ISP's network scans passing web pages for keywords that are then used to target ads.
Online marketers often tap data sources like these to target ads at Web users.
There are other ways, however, of using the kind of social sharing implicit in hashtags to target ads.
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For instance, it doesn't use data gleaned from a person's Gmail account to target ads to that person elsewhere online.
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Not least, this kind of information, and no doubt more to come, will help brands target ads much better on Facebook.
But it does track user activity, to make inferences and build a user profile, which is then used by marketers to target ads.
And the more it learns about users' likes and dislikes, the better it can target ads that generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
Google says it's to enhance user experience (and better target ads) but some critics fear having all of that activity rounded up in one place.
Facebook and Google are starting to leverage the data from social connections and activity to target ads more effectively, despite ongoing privacy concerns about both companies.
At the same time, lawmakers are preparing legislation to govern websites' tactics for collecting information about consumers, and the way that information is used to target ads.
Although Google doesn't reveal a user's name to advertisers, Google uses information about the person's Web visits and interests to help marketers target ads more accurately, Google says.
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Facebook said it isn't using location data from smartphones to target ads and that it has created a program to make anonymous data between itself and its data partners.
The new payment system would allow Google to offer retailers more data about their customers and help them target ads and discount offers to mobile-device users near their stores.
This will take away one way to track Apple product users and target ads accordingly, but the policy in the war over identity and privacy is one of escalation.
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Facebook Inc. (FB) plans to introduce real-time bidding for advertising on its site, a technology used by Google Inc. (GOOG) and other Web companies to more effectively target ads to consumers.
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The site doesn't collect a lot of demographic data on its users, but Mr. Gottfrid said there is an opportunity to target ads based on the content a user is interested in.
Not least, Google needs to cozy up to the operators if only to get access to the valuable data on customer viewing habits, so it can target ads on television as well as it does on the Web.
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The Commerce Department recently called for a privacy bill of rights for Internet users, while the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a do-not-track tool that would let users stop or restrict advertisers from studying their online behavior to target ads.
Precision advertising, giving marketers the ability to hyper-target their ads to very specific business demographics across the LinkedIn network.
That differentiator, Ogawa notes, also makes Tripping.com a natural lead generator for local businesses hoping to target their ads.
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He simply instructs his readers to target Facebook ads by listing keywords, such as blogger, editor-n-chief, correspondent, news editor, writer, columnist, and dozens more in the interest field.
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There will be lots more: Social media companies aim to attract more ad dollars by offering to mine profile data of their members so that marketers can target their ads.
In addition, marketers can target those ads bought via exchanges directly to people who are likely to be interested in their product or service, regardless of the context of the site where they appear.
The episode spotlights the controversial subject of online profiling, whereby Internet ad server companies, such as DoubleClick and Engage, track Web surfers in order to strategically target banner ads and site content, as well as to help sites keep a running count of visitors.
And, it goes unsaid, lots of data with which to target them with ads.
Service providers would also be able to easily push out updates and target users with ads and content based on what their watching habits are across networks.
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Essentially, she accuses these four of conspiring with Interclick to create consumer profiles and track unwitting Big Mac buyers and fantasy football fans and then target them with ads.
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By combining information from across all of its services, Google will be able to better target users with ads, offer more innovative features, and, importantly for Google, better compete with Facebook.
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It also enables visualization on different devices before publication, as well as tools to tweak look and feel to the different strengths of each product, and other software to analyze and target behavior and ads.
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