Google on Wednesday confirmed the launch of a new behavioral targeting program that will incorporate user data across thousands of ad partner sites, as well as YouTube.
Using technology
it received last year from its $3.2 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, Google plans to begin serving behaviorally targeted ads within the next several weeks, as reported in Online Media Daily.
Preempting criticism from privacy advocates, Google has set up its
new system so Web users can specify areas of interest, and decline particular ads.
"We are pleased that our launch of interest-based advertising includes innovative, consumer-friendly features to
provide meaningful transparency and choice for our users," wrote Nicole Wong, Google's deputy general counsel, in a blog post on Wednesday.
To date, the search giant has served ads based on user
search behavior, while it increased its tracking of user activity late last year by adding Web cookies to ad partner sites. Google rivals including Yahoo and Microsoft have already experimented with
customized ads based on the surfing behavior of Web browsers.
In addition, uses can easily opt out of the targeting program--an option that both Yahoo and Microsoft offer users.
The service,
according to Google, helps advertisers to reach target audiences more effectively, publishers to earn more money, and users to receive more relevant ads. Google plans to segment users along 20
categories and nearly 600 subcategories, but will not create categories for "sensitive" interests, including race, religion, sexual orientation or certain types of financial or health concerns.
What's more, the company does not plan to associate user cookies with search data, or with information from Google other various services.
Google, meanwhile, has no plans to notify users that it
has gotten into the behavioral-targeting business, while the "Ads By Google" link will provide an explanation of the technology.