GOOGLE UPDATE: Google To End Behavioral Ad Targeting

Behavioral ad targeting has been a staple of Search and Display ads for as long as many marketers can remember, and that is now coming to an end in a shift towards privacy.

First, Apple announced that apps like Facebook could no longer be given carte blanche to track data, and now Google is moving to deprecate behavioral ad targeting. Clearly, the demand for more privacy is being heard by tech giants. In a surprising move, Google announced that cross-site tracking and targeting users for its ad products will no longer be a feature. In a company post on March 3, Google announced:

We’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products.

The greatest impact will likely be seen in targeting and measurement as it relates to third-party reach and engagement with the same users, though it remains to be seen exactly just how far that impact will go. Whatever the case, we collectively seem to be moving towards a more private internet experience, especially as it relates to advertising.

Anonymous, private search engines like DuckDuckGo have been steadily increasing in popularity. According to Privacy Monitor, 91% of US-based web users feel they have no control over their data. That might explain why DuckDuckGo’s search volume has now exceeded 9 billion searches per year (with a third of those coming from the US, though exact numbers are hard to pin down as data is not tracked in the detail as other search networks) and usage of the engine has steadily increased by a rough average of just over 50% every year (DuckDuckGo). Internet users are demanding privacy, and Google is showing that they are willing to give far more than an inch by killing off one of its staple features.

Creativity in collecting user data and personalizing the visitor experience is going to be crucial for brands looking to counter this move and continue providing targeted ad campaigns. The approach of set-it-and-forget-it has been on its way out for some time now, and this move by Google will surely fast-track that shift. Where the move leads, however, remains to be seen.

This isn’t the last we’ll hear of how the digital advertising landscape is changing.