So what exactly do we mean by contextual targeting? The short answer – an ad about a product displayed on a website related to that particular product. For example, an advertisement for golf balls on a website about the U.S. Masters. Makes sense? Of course, it does – after all, you’ve been exposed to contextually targeted ads already. Maybe you didn’t recognize them for what they were, but your ad viewing experience was down to contextual targeting.
Contextual targeting displays ads alongside content highly relevant to the topic of the ad. Targeting can be done at the keyword level or even for specific categories on a blog, for example.
To use contextual targeting in your campaigns, you need a set of keywords and topics for Google to know where to display your ads. The Google Display network does the actual job of serving up your campaigns, matching your keywords and topics to publisher sites in the network.
Targeting isn’t just keyword-based. You can target new audiences or remarket to existing clients using the similar audience feature, along with automated targeting that uses rule-based targeting to expand where your ads are displayed.
One of the features of particular interest to local advertising is the location targeting option. Run a location targeting campaign for your restaurant, for example, and anyone in the vicinity reading a food blog in the Google network could well see your ad appear.
Some of the ads types you can run on the Google Display Network include:
Responsive Display Ads
Creating responsive display ads is semi-automated. You only need to add your creatives (text, image, logos), and Google does the actual optimization for you for better performance on their publisher sites. Google even provides a library of royalty-free images to use. Responsive ads display as “native ads,” blending into the theme of the published site.
Image Ads
If the selection of images on Google doesn’t rock your boat, you can, of course, upload your own. Google allows for a range of image sizes as well as HTML5 animated banners.
Engagement Ads
YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world and allows image and video ads on relevant videos.
Gmail Ads: Question. How many people have a Gmail account? The answer is lots, and that’s precisely how many people you can target with expandable ads that appear above the inbox in a Gmail account.
Choosing Your Keywords
Google recommends between five and fifty keywords for each of your ad groups, with shorter, more precise keywords recommended. The Google Keyword Planners is an excellent place to start as it will have the most relevance to where your ads will display and gives you a very good overview of volume, competition, and keyword cost.
Targeted ads on the Google Display Network are seen as discreet. Since they blend in with the theme of the sites they display on, the ads aren’t intrusive. Anyone browsing a travel network probably won’t object to seeing an advertisement from Booking.com, for example. Since the ad matches the content they’re already engaged with, they’re more likely to click on the ad.
Our team are experts in all things related to contextual ad targeting. Get in touch today for a free consultation and see what we can do for your display ad campaigns!
