What information is used to personalize ads on Google search, Gmail, and other Google properties?
When you search for something on Google without being signed in to your Google Account, the search results page shows results and ads that match your current search terms and location. If we think that the ads will be more relevant, we may also use recent searches for related topics and ads that youve clicked to decide which ads to show.
When you are signed in to your Google Account, we may use additional information to decide which ads to show. For example, we may use a recent previous search if we think the searches may be related, like a search for New York followed by a search for hotels this can indicate that you want to find out about hotels in New York. We only use recent searches because it usually doesnt make sense to draw connections between searches that are very far apart in time.
Another way we can personalize ads on search is by using your Google Web History. For example, if you recently clicked a search result for a surfing website, and then searched for vacations, this can indicate that youre interested in vacation destinations where you can surf, and you may see ads for surfing vacations.
Additionally, we may use information that you tell us about yourself to personalize ads on search. For instance, certain products may give you the opportunity to tell us that you really like a particular retailer or brand and we can use that information later to show you ads for merchants and products & services that we think you might like.
In Gmail, most of the ads we show appear next to an open email message and match the contents of your email. When we personalize ads, we display ads based on the contents of all your emails. For example, if youve recently received lots of messages about photography or cameras, we might show you a deal from a local camera store.
Not all ads are personalized to you on Google search, Gmail, and other Google properties. We personalize ads only when we think the additional information improves the ad selection for you.