Web users are choosing not to opt out of Google's behavioral targeting, suggesting that consumer are not bothered by ads when they pertain to their interests.
When Google rolled out its ad manager nine months ago, users were given the opportunity to opt out of behavioral targeting completely or to edit their preferences. Among those who visited the preferences page, the majority were four times more likely to edit their targeting profile than opt out all together, according to ClickZ.
The number of people who do nothing to their profile is 10 times higher than those who choose to opt out, suggesting that many users do not care much about the ads that appear in their search results. About 99,000 visitors come to the ad manager page each week, and only 6,600 choose to opt out completely.
Major ad networks are making more concerted efforts to let users opt out of behavioral targeting amid mounting privacy concerns. Yahoo joined those ranks last week with its own Ad Interest Manager.
