Renewed interest in ethical targeting and user privacy has brought semantic contextual targeting back into the spotlight for good reason.
Contextual targeting has come a long way since the early 2000’s. It began with roots in predefined website themes and categories and served as a solid solution until cookie-based targeting transformed the digital advertising landscape. With the need for compliance after GDPR became effective in 2018 and the increasing concern around data privacy, semantic contextual targeting has made a comeback…with a glow-up as well.
The advances in AI over the last decade have created powerful new possibilities and it just might be time for a second look at the benefits of semantic contextual targeting.
Unlike other targeting solutions, like domain and IAB category targeting, semantic contextual targeting goes beyond simple keyword matching to provide a true understanding of the text. By extracting relevant content from within each web page and then applying AI-powered semantic analysis through natural language processing (NLP), semantic contextual provides precise page-level categorization into the best fitting segment.
Take the following example of a story shared on a general news site: this page would get categorized into the Arts & Entertainment segment despite being located in the News section of the publisher’s site when utilizing semantic contextual targeting.
With domain category targeting, the same page would fall under the News category as there is no page-level classification available and all pages within the domain are assigned the same category, potentially resulting in lower performance and elevated brand safety risk.
With the looming elimination of third-party cookies, there’s no better time to revisit the strategic role of semantic contextual targeting. In addition to providing a seamless user experience, it serves as a cookieless targeting solution offering benefits to both buyers and publishers.
74% of consumers are likely to remember an ad if its message relates to content around it
Source: IAS study, 2020
Contextually relevant ads generated 43% more neural engagement than contextually irrelevant ads
Source: GumGum Contextual Study 2020
54% of US marketers say they will move to contextual targeting to solve 3rd party cookie deprecation
Source: eMarketer 2020
83% of consumers worldwide are concerned about their privacy
Source: eMarketer Pro report, 2019
Contact us to learn more about how we can help you build a semantic contextual targeting strategy that allows you to best meet your objectives.
As Director of Marketing and Communications at Equativ, Amy leads the company’s owned content, social media, and public relations strategies. Collaborating with stakeholders across the organization, she writes on topics ranging from Equativ’s product innovations to broader industry trends.
