How would I go about changing the Google Ads that I see when I’m browsing the web? There’s a certain ad that pops up frequently, and I’d like to make it stop popping up and have something else, like the Buick Rendezvous or Bob the Builder DVDs or Ron Paul 2012 appear in its place.
I’m pretty sure I know why I started getting it in the first place. I clicked through a number of links from Andrew Sullivan’s blog to writers reminiscing about what it was like to be a gay man in the 80s, and recently I’ve been reading, and commenting on, a lot of articles about a class of viruses and bacteria grouped by the most common method of communication from one person to another (the ad offers an inexpensive examination for them). It’s just that this particular Google Ad, unlike the others that I’ve seen, just does not want to go away, much like the organism responsible for the cold sore.
So is there some way to manipulate whatever algorithm Google uses to get their server to give up on this particular ad and start feeding me new ones?
By the way, I’d prefer not to use ad-blocking. I am a firm believer that looking at the ads makes the internets cheaper for everyone, so I only use it for autoplay media or popovers.
Ads displayed on Google largely have to do with what information you have tied to your Google account. Do you have/use a gmail account or other Google products?
That video is almost perfect, but as it happens I don’t get ads on my search page. I’m not sure when that started to be the case. If I click on the button at the bottom of this page, I get the option to block whole categories of ads, none of which seem to cover the ad I’m trying not to see.
Not real sure, but first thing I would do is clear my browser cache, cookies and history page.
If you don’t want to clear the whole thing just clear the google and ads related stuff.
You may be required to re log in to any sites whose cookie you clear.
Mind you, this isn’t the definitive answer, just the first step I would take.
Hmmm… Try logging-in and following the instructions from the video, it should allow you to block that advertiser. Look for the “why these ads?” link at the top of the advertisement on the Google search page. That will allow you to get to the Ads Preferences Manager.
You can opt-out of personalized ads from there as well.
Also, you can try purging your account of related data. For example, if it’s an advertisement for mortgages, then you want to delete all emails in your gmail account that mention home loans, refinancing and anything to do with buying a house.
While you’re at it you can clear your browsers cookies & cache. However, there’s browser specific data that gets stored that you can’t clear out that may continue to show the same ads.
ETA: Just saw that you tried the video instructions. I would go a step further and do the opt out. It won’t stop you from seeing ads, but it stops the personalized ones from appearing.
I’m not sure I understand your question. I see the ads. I listed three that I frequently saw in my OP. In fact, I remember them, even though I haven’t seen two of them in several months, which is all you can ask from an advertisement.
The video explained how to do that with ads that show up on search results. I don’t have ads on search (which I don’t use all that much anymore, anyway). I tried opening the menu from the “Ad Choices” button on the web ads, and then going to the “Ad Preferences Manager,” but I didn’t see a way to block one specific ad, rather than a broad category of them. There is no “Why This Ad” button on the webpage ads, as far as I can see.
Ad words are determained by the advertiser not by you.
You bid on key words or phrases. For instance, I can buy “Straightdope” and if I pay enough, my ad will always appear. Google likes to target ads, so signing in will help but it won’t outrank a determained buyer. The website eBay is known for buying a lot of words on the cheap. So you have unusual words and the ad for eBay coming up.
It’s actually the second bidder for the word or key phrase that determains the cost
These GoogleAds are definitely following me from page to page. The one I was getting showed up for me on this page as well as another on this board. In neither case was the ad triggered by any words on the page it appeared.
If I understand the OP situation correctly, it’s not that he’s searching for something and the same “relevant” ad is popping up. It’s that he visits other websites that use Google’s AdSense to generate revenue and they have ads that are targeted to him because of some content loosely related to his account due to sites he once visited.
In the Ad Preferences manager you want to look for the opt out (http://awesomescreenshot.com/00aqxyy4b) tab and then hit the “opt out” button. Then click on the “ads on web” link in the second bullet. Then look to the left of that page and click on “opt out” again. One last push on the big blue “opt out” button and you should be all set.
That would block ad customization, which I will do if I see the ad in question again. Since I started this thread, though, I haven’t seen it in the ads at the bottom of any pages I’ve viewed, and when I scrolled through the Google Ads, it didn’t show up either. But now I know what to do if I want to stop customization.