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Google claims that untargeted ads bring in 52% of the revenue of targeted ads. https://www.blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency-choice-control/ htt

Google claims that untargeted ads bring in 52% of the revenue of targeted ads. https://www.blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency-choice-control/ https://www.blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency... IMO, untargeted random ads are just spam because they aren't relevant. It's like the crap on the back of a shopping receipt...

kreeben 5y ago
If I rent a car using Google Chrome, the internet turns into a spam factory that tries its hardest to get me to rent another one. Targeted ads for the win?
emerongi 5y ago
Targeted spam is still spam. Unless I have asked for a recommendation, do not give it to me. Ultimately people are just used to advertising, although they still hate it when it shows up in their mailbox or on their doorstep in the form of a salesman. Topics will just be another datapoint. A respectable ad agency will still try to collect as much information about you as possible. Next up, integration with your operating system.
JimDabell 5y ago
> Google claims that untargeted ads bring in 52% of the revenue of targeted ads. So targeted ads aren’t necessary, they are just more profitable.
- Terretta 5y ago
  It's a trick premise. "Untargeted" isn't the same as "contextual".
pygy_ 5y ago
Ads are designed to make you feel unsatisfied and compel you to buy something you most likely don't need to scratch that itch, which is why I block them (also, to alleviate tracking more generally). If forced to watch ads, I'd take untargeted ones any day.
ocdtrekkie 5y ago
They claim this, but they are lying. Independent studies show the difference is closer to 4%. Google wants you to believe advertisers need all the data collection because it's Google's sole value proposition. If people realize Google Ads is basically a sham... there goes Google's entire revenue stream. This is a company which fires researchers for publishing the wrong scientific results, probably discard any claim they make based on "their data" after Timnit.
TrickardRixx 5y ago
Targeted ads are spam because they try to sell me items I already bought. It's like the crap on the front of a shopping receipt.
Terretta 5y ago
Meanwhile, NYTimes found that when they sold "contextual" web ads, as GP suggests, their ad revenue went up. If you step back, it makes sense that contextual ads perform favorably vs. run of site or even retargeted (especially since retargeting, by the time it picks up on what you searched for, mostly shows you what you already bought thus no longer need).
- joshuamorton 5y ago
  This is a misrepresentation of the actual NYT claim: > “The fact that we are no longer offering behavioral targeting options in Europe does not seem to be in the way of what advertisers want to do with us,” he said. “The desirability of a brand may be stronger than the targeting capabilities. We have not been impacted from a revenue standpoint, and, on the contrary, our digital advertising business continues to grow nicely.” which was more or less that switching didn't make revenue drop, and it was still growing over time. They didn't see some magic bump from switching to contextual ads. If they did, you'd of course wonder why they haven't proactively switched US ads to contextual.
  - Terretta 5y ago
    They’re pushing contextual: “By identifying connections between content and emotion, we've successfully driven ad engagement 6X more effectively than IAB benchmarks.” https://nytmediakit.com/contextual-targeting https://nytmediakit.com/contextual-targeting

kreeben 5y ago

If I rent a car using Google Chrome, the internet turns into a spam factory that tries its hardest to get me to rent another one. Targeted ads for the win?

emerongi 5y ago

Targeted spam is still spam. Unless I have asked for a recommendation, do not give it to me. Ultimately people are just used to advertising, although they still hate it when it shows up in their mailbox or on their doorstep in the form of a salesman. Topics will just be another datapoint. A respectable ad agency will still try to collect as much information about you as possible. Next up, integration with your operating system.

JimDabell 5y ago

> Google claims that untargeted ads bring in 52% of the revenue of targeted ads. So targeted ads aren’t necessary, they are just more profitable.

Terretta 5y ago
It's a trick premise. "Untargeted" isn't the same as "contextual".

pygy_ 5y ago

Ads are designed to make you feel unsatisfied and compel you to buy something you most likely don't need to scratch that itch, which is why I block them (also, to alleviate tracking more generally). If forced to watch ads, I'd take untargeted ones any day.

ocdtrekkie 5y ago

They claim this, but they are lying. Independent studies show the difference is closer to 4%. Google wants you to believe advertisers need all the data collection because it's Google's sole value proposition. If people realize Google Ads is basically a sham... there goes Google's entire revenue stream. This is a company which fires researchers for publishing the wrong scientific results, probably discard any claim they make based on "their data" after Timnit.

TrickardRixx 5y ago

Targeted ads are spam because they try to sell me items I already bought. It's like the crap on the front of a shopping receipt.

Terretta 5y ago

Meanwhile, NYTimes found that when they sold "contextual" web ads, as GP suggests, their ad revenue went up. If you step back, it makes sense that contextual ads perform favorably vs. run of site or even retargeted (especially since retargeting, by the time it picks up on what you searched for, mostly shows you what you already bought thus no longer need).

joshuamorton 5y ago
This is a misrepresentation of the actual NYT claim: > “The fact that we are no longer offering behavioral targeting options in Europe does not seem to be in the way of what advertisers want to do with us,” he said. “The desirability of a brand may be stronger than the targeting capabilities. We have not been impacted from a revenue standpoint, and, on the contrary, our digital advertising business continues to grow nicely.” which was more or less that switching didn't make revenue drop, and it was still growing over time. They didn't see some magic bump from switching to contextual ads. If they did, you'd of course wonder why they haven't proactively switched US ads to contextual.
- Terretta 5y ago
  They’re pushing contextual: “By identifying connections between content and emotion, we've successfully driven ad engagement 6X more effectively than IAB benchmarks.” https://nytmediakit.com/contextual-targeting https://nytmediakit.com/contextual-targeting