According to a new report today, Google is looking at implementing a new ad targeting-system for YouTube. The new system would seek to make YouTube more profitable after years of struggling to generate significant revenues.
Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal says that YouTube managed to pull in $4 billion in revenue last year. While this is up from $3 billion the year before, the service only managed to break even after accounting for content and equipment costs.
In light of the lack of profits, the Wall Street Journal says that Google is actively looking at introducing a new ad-targeting system that takes advantage of a user's search history from its own sites:
For example, someone researching vacation plans via Google search might see commercials for Caribbean getaways on YouTube. Today, YouTube advertisers are left to guess who is planning a vacation based on other travel websites that DoubleClick has spotted them visiting.
According to the report, the new ad-targeting system could debut sometime later this year.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
