Whether you consider it an ingenius marketing tactic, or an invasion of privacy, google users with high FICO scores may soon start seeing ads for more expensive luxury goods and services than those with lower scores.

A credit score is an extremely important, influential statistic which plays a major role in the life of all consumers. This complex numerical value affects our ability to secure a home, automobile, or even employment opportunities. But the latest move by google indicates that in the near future it is possible that your credit score not only may impact what you can buy, but also to dictate what ads you see as you surf the web.

Google has partnered up with Compete, a web analytics firm, to develop and test this ad targeting campaign. Using data from approximately 2 million individuals who voluntarily opted into the project,  Google tracked the search behavior of participants who applied for a credit card between January and March of this year.

The senior industry marketing manager for Google, Masha Korsunsky, made this statement to Mediapost regarding the project:

“Let’s say we have an advertiser who wants to reach consumers with a high FICO score who applied for mortgages in the first quarter. We can provide the advertiser with a list of Web sites on our Google content network that index against this segment. Google’s Content Network can reach 70% of credit card applicants with a high FICO score, 87% of mortgage applicants with a high FICO score, and 90% of the people who visit small business sites who have a high FICO score”.

Some of the interesting findings from the Compete research found that consumers with more elite credit scores ( in the 720 range and above) used similar, specific approaches as they shopped for credit cards. They tended to take more time in their research and selection process, and they used the keyword string “best credit cards” in their search three times more often than consumers with lower credit scores. Additionally, they were more likely to steer away from searching with branded terms. Instead, they more frequently utilized generic phrases which outlined the benefits that they were seeking such as “low rate“, “travel rewards”, or “balance transfer”.

So how worried should consumers be with yet another collection of personal information as we cruise down the information superhighway? According to google representatives, consumer privacy is not an issue, and it is unlikely that a large number of individuals would give user permission to allow google to access to their credit scores. Nonetheless, the concept may be a little disconcerting to some individuals.

Readers, what are your thoughts on this FICO score ad targeting project?

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