" Identity Is A 'Deep, Deep Part Of What We're Doing' " Google

CEO Larry Page emphasized that Google is determined to deliver online experiences tailored to each individual's interests and social circles, an ambitious goal that requires the web giant to learn even more about its users' preferences and personal information.

"Engaging with users, really deeply understanding who they are, and delivering things that make sense for them is really, really important. We're at the early stages of that and Google+ is a big effort," said Page during an earnings call Thursday. "This notion of identity is a deep, deep part of what we're doing and an example of how we can make all our products better by understanding people."

Google's Google+ social networking site, launched last summer, is Google's bet-the-company effort to fill gaps in its knowledge about users and duplicate Facebook's expansive database. In short, Google's personalization plan depends on you: what you share with Google, what you search on Google, and who you socialize with on Google.

Last week, Google unveiled its latest attempt at personalizing the browsing experience, an update to its search results, dubbed "Search Plus Your World," that displays privately shared information side-by-side with publicly available content. The new feature has been met with fierce criticism from pundits and tech companies, which accuse Google of favoring its own services in its search results.