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On March 1, Google implemented its new privacy policy. We've been writing about the downside of the new policy in terms of Google users' privacy concerns, but there is an upside for those of us in the online marketing business. 

 

Google users will now have one comprehensive profile and data will be shared across all of its platforms (Search, Google+, Gmail, YouTube and so on), making it easier for Google to be more precise with ad targeting. Theoretically, we should see better return on our investment in PPC and SEO as a result of Google's ability to get a clearer picture of each individual who uses Google. 

 

A survey done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project after the new policy was announced found that 83% of U.S. search engine users rated Google as their preferred search engine. (Yahoo was a distant second at 6%.) Nearly 75% of survey participants said they don’t want search engines to analyze personal information for advertising purposes. More than 33% said they don't want ads to be customized based on their web surfing activities. Will people will turn away from Google now that the new policy has been implemented? Very doubtful. Big search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, and social media platforms like Facebook, all collect personal information for advertising purposes. People who are concerned about privacy aren't going to find it on the internet.