Google Personalised Adverts – Help Or Nuisance? Will Search Engine Optimization Still Be A Good Advertising Tool?

It is reported that Google has released a system for advertisers that personalises online adverts. Apparently the system allows enterprises to modify advertisements based on the user’s browsing history. It is thought that several large partner enterprises have already begun to use the facility.

How often does the average person use a search engine? If you are a search engine optimisation consultant, probably every day! But to normal people, once a week is probably a lot. The user may perform search inside a site such as Wikipedia or a newspaper, but a proper web search? Rarely. Thus, this targeted promotion is not going to be very visible if it is restricted to the search engine results pages. Plus someone who is making a true search is going to be more interested in the organic search engine positioning of what he is really looking for than just another advert. Then again, Google is diversifying away from just the search engine into other services where these adverts can be displayed.

So how is this mechanism going to use the browsing history? How much history will it need? Most people default to keeping only a week. Some people explicitly wipe out the history on a regular basis. When someone’s interests are a combination such as opera and rugby union (not as strange as it appears), what sort of advert will that create?

On first impression, this remarketing system is no different to retailers such as Amazon trying to suggest new items according to the organisation’s purchasing history. Then again, many Amazon customers spend many hours trying to tune the suggestions that can be totally spurious.

This new advertising scheme is another weapon in the armoury of online promotion that is unrealistic for many enterprises. For smaller enterprises, employing search optimization techniques to the organisation’s website is still going to be worthwhile. search engine optimisation has a long term effect that does not depend on more obvious marketing processescynical about advertising. To them, a well optimised website is going to be more important than another banner or sidebar advert that is there to be ignored. When a new buyer is using a search engine for its given reason, the organic search engine positioning of your organisation’s website is more important than anything else. It doesn’t matter what the client’s interests are, he wants the services that your organization has to offer, and search optimization can assist that.

There may be the occasional advert that has an effect beyond its purpose. Those tend to be expensive television productions way beyond the dreams of most enterprises. Online promotion is never going to have that social impact, but then again it can be much cheaper. search optimization techniques can help your organisation’s website reach a wide spread of prospective buyers who are really interested in what you have available anywhere at any time of day.

Personalised advertising could work for larger enterprises. For them, it will have enough prominence to be worthwhile. For the smaller organization, search engine optimisation techniques applied to your website to enhance its organic search engine positioning can still have wide-ranging benefits.