Microsoft see advertising as a major revenuw stream for the future, and have set up the adcenter labs project to research advertising data. The results are still at the proof-of-concept stage but this is definitely something to track.
Here are some highlights:
- Search funnel – having searched on a keyword, what keywords will the user try next to get to the results they need. This tool tells you. The keywords tracked are limited at present but it will be very interesting when the full database is built.
- Seasonal trends – shows you how the usage of a particular keyword varies over the year.
- Content categorisation – given a web site address the program gives you its best guess at the business areas it covers.
- Demogaphics – given a web site address give you the age ranges of people visiting the site.
and much more…
Bob Browning's blog 
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