Targeted Ads -- How Do They Know?

[roberth]

Throwing this out there to see if anyone else has had this experience or ideas on how this is happening.

Dairy Queen -- I told a story here about Dairy Queen being out of ice cream. Google toolbar is installed in browser. I was immediately served with DQ ads.

Toothpaste -- I had a cleaning appointment today, very nice young (pretty) hygienist was giving me advice and recommended a specific kind of toothpaste. I had only my phone with me and used Notes to note the name (although I had misspelled it as is my custom [GMan!!!!]). Went to Kings on the way home and bought it. Come home and am served ads for it.


How is this happening?!?

Best I can figure is Google is sending this info via browsers/toolbars. But I can't explain the toothpaste. Did my iPhone X spy on that convo? It would have had to use the microphone and be able to interpret the brand name (not common).

You're correct.

It is their business to know your online footprint, your purchasing trends / history, your current search pattern, and your search history, and all kinds of other metrics.

The search engines and Microsoft and Apple (among others) sell this information to retailers and websites, and they use it themselves in the hopes you'll click on the adverts they place on the websites you're browsing. Google Analytics is one example of a data gathering service. They also know that Americans are impulse buyers with credit cards, if they can present adverts very quickly after your initial searches they stand a good chance of getting paid for that sale directly, or if you go to a brick-and-mortar they still get paid, indirectly but less $$.

Now think about the size and speed of the database they're using, and then think about the network size and speed, and the server farms size and speed of those servers because they're doing this to billions of people every second of single day. The algorithms are incredible.