Does a tactic by any other name not raise the same stink? Google claims that its new approach to serving ads in recent weeks is not behavioral targeting, or at least not “traditional behavioral targeting.” Analysts say otherwise. What’s going on here?

To understand what is meant, we need to define behavioral targeting. I first wrote about behavioral targeting a little over a year ago. In its “traditional” form, to use Google’s terminology, behavioral targeting takes advantage of cookies to find out a web surfer’s interests and preferences. Then, when that person is visiting a neutral site – say, reading the news – he or she might see ads that are related to their own interests rather than the site’s content.

For example, someone who is interested in football might be reading a story about a hurricane, and see ads for tickets to watch his local football team play. To coin a stereotype, his wife would see ads for the local mall if she viewed the same web page on her computer. His teen-aged kids might see ads for new video games or the latest releases by their favorite musical groups.

For advertisers, this is the stuff of which dreams – and fat bottom lines – are made. Even more than with contextual ads, you can be certain you are reaching people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. This kind of advertising could potentially reach its height with the search engines. Imagine being able to display a mortgage ad to someone you know is interested in getting a mortgage even when they’re searching for a new golf bag!