmail and Apps--to step up its behavioral ad efforts.
That's the conclusion from Piper Jaffray Gene Munster who tracks 400 searches on Google and Yahoo each month. Munster defines a behavioral ad as one that pertains to a past query.
His takeaways:
- This month there were 58 percent of queries that had one or more behavioral ad, up from 27 percent last month.
- You get different search results if you're logged into a Google account. A logged in user gets 79 percent more ads an anonymous one. Most of these additional pitches are behavioral.
- Google appears to be leveraging its properties to deliver more relevant ads that could boost revenue.
None of this is earth shattering, but Google hasn't yapped much about behavioral targeting. Google has probably spent more time talking about offline advertising--print, radio and television.
Also see: Google delivers; Maybe paid clicks weren’t such a big deal
Munster writes in a research note:
"We noticed a significantly higher number of paid ads per results page while logged into a Google Account: there were 79% more paid search ads per search while logged into a Google Account than while not logged in. Also notable was the instance and frequency of past search query information in later searches. We noted 58% of logged in searches to include at least one behaviorally relevant ad, while only 6% of anonymous searches included a behaviorally relevant ad. While logged in to a Google Account, those searches that did include a behaviorally relevant ad included an average of 4 behaviorally generated ads, while anonymous searches averaged only 2.3. The bottom line is that based on our study, Google appears to be utilizing user accounts to more accurately and more frequently target search users with behavioral ads, while allowing Google to generate sustainable user data based on static rather than dynamic records. We believe this represents the early stages of Google's behavioral ad targeting within search and that the company will continue to make algorithmic changes to improve the quality of behavioral inclusion to paid search ads."
The larger question is whether there will be any user backlash. Google maintains that more relevant ads are helpful. But you can have too much of a good thing--like 79 percent more if you're logged into a Google account.
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Talkback
Big deal
The Ads on ZDNet...
Actually ...
Well yeah...
This is win-win
The other thing to keep in mind is that most of these useful services we get are provided without expecting any up-front payment from us. If you truly find Google search, GMail, and iGoogle useful (which I do), then it is in your best interest to ensure that Google remains profitable. If the price of admission is a few ads, I can deal with that. If you don't find those services useful, then there really is no reason to complain about ads on those sites, I would simply recommend you don't surf there!
RE: Logged into Google? You may see more ads
Sounds good to me
I don't log into Google; I use an IMAP client (Kmail)
RE: Logged into Google? You may see more ads
I understand that Ganja causes paranoia
Poor attempt at Satire.
1.5... only because I remember the original one about MSN.
RE: Logged into Google? You may see more ads.
[i]What Ads???[/i]
I don't see no ads!
Oh, that's right, I am a Firefox user with Ad Blocker Plus installed.
That's why I don't see any ads.
I have Ad Blocker Plus send all of the ads to /dev/hell
No ads?
Does AdBlocker Plus remove ads from Google search results and from the Gmail sidebar and top bar?
TRiG.
RE: Logged into Google? You may see more ads
That being said, I've only clicked on a few ads, some by accident others in case they may carry some information about what I'm looking for.
On a side note, I have been shifting away from Google as my prefferred search engine, simply because searches are turning up more and more advertising with less actual information sites.
Personally I do NOT base purchase decisions on advertisements, when I buy a car I drive the car and look into actual owner reports and do a few other searches on repairs etc, when I buy a stereo I listen to the stereo.
In nearly 35 years as a working adult I have never made a purchasing decision based on an advertisement.
Ken.
Is Ken a Vulcan?
You carry on believing that if you want to. Do you know anything at all about human psychology?
TRiG.
RE: Logged into Google? You may see more ads