Area Targetted Adverts

[bigbanana]

How is it that during the last few weeks, there are adverts on my AB front page that refer to offers in the area I live. For example, I live about 40 miles from Cardiff but I'm still in Wales and I'm currently looking at an advert that says "Cardiff Coupons 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day, get 50-90% off Cardiff's best"
I've got no idea what the advert is about as I've not clicked on the link, but it's as if someone knows I live in the area and is sinisterly targetting me directly. I've also come across it on one or two other websites too.

Thank you.

[treetops1]

I can`t explain it either. I thought your address was in the profile but mine isn`t and I`ve that advert only mine says Sheffield, I`m in the North East. SPOOKY.

[woofgang]

ha ha they get mine wrong, i get offered London coupons..

[VHG]

They can work out roughly were you live based on where your broadband comes from (it is not always right)

When I search on Google I now get a field on the left saying my location, and it is totally right.

[Buenchico]

AB subscribes to a number of systems (including Google Syndicates and Doubleclick) which use tracking cookies. If (even if it's on a completely different site, as long as it's part of the same system) you search for events or shops in Wales, that will be recorded by the system. When you come on here the system then seeks to send you adverts targeted upon the area you're living in (or which, through your web searches, you've expressed an interest in).

Chris

[ummmm]

It says Oxford coupons on mine. I live in Northants...

[VHG]

btw I should point out that EVERYTHING you do on the web is tracked in little files called "cookies".

Every web site you visit saves a cookie (even this one) usually to hold your userid and password to save you logging on each time.

But many web sites save "tracking" cookies to save details of your searches that you do (across multiple web sites).

So if you are thinking of a holiday in Egypt and do lots of searches then this information will be saved in tracking cookies,.

Next time you visit certain web sites details of holidays to Egypt will already be placed on the front page of the web site.

This is going on all the time and this is how Google knows so much about all our lives.

Frightening.

[Buenchico]

Your location will only be picked up by Google, as mentioned by VHG, if your ISP is forwarding such information. Otherwise it will show 'London' or an alternative default location.

At the moment Google thinks I'm in London despite the fact that my IP address seems, somehow, to have been linked to Lowestoft. (Neither is correct):
http://whatismyipaddress.com/

Chris

[jaydah]

mines all chocolates, cadbuys, kit kat & choccie eggs - how do they know am eating chocs instead of smoking ?

[pastafreak]

Interesting.....I see no 'local' ads...but there is one for flights to Melbourne....where my daughter is currently living.

[NazNomad]

It has less than no clue where I am, it seems.

... and rightly so.

[JMR27]

I'm being offered Manchester coupons - that's handy...I live in Fife

VHG and Buenchico thanks for that info - very interesting

[DTCwordfan]

at least the blessed bee sems to have been swatted - just some innocuous Barclays spiel now.,....nothing on Cornwall has shown - but then who would want to post ads for this barren area.

[bigbanana]

What a response! Thank you all for your answers. I've got both Spybot and AD-Aware installed on my PC and they usually pick up tracking cookies during manual scans. Can I assume that if I clear the cookies, things will return to normal albeit temporarily?

Thanks

[bigbanana]

Isn't there a way I can clear the tracking cookies via my browser (firefox) too?

[NazNomad]

Tools > Clear Recent History (Ctrl + Shift + Del)

You can clear all your cookies there.

OR

Tools > Options > Privacy > Show Cookies

Select which cookies you want to delete from the list.

[sherrardk]

It's offering me coupons for Liverpool when I am in Hereford.

[Eve]

I'll have your coupons JMR :) I haven't got any locla ones, a DVD burner, Personal Injury experts, E.mail marketing software, KitKat and a solicitors in Staffordshire! I'm in Manchester so no local bargains for me.

[Eve]

Oooh I did clear out all my cookies yesterday though along with temporary internet files etc... as lappy was on go slow. That might me why!

[Mobius1]

I've had this before, on AB and other sites. Discounts on eating out in Birmingham for example. Although I've had more relevant things before, like looking for things on the Halfords website and then having Halfords adverts all over AB, including adverts for the very items I looked at! Spooky. I'm not all that bothered by it really.

If I see adverts, I'd rather see them for things that are relevant as opposed to adverts for loans or medication erectile dysfunction.