Reduce interest-based ads’ effectiveness.

Anybody out there tired of online ads that pull you away from your work? Same here. Online marketers track your web surfing habits. They then use that information to create interest-based ads they feel will appeal to you. I am showing two ads that appeal to me, and then show how to opt out from these targeted ads.

They know what you like.

We are avid web surfers. Advertisers can learn what appeals to you by analyzing your web surfing habits. They use this information to create interest-based ads. They feel presenting an interest-based ad will generate more money than a random ad. Here’s what happened to me. At http://usnews.com, an online advertising company presents banner ads at the top. They decided banner ads promoting a social media summit and a dog boarding service are consistent with my interests. They are right…both are appealing. I refreshed this page 10 times. In those 10 clicks, the social media summit ad appeared seven times and the dog boarding ad appeared three times.

Opt-out from interest-based ads.

This ad vendor is Ghostery Enterprises, who publishes under the AdChoices and AdRoll names. I opted out of their interest-based ads. Here’s how:

On the social media summit ad, click the “AdChoices” link.
On the DogVacay ad, click the “X” in the upper right hand corner.

Both ads presented options. You can set options for the ads you want them to present.

Doing so gives you options to opt-out from interest-based advertising. I opt-out because I don’t want attractive distractions taking me away from my online work. If I need a conference or dog boarding service, I will search for one. This is a personal choice, I agree. We have to stay focused while online. Do not let targeted ads distract you from your work.