How Does Our Browsing History Shape The Advertisements We See On Our Computer Screens Or Phones?

How does our browsing history shape the advertisements we see on our computer screens or phones?

Every company tries to promote their product as good as they can. Since everyone has a computer or a smartphone, it became very strategic to advertise products on the internet. But even smarter is to offer things to target audience. When you are searching for something online, for example clothes, flight tickets, cars or whatever you are interested in, most likely after few days you will see advertisement of these things online. But not everyone understands that it is not a coincidence, but a well thought plan of marketers.

The most useful information it can collect is your browsing and searching history. It is not just tracking, but also data mining. After examining large amount of data it can predict yours behavior and preferences. In some cases research has shown that data might be used to tailor prices. Sometimes it can be suggested products with different prices to different users, sometimes different products. For example back in 2012 it was discovered that travel website “Orbitz” was showing mac users pricier hotel options than PC users. Later the same year Staples website was tracking visitor’s locations and only applying price discounts if there was a competitor store within 20 miles of them.