The WEST Program Blog

Behavioral Targeting : Tracking the Traffic Swarm

Not long ago, I wrote a paper and submitted it to a local university, here in Pittsburgh; about the elements of behavioral targeting of website traffic and internet user behaviors. It was well received in some circles, i.e. the marketing professionals, but was met by hefty criticism in the the reader and consumer circles.

Many believe that behavioral targeted research is an invasion of privacy.

Consumers and searchers alike do not like to feel that their every step is being monitored while they are simply entertaining themselves. The fact is, you are always being monitored.

When you do a search on Google.com, to find your favorite topic or to learn how to do something, Google’s mega servers are tracking your every move from that point on. Do you have an online email account with Aol, MSN, Yahoo, or even Google? Well, do you think they just like giving stuff away for free? No, they make money through advertising and providing their clients with up to the minute demographic market research, in order to offer the user a better experience and their clients a bigger bank account.

Where many people believe that it’s the “Big Dawgs” of the internet that are doing most of this type of research, it’s really not. When you call 411 or directory assistance on your telephone, guess what? Your usage of your phone is being documented and tracked. When a telemarketer calls your home and your answering machine picks up, that’s being tracked down to the minute.

When a human being actually picks up the phone and says “Hello?’, that’s being tracked.

When you are watching your favorite baseball game on television, your favorite drama or sitcom, or even the local news, guess what? You guessed it, it’s all being tracked.

Have you ever walked into a grocery store during the beginning of the summer months and notice that all of the charcoal, bar-b-que grills and hotdogs are all in the same area, as if they put it right in front of you? Guess what, that’s one of the oldest results of stats from behavioral targeting of consumer habits.

You really can’t get away from it.

Whether it is the time of day and what you Tweet about on Twitter.com. down to the fun and free applications that you and your friends use when you are playing Mafia Wars on FaceBook.com. it’s all being tracked and compiled into databases to give marketers and companies a better idea of what their potential buyers are looking for.

So, the next time you download an mp3, buy a book on Amazon.com or post a video to YouTube.com. know that you are being watched and the elements of behavioral targeting of your habits online are being tracked. By the way, did you know tracking traffic on your websites is a form of behavioral targeting? Yep, there are free tools that you can use on a continuous basis that will do all of the research work for you.

In a two day online workshop online, on July 18th and 19th at 1pm EST, SEO Phenom Paul Counts and myself will not only be teaching how to explode your traffic, but how to see exactly where it is all coming from, how YOU can position yourself to get in front of your targeted traffic and how you can successfully monitor the behavior of your potential buyers. Behavioral Targeting can be your gripe… or your leverage… you chose. Click Here for More

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