Targeted Advertising using Machine Learning

Targeted advertising is a type of online advertisement targeted at a specific audience. It is based on the characteristics and behaviour patterns of various people. Today, individuals are either unaware or not creating personal information on an unprecedented magnitude due to the widespread use of every electronic device. If our device is connected to the internet, it leaks personal data to advertising.

Targeted advertising has gained significance since the turn of the 20th century. The reason for this is that the population is growing more diverse, and it's not possible or even feasible to incorporate all of them into one single campaign. So, today, companies are shifting to the concept of Targeted advertising to increase their revenue.

To better understand a person's behaviour, we only need to examine their online habits. The modern world is heavily and largely dependent upon the web to find solutions to virtually any issue they may face, which ranges from "What TV series should I watch today?" to looking up their symptoms online before visiting a physician. If information is generated from the internet, advertisers are able to virtually connect with their clients on an individual level and market to them based on the needs of their customers.

This is precisely what businesses are currently doing. This method has grown so lucrative that companies such as Google and Facebook have a large portion of their income by micro-targeting their customers and advertising their clients' products.

Google is also known to implement the selective filtering option for its customers, which means it is believed that the Google Search Algorithm is an inclination toward the product of its clients. This feature also has the possibility of having an impact on elections and is thought as more effective in comparison to the US president.

Facebook has earned itself the reputation of being an "obsessive stalker" because of its continuous monitoring of its users' every move. Facebook provides insights into its users through the following activities:

• Location Information: This is probably the easiest way to track the business. Even if the setting is deactivated, Facebook can still follow users using their IP addresses.
• Mouse Motions: This shocking revelation was made by Mark Zuckerberg in his speech before the state. Utilizing mouse movements as well as other interaction data points provides an insight into what kind of content users interact with the greatest.
• Connected Application: Facebook collects data from other apps it owns, such as WhatsApp along with Instagram, to gain more insight into the behaviour of its users.

The scandal that is now known as the Cambridge Analytica scandal was the result of the idea of Targeted advertising. There is a phrase that says, "If you are not paying for the product then, YOU are not the Customer, YOU are the product."