Ads for mobile apps are rarely personal; they’re more often based on search keywords than your actual habits. Google is fixing this today with new ads in search and on YouTube that reflect your day-to-day app uses and purchases. If you regularly track your runs with fitness software, for instance, you may get ads offering to install a companion diet app. Google is also taking a cue from Facebook with keyword-based ads that launch into apps you have.
Google is announcing today its plans to offer targeted app install ads on mobile search and YouTube, following moves made by other tech industry companies, including Facebook and more recently Yahoo and Twitter. Google says that businesses looking to promote these app installs across the AdMob network will be able to target consumers based on data Google already has on file, like what apps they use, how often they use them and what purchases they’ve made. For example, says Google, someone who regularly uses an app to measure their runs and other exercises, might see an app that lets you track your diet.