Targeting Ads to Users, Not Just Content — Google Now
Domain name related ads may follow you to your favorite automotive site.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is introducing a fresh type of behavioral tracking to Google Adsense ads, the firm disclosed on its Inside Adsense blog.
Right now, content network ads served by Google include geo-targeting but the content is based solely on the content of the web page your are viewing. For example, Google Adsense ads on Reglike would likely be for domain name registration and domain parking. (I do not use Google Adsense on this web site.)
The fresh system will create a profile on you based on which sites you view. For example, you may view a number of domain name web sites that serve Google Adsense. Later in the day you visit an automotive web site that may serve domain name related ads to you, whereas previously all of the ads would have been automotive related.
Google categorizes people in 600 different categories counting one for “Web Hosting & Domain Registration”.
Advertisers are being invited to place these so-called “interest targeted” ads over the next few months and Google expects to expand the offering later in 2009.
It will be interesting to see if interest targeted ads are expanded to the Adsense for Domains channel. It could potentially raise revenue for parked domains, particularly ones that don’t right now have a sizable number of advertisers. If only a few penny ads can be served on the topic, an interest-targeted user could be served higher paying ads related to their interests in addition to ads based on the domain’s topic.
