AdWords based on previous search?

Just saw ads displayed which seemed to be based on two different searches

[narrowboater]

Here's what happened. I used Google to search for the Google AdWords Tool, then immediately typed in another non-related search, to do with a type of training course (nothing whatsoever to do with webmastery).

The ads that Google displayed for this second search related specifically to training courses to do with AdWords, _not_ to do with the subject I was searching for.

I re-did the search for the training course and - lo and behold - no ads were displayed (as I would expect: it was in a fairly esoteric area).

Could it be that AdWords can be displayed not just based on the page in Google that you're currently viewing, but also on what you've just been looking for? Pretty clever if so.

[dertyfern]

Exactly. It's been happening for some time.

[doctor gerlis]

The ad preview tool is very useful but it is sticky sometimes and can throw up odd and unreliable results on occasions. I have no idea why this happens. Sometimes ads appear on the preview tool which I know are never appearing on real searches. Some intermittent glitch or cache problem somewhere - possibly due to the ISP servers and not google's fault.

[narrowboater]

This wasn't happening in the preview tool. It was on the main (real) search page. Search 1 - I searched for the Google AdWords tool (didn't go there though). Search 2 - Completely unrelated training course. AdWords showed (once only) on the main page as a mashup of Search 1 and Search 2. AdWords + Training.

I hadn't seen it before: dertyfern, you get the prize from me for observation!

[briggidere]

it keeps your previous search cached and sometimes does this. It's not that uncommon.

[pavlovapete]

Search for "previous query" or "intersection query" - as noted above it has been happening for some time in Adwords and (I believe) is being rolled out in the SERPs.

Cheers