Search users advised to mix it up

Internet users have been advised to mix up the search tools they use in order to protect the information that online behaviour firms are able to gather, which could have an effect of search engine optimisation techniques.

Pam Dixon, executive director at the World Privacy Forum, said that the group recommended users did not conduct their entire web searching in one spot.

She added that email should be kept separate from searches and that users should not provide one lone company with all of their online searching, email and other data.

"The information collected is used for all manner of purposes, from marketing to reselling to web page personalisation to law enforcement activities. The scope is quite broad…and these uses are not typically transparent to the end user," Ms Dixon noted.

However, while users may be concerned about behavioural profiling, according to a survey by Toluna for the Internet Advertising Bureau, 85 per cent of consumers would rather have free content on the internet with advertising on websites, rather than pay a premium not to have it.

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