As part of the ongoing integration of its DoubleClick acquisition (yesterday it sold off Performics), Google will be placing an additional DoubleClick cookie on the browsers of everyone who visits a site that is part of Google’s current AdSense network. This will allow Google to more easily serve up display ads from DoubleClick across that network of sites. It will also allow it to introduce some basic improvements such as frequency capping (letting advertisers limit how many times the same person sees the same ad), and better reporting and conversion data.
All of that is great for advertisers and great for Google, which will be able to leverage its vast, existing Adsense network to push more display ads as well. This is what scares the hell out of Microsoft and Yahoo, and was the prime impetus for Microsoft seriously getting into the online ad business in the first place with its acquisition of aQuantive last year and its attempts to buy Yahoo this year.
For consumers, it means even more cookies on their browsers and more attempts to target ads to them. From the Google Blog:
We are enabling this functionality by implementing a DoubleClick ad-serving cookie across the Google content network. Using the DoubleClick cookie means that DoubleClick advertisers and publishers don’t have to make any changes on their websites as we continue our integration efforts and offer additional enhancements.
On the bright side, for those who of you who have enough cookies on your browser, Google is letting you opt out of cookies for both AdSense and DoubleClick ads with one click.
Clarification: If you already have a DoubleClick cookie on your browser, and you probably do, then you won’t get a new one. That one will just work with Google’s ad network. And Google’s ad network has been able to serve display ads from DoubleClick and others since May, but this strengthens that capability with respect to DoubleClick ads in particular.
(Flickr photo by scubadive67).
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mmmm. those are good looking cookies! :]
Wait.. when did I opt in?
They only offer the cookie, you accept it.
I’m open to anything that speeds the maturity of the online advertising market.
As people from the New York Times often say, they have just as many people reading the online version as the print version, but they get dollars from print ads and pennies from online ads - even though an online ad is far more actionable and trackable.
http://www.networkadvertising......pt_out.asp
You can opt out of a dozen other ad networks at the above link.
it’s called “performics” - not “Proximic” - you were close
LOL, and i was googling to see if I missed something yesterday!
Wrong link. It’s fixed now. Thanks for the catch.
What I’d like to know is whether DFP and DFA users have automatically opted in for their cookies to be used across all Doubleclick (and now also AdSense) installations.
Oh no, COOKIES! Fear the cookies!
Think about the evil that could be perpetrated with them… you might see ads that appeal to you. Eee gads.
I love that it requires a cookie to opt of receiving a cookie. FAIL
Anybody that reads article, or any other on TC, will be heading to a diabetic coma from all of the ads and cookies that TC uses. Barf.
I hoped to jump in before the tin foil hat club crawled out of the woodwork. The impact of this is that if you’re still seeing ads in your browser, then there’s an increased chance you’re going to actually be interested in that ad.
No one is forcing you to click on an ad at any moment, so I’m really failing to see the harm. If you’re on the “but but but its my privacy and data!” bandwagon, please explain. After all this has been happening for ages offline.
Example, advertising on subway and bus shelters is targeted towards the demographic of people using those services in those particular neighborhoods. I’d rather look at something interesting while waiting then look adds for breast pumps and diapers.
I like the opt-out feature but it doesn’t work, I get an error from Google saying my browser won’t accept cookies, which isn’t true.
Using a cookie to opt out of a cookie is totally ridiculous, since I clear my cookies every browser session I would have to re-opt-out every time. I have no better solution to offer, other than switching to opt-in.
I can also see from a publisher point of view that this will potentially damage publishers as well. After all, the links that are served on our sites are not unlimited and we will end up with more public service ads eventually due to the frequency capping. I guess Google was so appealing at first place because it was this basic and had very few limitations.
Interesting, I run these ads on my blog, I am curious how this will work out… hopefully it doesn’t cap out ads and start running public service ads like you said.
http://blabtech.blogspot.com
BTW, I’m repeatedly getting the same JS errors from CrazyEgg on TechCrunch now:
CheckCommentReplyChange is not defined.
The JS errors don’t ever stop, and the page never stops loading (over 250 errors now, and counting).
Two words: Ad Blocker! One thing I don’t need while surfing is a bunch of flashy ads, especially ones “targeted” at my personal preferences, I get enough of that with Amazon and definitely don’t want to see that kind of big brother stuff anywhere else.
Sounds so simple, how come Yahoo and Microsoft have found it so hard to compete with Google’s advertising? They’re supposed to be full of smart guys over there.
Those cookies look absolutely delicious, particularly because I’m going to lunch in 45 minutes……good to know you can opt out in one click…you can find a large helping of technology news here…. http://www.gothamtechminute.blogspot.com
It really looks like the AdSense DoubleClick integration is just a click away. As I mentioned in my blog (http://www.adoperationsonline.com/2008/07/11/doubleclick-dfp-can-kick-off-integration-with-google-adsense-any-time-now/ ) almost a month ago, some DoubleClick DFP accounts inadvertedly gave this away but it seems that their engineers rolled it back
F**** U DOUBLECLICK… U BLOOD SUCKING PARASITES…
Print Ads do still offer more value for the buck, lets see if there are improvements.
I’d love to see where you pulled that analysis from…
Here’s the catch - “Please note that if you use more than one type of browser or more than one computer to surf the Internet, you will have to opt out in each browser and on each computer that you use.”
Yummy! Cookies!
Keeps life easy for the Doubleclick customers - I can’t really see an alternative approach.