What is contextual advertising?
Discover the Future of Commerce Media Download Report Now ×

Get Fluent in Performance Marketing

Plain language explainers to help you keep up with the evolving digital landscape.

Contextual Advertising

What is contextual advertising?

Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising where ads are placed on web pages based on the content and context of the page, rather than the user's browsing history or personal data. The goal is to display ads that are relevant and useful to the user in the moment, without relying on invasive tracking or personal information.

How does contextual advertising work?

Contextual advertising works by analyzing the content and keywords on a web page and then matching and serving relevant ads. This is done through demand-side platforms that use AI and algorithms to understand the page context and place appropriate ads. Advertisers can specify topics, keywords, and other parameters to target their ads.

What are some types of contextual advertising?

Some common types of contextual advertising include topic-based targeting, keyword-based targeting, and semantic targeting which analyzes the meaning and context of the page content. Advertisers can also use combinations of these methods for more precise targeting.

How do you measure contextual advertising?

Contextual advertising campaigns can be measured through standard metrics like impressions, clicks, click-through rate, and conversions. Advertisers can also track brand lift, user engagement, and other performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of their contextual ads.

Why is contextual advertising important to marketers?

Contextual advertising is important because it allows marketers to reach relevant audiences without relying on cookies or personal data, therefore ensuring the privacy of the consumer. Additional benefits include improvements to brand safety and the user experience.

Who needs to know what contextual advertising is?

  • Digital marketing manager
  • Paid search specialist
  • Affiliate manager
  • Ecommerce manager
  • User acquisition manager
  • Product manager
  • Marketing analyst
  • Brand manager

Use contextual advertising in a sentence:

“The company's new contextual advertising campaign leveraged AI-powered semantic analysis to place their ads on relevant web pages, resulting in a 25% increase in click-through rates compared to their previous behavioral targeting approach.”

[close]