How to Avoid the Most Common Contextual Targeting Mistakes

The CPRA update to the CCPA makes it clear that privacy and consumer data is going to be more strictly regulated than ever before. Further, platforms like Google are phasing out third party cookies, and anecdotally, it just feels icky when an ad for the exact same product that you were just searching for pops up in an Instagram ad. 

Behavioral targeting will never go away (after all, “personalization” was the Association of National Advertisers’ 2019 word of the year), but as a result of the upcoming regulations, tried and true contextual targeting will play a much bigger role in marketing strategies. 

However, search for “contextual ad fails” and you’ll find a plethora of advertisements based on keywords that should work, but within the broader context, are laughable failures. Think, an ad for losing weight under a video of a kitten vomiting. Anecdotally, we’ve all experienced our fair share of irrelevant ads on Facebook.

Contextual advertising as a broad strategy has long been a part of marketing toolkits.  But without exploring the nuanced context of the content, website and the brand, there are bound to be mistakes that may impact a brand’s relevancy and brand safety. When considering contextual targeting strategies, here are some ways to avoid the most common mistakes:

Optimize Ad Campaigns As They Run

The foundation of contextual targeting is keywords, so it makes sense to consistently optimize these based on program performance. While some marketers choose to let the campaign run its course with a set keyword list, the most successful campaigns are the ones that constantly update them. 

This may sound like a no-brainer but it’s essential to understand that contextual targeting is so fluid. In theory, a certain set of keywords may work, and in practice, they may fail to produce efficient or successful results. Going through a trial and error process while a campaign is live is the surefire way to ensure that the end result is successful. 

Avoid Blanket Keyword Blocking

 Many marketers employ universal keyword block lists to prevent their advertisements from appearing on any webpage with the blocked keyword. While targeting a keyword like “pot” may make sense for a pasta brand since the ingredient is typically boiled in a pot, many marketers also block this keyword because of its drug-related connotation. However, in doing so, they also block opportunities to appear to consumers within contexts that may actually be extremely relevant for use. On the other hand, by not blocking, they also open themselves up to a risk to brand safety by potentially appearing alongside drug-related contexts. 

This instance demonstrates that contextual targeting has upper and lower limits, and it can be difficult to stay within the bounds without considering the overall context of the webpage and website. For food brands, explore various strategies that employ narrower focuses. By choosing a particular niche focus that aligns with a brand’s focus, they’re more likely to be in a relevant and also brand-safe zone, instead of expanding to contexts that are too broad and may not align as well. Marketers may also consider exploring different solution providers that specialize in certain types of content, to gain even more nuanced targeting that gets straight to the type of consumer a marketer is trying to reach. 

Use AI to Consider the Overall Context of the Content

The rise of AI and machine learning have created countless intelligent services that can parse the context of audio, videos and images, which can’t be ignored in today’s digital age when users consume content in countless forms. Further, recent advances and smarter algorithms in AI have enabled programs to be able to parse through content like a human would, considering the topic, and sentiment and even distinguish different homonyms based on context. This enables brands to more carefully consider the full context of potential content and distinguish the content that’s actually brand safe or not. And as a result, marketers can protect brand safety, as well as open up inventory that may have been disqualified based on a block list. 

Privacy regulations and consumer data protection laws are being enacted in major states across the nation and globally. Brands who want a digital presence need to refine their strategy to embrace contextual targeting tactics, as they consider marketing in an era when consumers are more conscious about their data privacy.