ebuzz - Search Marketing Goal for 2008: Privacy

Search Marketing Goal for 2008: Privacy

In a Search Insider article this week, Mark Simon pointed toward the future for privacy in search marketing:

Ask.com may have a laughable share of search query volume, but it demonstrated beyond a doubt this week that its heart is in the right place when it rolled out Ask Eraser, a feature which lets users wipe out their search query records. By throwing down the privacy gauntlet to Google and Yahoo, Ask.com seized the moral high ground and is on the road to proving that holding on to search query data for extended periods is a pointless practice that has no real impact on the user's experience. Right now, Ask.com is running very high on my list as a preferred search engine, because what I search for is my business and nobody else's. Frankly, I hope that Ask.com doubles its search query volume (and PPC ad revenues) because of Ask Eraser; this is the best idea to come down the pike in a long time.

While many users have been experimenting with and enjoying Google's personalized search, it's worth thinking about exactly how much of our personal information is being stored chez Google; and how steep is the step between storage and dessemination?

Simon makes an excellent point; perhaps it's time for us to examine how much privacy we're willing to give up in the name of convenience.

And that's our take on the news today!

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