Make Google’s Ad Settings Work For You
Have you ever been browsing the internet and seen an ad that is perfectly targeted for you? Or on the other hand, have you ever seen an ad that has absolutely nothing to do with anything you like? The ads you see often based on the ad settings Google has created about you in your ad profile. This profile contains your estimated age, gender, and things they think you’re interested in. This information is derived from your activity on Google sites, such as the videos you’ve watched on YouTube and what you’ve searched for on Google. This profile does not include Gmail interests. Gmail interests are only for ads within Gmail.
To view your current profile, just visit this website: https://www.google.com/settings/u/1/ads/authenticated
My Google Ad Settings
From this example, you can see that Google thinks I am a male between the ages of 25 and 34 which is spot on. The boxes that are checked are what Google thinks I like and the unchecked boxes are suggestions for other areas it thinks I might be interested in. Since I use my computer for work, these ad settings are a little off. For example, I do like shopping, sporting goods, and dance music, but I’m not too keen on cleaning agents, so I’ll uncheck that box so I don’t get ads for stain remover.
By following the link above, you too can log in to this page and add, subtract, or even remove yourself completely from the personalized ads program. By doing this, you will be able to tailor your ads specifically to your interests. That way, you won’t have to suffer by seeing ads that are uninteresting to you.
This information can also be useful if you’re a business owner. With this information, you can gain insight into how Google categorizes people. This can be helpful when you go to create your target audience for your Google ads. If your target market isn’t optimized for your ads, you’ll essentially be throwing away money.
If you would like help optimizing your digital ad campaigns, contact us for a free consultation, we’ll even cover the coffee.