How Might Google Use That Desktop Search and Toolbar Info?

Andrew Goodman points to this patent, which is filed by folks who work at Google (though Google is nowhere in the filing…hmmmm.) From Andrew’s post:

Google sees its algorithmic thinking increasingly as applying to all “placed content.” This can mean organic search results, ads near organic search results, ads or related headlines near email, or ads on content pages.

Personalization potentially creeps into the way that ads are displayed, then. That’ll eventually have a dramatic impact on the opportunities available to advertisers, and the price they may pay to gain visibility.

From the Patent:



What is claimed is:

… A method of personalizing placed content, comprising: determining an interest of a user; accessing a user profile associated with the user; identifying a set of placed content that matches the interest of the user; and ordering the set of placed content in accordance with the user profile.

… A method of personalizing placed content associated with a search query, comprising: receiving a search query from a user; accessing a user profile associated with the user; identifying a set of placed content that matches the search query; and ordering the set of placed content in accordance with the user profile.

… A method of personalizing placed content associated with a search query, comprising: receiving a search query from a user; accessing a user profile associated with the user; identifying a set of placed content that matches the search query; assigning a score to each of the set of placed content in accordance with the user profile, a respective bid value for the placed content, and a respective click through rate for the placed content; and ranking the set of placed content according to their scores.

It goes on and on…the implications are rather far reaching, though not surprising to readers of this site….This is juicy reading….