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If Google Adsense still has access to this data to serve more relevant ads on the destination site and other ad providers don't then it is very anti-competitive

by javery 16y ago

If Google Adsense still has access to this data to serve more relevant ads on the destination site and other ad providers don't then it is very anti-competitive.

btmorex 16y ago
Umm... Adsense doesn't need a referrer and it definitely doesn't need search terms. Adsense crawls every page that it serves ads for and that's going to be better context then any analytics packages would offer.
- javery 16y ago
  What someone searched for is very valuable when it comes to context, you can crawl and index a page to see its about iPod Accessories - but you can look at the referral and see the person searched for iPod Touch Case and make the ads that much better.
- stingraycharles 16y ago
  Adsense uses behavioral targeting, of which a part is based on the search queries you enter into Google (as in, when you're searching for "christmas toys" on Google, for a certain amount of time you become a hot target for relevant ads in Adsense). Other ad providers were able to mimic this by analyzing the referrer urls from which people were being redirected. This is not possible anymore. If Adsense doesn't disable this functionality, then Google is indeed acting anticompetitive.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    > a part is based on the search queries you enter into Google Can you prove that? Because I have looked for proof of that and have not found any. There seems to be a fair sized Chinese wall between google search and google adsense/adwords. To the extent that they indeed use another crawler, if they shared data with search that would be the first place to see it.
    - stingraycharles 16y ago
      Apparently you're correct, I have looked up the privacy policy and was unable to find any indication they're using the keywords you're searching for for Adsense. I apologize for making wild claims.
tptacek 16y ago
It's anticompetitive to allow people to use SSL to talk to your service? Google doesn't control the Referer header, your browser does.

by javery 16y ago

If Google Adsense still has access to this data to serve more relevant ads on the destination site and other ad providers don't then it is very anti-competitive.

btmorex 16y ago

Umm... Adsense doesn't need a referrer and it definitely doesn't need search terms. Adsense crawls every page that it serves ads for and that's going to be better context then any analytics packages would offer.

javery 16y ago
What someone searched for is very valuable when it comes to context, you can crawl and index a page to see its about iPod Accessories - but you can look at the referral and see the person searched for iPod Touch Case and make the ads that much better.
stingraycharles 16y ago
Adsense uses behavioral targeting, of which a part is based on the search queries you enter into Google (as in, when you're searching for "christmas toys" on Google, for a certain amount of time you become a hot target for relevant ads in Adsense). Other ad providers were able to mimic this by analyzing the referrer urls from which people were being redirected. This is not possible anymore. If Adsense doesn't disable this functionality, then Google is indeed acting anticompetitive.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  > a part is based on the search queries you enter into Google Can you prove that? Because I have looked for proof of that and have not found any. There seems to be a fair sized Chinese wall between google search and google adsense/adwords. To the extent that they indeed use another crawler, if they shared data with search that would be the first place to see it.
  - stingraycharles 16y ago
    Apparently you're correct, I have looked up the privacy policy and was unable to find any indication they're using the keywords you're searching for for Adsense. I apologize for making wild claims.

tptacek 16y ago

It's anticompetitive to allow people to use SSL to talk to your service? Google doesn't control the Referer header, your browser does.