They're A/B testing all the time, and it wouldn't take long at all for them to figure that out.
How? There is no way to A/B test if B doesn't exist.
I'm talking about "B" being a practical ad network alternative to Google's effective monopoly. An offering that provides everything Google does --- except the "personalization". Instead of keying on the person's history , key on the context --- what they are currently searching for or what they are currently looking at.
As far as I know, this really doesn't exist in a generalized, competitive form.
But it would be relatively easy and cost effective to implement. Just bring back the <META name="keywords"> tag and key on it instead of the person. Think about all the time and money Google spends to invade people's privacy --- and simply eliminate it.
The ad networks want advertisers to *believe* that the "black box" they are offering is market based and cost effective but they have no real, practical way to confirm this.
They're called search-based targeted ads. That's where Google's AdWords started from, and you can still do that if you wish. But personalized ads work a magnitude better.
How? There is no way to A/B test if B doesn't exist.
I'm talking about "B" being a practical ad network alternative to Google's effective monopoly. An offering that provides everything Google does --- except the "personalization". Instead of keying on the person's history , key on the context --- what they are currently searching for or what they are currently looking at.
As far as I know, this really doesn't exist in a generalized, competitive form.
But it would be relatively easy and cost effective to implement. Just bring back the <META name="keywords"> tag and key on it instead of the person. Think about all the time and money Google spends to invade people's privacy --- and simply eliminate it.
The ad networks want advertisers to *believe* that the "black box" they are offering is market based and cost effective but they have no real, practical way to confirm this.