Most marketers agree that the effectiveness of their marketing improves when their advertising is adjacent to premium content as it can lead to higher engagement rates and a greater return on marketing investment. Premium content attracts a more engaged and attentive audience. As well, having your brand associated with high-quality, valuable content can positively influence brand perception and build trust with the audience.
Taking the concept a step further, the effectiveness of your advertising can be yet further advanced if this content is related to your business. Contextual content adjacencies can increase the opportunity to reach your target audience. Increasing advertising relevance will only further improve the effectiveness of your advertising.
Enter contextual targeting.
Contextual targeting is a digital advertising strategy where ads are displayed based on the content of the webpage or app, rather than user behavior or browsing history. Contextual targeting aims to deliver relevant ads by matching the ad’s topic to the content a user is currently viewing.
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To utilize contextual targeting an advertiser would choose keywords or topics they wish to target. From there, advertising networks analyze the content of websites and apps to identify relevant topics and places those ads adjacently.
For example, an ad for running shoes may be placed on a fitness blog, or an ad for kitchen tools appearing on a recipe website.
The benefits of contextual targeting include:
- Relevance: Ads are more likely to be relevant to the user’s current interests, improving engagement and response.
- Privacy-Friendly: Contextual targeting doesn’t rely on tracking user behavior or collecting personal data, which can be beneficial in an era of increasing privacy concerns.
- Cost-Effective: Contextual targeting can be simpler and more affordable than other digital marketing tactics.
- Improved User Experience: Contextual ads can complement the content they appear alongside, creating a more seamless and engaging user experience.
Combining contextual and demographic targeting, including location targeting, can enhance your campaign results. By understanding both the context of where ads appear and the characteristics of the audience to whom it is delivered, you can create more relevant and engaging campaigns.
Contextual targeting, which focuses on the content a user is interacting with is highly effective for campaigns, leading to increased engagement, higher purchase intent, and better brand safety.
Benefits include:
- Higher Purchase Intent: Studies indicate that contextually relevant ads can increase purchase intent by as much as 63% compared to ads targeted through behavioral methods.
- Increased Ad Recall: Contextual targeting can improve ad recall as users are more likely to remember ads and brands that are relevant to their areas of interest.
- Improved ROI: By focusing on placements that are more likely to yield conversions, advertisers can optimize their spending and improve overall return-on-investment of their campaigns.
Contextual targeting also enables advertisers to target specific keywords, including long tail keywords, making it highly useful reaching niche audiences.
There are also some drawbacks to contextual targeting including limited personalization due to the lack of user data, reliance on content quality, and difficulty in scaling due to a need to carefully consider the keyword strategy.
For your local business, contextual targeting is crucial because it helps deliver ads to relevant audiences based on content they are currently engaging with, increasing engagement and potentially improving ROI by focusing ad spend on users with a higher propensity to purchase.
To learn more about contextual targeting and how it can help your local business we encourage you to give us a call at 603-352-5896 or email Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com.
We are experts in multimedia marketing and can help you build a compelling campaign that engages your audience and drives sales.
We’re here to help you succeed.
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