Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses • Hacker News Board

Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#1

Post by TomAnthony » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 4:34 PM UTC

Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses
adwords.blogspot.com

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#2

Post by TomAnthony » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:13 PM UTC

It is unclear if this will be for the 'display network' (i.e. sites hosting adsense) of just for ads on Google properties.

If this is across the whole web, then it will be interesting to see the privacy protection they have in place.

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#3

Post by baconner » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:20 PM UTC

Get ready for ads to start addressing you directly by name and doing other like things to get your attention. Google isn't usually _too_ overt about these sort of things but the less savory ad networks could get really unpleasant.

"Hey there George Thompson, click to see one weird trick to hide your arrest records from your wife Mary"

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#4

Post by lukebennett » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:22 PM UTC

This is going to require merchants to update their privacy policies, surely. Sharing personally identifiable information with Google (which could be subsequently joined together with data from other merchants to form an even bigger profile about you outside of your control) is entering a whole new (terrible) world.

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#5

Post by TomAnthony » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

baconner wrote: post #3

Get ready for ads to start addressing you directly by name and doing other like things to get your attention. Google isn't usually _too_ overt about these sort of things but the less savory ad networks could get really unpleasant. "Hey there George Thompson, click to see one weird trick to hide your arrest records from your wife Mary"

So some more digging and it seems there will be a minimum of 1000 users per group [1], so we aren't quite yet at the point of targeting individuals.

[1] https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6276125

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#6

Post by gk1 » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

lukebennett wrote: post #4

This is going to require merchants to update their privacy policies, surely. Sharing personally identifiable information with Google (which could be subsequently joined together with data from other merchants to form an even bigger profile about you outside of your control) is entering a whole new (terrible) world.

For most major ecommerce sites this won't be too different from what they're already doing.

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#7

Post by gk1 » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:27 PM UTC

baconner wrote: post #3

Get ready for ads to start addressing you directly by name and doing other like things to get your attention. Google isn't usually _too_ overt about these sort of things but the less savory ad networks could get really unpleasant. "Hey there George Thompson, click to see one weird trick to hide your arrest records from your wife Mary"

As another posted commented, there will be a minimum list size to prevent this sort of thing. For example, Twitter already allows targeting to specific individuals, but the list minimum is 500 (if I'm not mistaken).

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#8

Post by calbear81 » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:28 PM UTC

This is already an option on Facebook called "Custom Audience" so I'm not surprised that Google is releasing this as well.

Regarding the privacy implications, almost every major e-commerce site already uses third party marketing systems, oftentimes with e-mail address, so this is pretty much the same. They're not selling the data to a 3rd party since they are a 1st party using a 3rd party tool.

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#9

Post by baconner » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:29 PM UTC

TomAnthony wrote: post #5

baconner wrote: post #3

Get ready for ads to start addressing you directly by name and doing other like things to get your attention. Google isn't usually _too_ overt about these sort of things but the less savory ad networks could get really unpleasant. "Hey there George Thompson, click to see one weird trick to hide your arrest records from your wife Mary"

So some more digging and it seems there will be a minimum of 1000 users per group [1], so we aren't quite yet at the point of targeting individuals. [1] https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6276125

Yeah that's not too awful. Google's too smart I think to do something as overt as my example.

Re: Google introduces 'Customer Match' – target web ads to email addresses

#10

Post by tehwebguy » Mon, Sep 28, 2015, 5:35 PM UTC

TomAnthony wrote: post #5

baconner wrote: post #3

Get ready for ads to start addressing you directly by name and doing other like things to get your attention. Google isn't usually _too_ overt about these sort of things but the less savory ad networks could get really unpleasant. "Hey there George Thompson, click to see one weird trick to hide your arrest records from your wife Mary"

So some more digging and it seems there will be a minimum of 1000 users per group [1], so we aren't quite yet at the point of targeting individuals. [1] https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6276125

And it says "Active visitors", makes me think it might not work with 1 real address and 999 fake ones