Twitter is introducing a feature that lets advertisers target ads based on words that appear in users’ tweets.
Twitter said in a blog post on Wednesday that users won’t see any difference in their use of Twitter and the change doesn’t mean ads will show up more frequently.
Rather, Twitter says this keyword targeting will bring its users ads that are more relevant to them. For example if someone writes a tweet about a band they like, they might see an ad about the band’s upcoming concert nearby.
In another feature, Twitter says it has launched an application that lets people find music they like and tweet songs from iTunes, Spotify and Rdio. Called (hashtag)music, the app uses information from Twitter chatter to find popular tracks as well as new artists. Users who follow musicians can see what artists those musicians follow and listen to songs by them.
Twitter is privately held and doesn’t disclose revenue figures. Research firm eMarketer, however, expects the San Francisco company’s worldwide ad revenue to hit $583 million this year. Next year it is expected to grow to nearly $1 billion.
