Yahoo is hoping that turning to behavioral targeting will help sales and revenue, reports BrandWeek.

Behavioral targeting, serving ads based on previous online behavior, is a controversial tactic that critics say invades privacy, even as supporters point out it makes ads more relevant, and therefore useful, to the end consumer.

Yahoo could potentially turn more consumer packaged goods makers into online advertisers if it draws relationships between readers and online behaviors geared to particular products.

A number of those companies use a Yahoo product called Consumer Direct, which measures consumer behavior via Nielsen's HomeScan internet tracking service. Presently consumer packaged goods makers spend less than half what auto makers do on online ads.

In the past, companies decrying the technology's privacy-stripping faults have lacked the ability to target behaviorally; with the spread of the technology, contentious industry voices have been reduced.

MSN recently began using behavior targeting for ad delivery. Google stated it would not  do so without user disclosure, but DoubleClick, now owned by Google, has been known to implement behavioral targeting in its marketing.