ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the practice of behavioral targeting, which is a way of targeting ads at people on the web so as to match what they are most likely to be interested in and most likely to respond to in a positive way. To understand behavioral targeting, it is necessary to have an understanding of search engines and search advertising as well as ads that are placed on the web generally. Traditionally, market research by advertisers has been labor intensive using methods such as surveys, panels and focus groups to help advertisers know who best to target with their advertising. By contrast, search engine histories are a ready made, potential source of market research information that can indicate: who is in the market for a particular product and so on. Many websites are able to identify people if they come back to that website. They do this by placing a cookie on people's computers on their first visit.
