Watching Google watching you

Google has, for all intents and purposes, begun using behavioral tracking to deliver some of its ads, reports ClickZ.

Google's new system analyzes what users have searched for recently in either a single search or a combination of searches, then uses that data to deliver an ad on a current search.

The feature was launched last week with no official announcement or press coverage of any kind. That may have provided a source of frustration for advertisers, who witnessed ad performance go up or down without knowing quite why.

Google is labeling the unlabeled feature as "intent"-based delivery, using the theory that people may be searching more than one way to achieve a single goal.

The use of "intent" in place of "behavioral" is also an attempt to placate privacy watchdogs critical of behavioral targeting.

Image courtesy of Reuters.com.