Ad targeting improves as Web sites amass more data on consumer habits

AD TARGETING IMPROVES AS WEB SITES AMASS MORE DATA ON CONSUMER HABITS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Anick Jesdanun]
Behavioral targeting, commonly accomplished by depositing tiny data files on personal computers to keep track of surfing patterns, is opening up a privacy debate. From the perspective of Web sites and advertisers, though, behavioral targeting can bring to the rest of the Internet some of the relevancy Google Inc. and others successfully mined for billions of dollars with text-based search ads. Although behavioral targeting isn't right for all advertisers, it has become increasingly important as companies try to break through the clutter. The research company eMarketer projects that spending on behavioral targeting will nearly double to $1 billion next year and hit $3.8 billion by 2011. Targeting has been around as long as there has been advertising. Automakers promote themselves in car magazines. Political campaigns send mail to likely voters. As advertising moved to the Internet, ads for diapers clung to parenting sites. With search came contextual targeting — the ability to target messages even more precisely based on search terms or keywords appearing in articles. Behavioral targeting brings capabilities to sites without good or reliable keywords — for example, a social-networking profile that touches on dozens of hobbies and interests at once. The concept has been around for years, but enough Web sites are now participating that advertisers can still reach a sizable group even if they target narrowly.
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