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Where Did the Google Ads Go? First, let me provide a brief explanation of those "Ads by Google" that show up on so many web pages. Virtually anyone with a web site, barring a few "undesirable" kinds of sites, can participate in a program called Google Adsense. Google provides code that is imbedded in a web page. The code somehow determines the content of the page and provides appropriate ads, consistent with the page content. For example, my article about choosing a flight school typically featured ads for flight schools around the world. Whenever someone clicks on one of those ads, a small fee of typically a few cents is earned by the web site The company that placed the ad is charged much more by Google, hence Google's vast profits. I, along with the other million or so Adsense publishers, received an email from Google on March 13, 2009 regarding my advertising account. It started out by stating that, before April 9, 2009, I would have to change my privacy policy. I found that to be very interesting since I believed it was my site and not Google's site. Why would they care about my privacy policy? As it turns out, Google is about to radically change the way their Adsense program works. They are moving from "content-based" ads to "interest-based" ads. Beginning on April 9, whenever someone visits a page that contains the Google ads, whether they click on an ad or not, a cookie will be placed on their computer. That cookie will track all web sites that they visit and then decide on which ads to display based on their interests as determined by their browsing habits. It will be possible for a user to opt out of the cookie, but it isn't going to be easy and must be done each time cookies are cleared from the computer. There will also be a plug-in available to prevent the cookies, but I doubt that most computer users will realize a need to do that or remember to do it again when a new computer is acquired. This process may not bother most people, but I do not approve of such invasions of privacy. What others do is their business, but I will take a stand with my web site and not participate in the Google Adsense program as long as they collect such data. I have removed all the "Ads by Google" from this site. At least I think I have but if you happen to find a page with one on it, please email me so that I can remove it. I think there is a possibility that the media might run with this story and public outrage might force Google to back down. If so, I will be happy to return to placing their ads on some pages. If not, so be it. Many free sites such as this one rely on advertising to pay for the cost of site hosting, security certificates, software upgrades, etc. I will continue to accept advertising from companies that do not track personal data unless a purchase is made. I will also continue to offer products for sale to help support this site. Some pages also feature a "Donate" button for those finding the content worthwhile. |
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