September 7, 2006

According to some reports, yesterday MSN began implementing behavioral targeting of display ads on its MSN search engine.

MSN's targeting technology should place Internet users into one of 18 different segments as dictated by a combination of their overall search habits and the various Web sites visited.

Based on their segmentation, users will be served display ads that are supposed to be relevant to their specific areas of interest.

Some of the areas available for targeting include parents, new and expecting moms, so-called power users, mobile users, movie watchers and various gamers. In addition to a new 'auto buyers' category, Microsoft will segment researchers of luxury cars, sports cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and passenger cars. For travel-related categories, there are different areas for hotel, cruise and airfare seekers.

However, financial categories will include home buyers, credit card shoppers and personal investors in the general area.

For example, a search marketer could show ads to new mothers and parents and MSN would show the ads to those visitors to any Microsoft sites that have been identified as members of that segment, while showing other ads on the same page for visitors from other segments.

A Microsoft spokesperson said "The benefits are two-fold: First, Internet users benefit from ads that are relevant to their specific interests. Secondly, search advertisers benefit by reaching a more relevant audience, along with an increasing ROI."

MSN first previewed its targeting capabilities to a group of select advertisers at its Strategic Accounts Summit in May 2006.

Altough these display ads are not yet being served through Microsoft's adCenter platform, they eventually will be Microsoft said. Improved targeting (including behavioral targeting) has been at the core of adCenter since it was first initially reviewed to advertisers in late 2005.

MSN did in fact reveal some of its targeting tools in June through its adCenter Labs project. One of MSN's rival, Yahoo has offered behavioral targeting across its network for a few years, first with its Fusion and Impulse offerings, and more recently with new targeting capabilities with segments for "Engagers" and "Shoppers."

More behavioral targeting tools are also expected in Yahoo's upcoming Panama search ad platform, expected later in 2006.

Not to be left out, Google has said that it has no plans for behavioral targeting this year, but is likely to offer it at some point. This is especially in light of some of its patent applications that reference it.

Source: Click Z