Targeted Ads Based on our Online Behavior
In class we have learned about links, their direction and how there are different web page ranks. Some web pages have a greater rank than others based on how many pages direct to them as well as the consumer behavior that is based on clicks. Now, have you ever wondered why a certain group of ads continually show up on any website that you are on that shows advertising? Maybe you were looking at a particular pair of shoes on the online H&M website or looking at cars through your online searches. Why then are you seeing ads for these items when you are on Instagram, scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed, or just on a site that has nothing to do with those items. This is what is known as targeted advertising. It’s a form of advertising that focuses on certain traits of the consumer that are based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting.
In the article titled “Targeted Ads Don’t Just Make You More Likely to Buy — They Can Change How You Think About Yourself”, Rezcek et. al explain how marketers use our online behavior to deliver advertisement to us in a more efficient way, being able to focus on each individual rather than using large demographics. Rezcek and her colleagues showed in their study that being able to use online history of clicks can make the person more interested in buying because participants saw the targeted ad as “reflective of their own characteristics.”
With targeted ads using our online behavior, they are ranking certain pages higher than others in order to increase the likeliness on you clicking the ad. It thus makes sense why you may continually see the same ads over and over again because your online behavior has played a factor into page rank.