I’m Seeing Ads Based on the Websites That I Visit

What information does Google use to serve me ads on the web?We serve ads through our AdWords program on our own websites, as well as on the Google Display Network. We also serve ads on partner websites through our AdSense program, and also on third party partner sites and certain Google Applications and other clients. We use a variety of methods to deliver ads that are relevant.

For the Google Display Network, we serve ads based on the content of the site you view and may also use other partner data to target ads. For example, if you visit a gardening site, ads on that site may be related to gardening. In addition, we may serve ads based on your interests.

As you browse websites that have partnered with us or Google sites using the DoubleClick cookie, such as YouTube, Google may place the DoubleClick cookie in your browser to understand the types of pages visited or content that you viewed. To serve ads that are relevant and tailored to your interests in applications or other clients that use an anonymous ID, we may use information about your activity in applications or other clients.

Based on this information and/or anonymized partner data, Google associates your browser or anonymous ID with relevant interest categories and uses these categories to show interest-based ads. For example, if you frequently visit travel websites, Google may show more ads related to travel. Or, if you download a golf application, Google may show you ads related to golf. Google can also use the types of pages that you have visited or content that you have viewed to infer your gender and the age category you belong to. For example, If the sites that you visit have a majority of female visitors based on aggregated survey data on site visitation, we may associate your cookie with the female demographic category.In addition to ads based on interest categories, Google allows advertisers including Google to show you ads based on your previous interactions online, such as visits to advertisers’ websites. For example, someone who visited the website of an online sporting goods store can receive ads about special offers from that store.Google will not associate sensitive interest categories with your browser or anonymous ID such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories, and will not use such categories when showing you interest-based ads.