Contextual Targeting

Appear alongside relevant content. Serve ads on pages that match your product, industry, or customer interests.

What is Contextual Targeting?

Contextual targeting places your ads on web pages based on the content of that page, not the person viewing it. If someone is reading an article about home renovation, your kitchen remodeling ad appears. If they're browsing a sports site, your athletic apparel ad shows up.

Instead of targeting who the person is, contextual targeting focuses on what they're reading right now. It's a privacy-friendly approach that reaches people when they're in the right mindset.

How Contextual Targeting Works

Step 1: Define Your Context
Choose the topics, categories, or keywords that are relevant to your business.

Step 2: Page Scanning
Our technology scans web pages in real-time, analyzing content to determine what each page is about.

Step 3: Match & Serve
When a page matches your selected context, your ad is eligible to appear there.

Step 4: Optimize
We track which contexts perform best and optimize toward them.

Contextual Targeting Methods

Category Targeting

Select from 300+ IAB content categories to target broad topics.

Examples:

Automotive → Your car dealership ads
Home & Garden → Your landscaping services
Business & Finance → Your B2B software
Health & Fitness → Your gym membership

Keyword Targeting

Define specific keywords that should appear on the page for your ad to show.

Examples:

"mortgage rates" → Your lending services
"best CRM" → Your software product
"wedding planning" → Your venue or photography

Keyword + Category Combination

Target pages that match BOTH a keyword and a category for precision targeting.

Example: Pages in the "Automotive" category that also contain "electric vehicles"

Why Contextual Targeting?

Privacy-friendly. No cookies or personal data required. You're targeting content, not people. This matters as privacy regulations tighten.

Brand safety. Control where your ads appear by choosing relevant, appropriate contexts.

Mindset matching. Reach people when they're already thinking about related topics. Reading about travel? Perfect time for a luggage ad.

Massive scale. Access inventory across the entire web, not just retargeting pools or specific audiences.

Complements other tactics. Layer contextual targeting with geographic, demographic, or behavioral targeting for precision.

Contextual vs. Behavioral Targeting

Factor	Contextual	Behavioral
Targets	Page content	User history/profile
Data required	None (reads the page)	Cookies, device IDs, data
Privacy impact	Privacy-friendly	Requires tracking
Relevance	Matches current interest	Based on past behavior
Scale	All web content	Limited to tracked users
Best for	Awareness, brand safety	Retargeting, known audiences

Many campaigns use both — behavioral targeting for retargeting, contextual for prospecting.

Category Examples

Your Business	Target Categories
Auto Dealer	Automotive, Auto Buying, Car Reviews
Home Services	Home & Garden, Home Improvement, Real Estate
B2B Software	Business, Technology, Enterprise Software
Fitness Brand	Health & Fitness, Sports, Nutrition
Financial Services	Personal Finance, Investing, Banking
Travel Company	Travel, Destinations, Hotels & Lodging
Legal Services	Law, Government & Politics, Business

Brand Safety & Exclusions

Contextual targeting also lets you control where your ads DON'T appear. Exclude categories or keywords that aren't brand-safe:

Common exclusions:

Adult content
Violence and crime
Controversial political content
Tragedy and conflict
Sensitive health topics
Competitor brand names (if desired)

We apply brand safety exclusions by default and can customize based on your requirements.

Channels Available

Contextual targeting works across:

Channel	Description
Display	Banner ads on contextually relevant pages
Video	Video ads on relevant video content
Native	In-feed ads matching content themes
Streaming TV	Ads on relevant streaming content

Combining Contextual with Other Targeting

Contextual targeting is most powerful when layered with other criteria:

Contextual + Geographic: Show your restaurant ad on food content, but only to people in your city.

Contextual + Demographic: Target finance content, but only to high-income households.

Contextual + Retargeting: Combine contextual prospecting with site retargeting for a full-funnel approach.

Contextual + Geofencing: Reach people reading relevant content who also visited relevant locations.

Reporting & Optimization

We report on performance by category and keyword so you can see what's working:

Context	Impressions	Clicks	CTR	Conversions
Home Improvement	50,000	350	0.70%	12
Real Estate	35,000	280	0.80%	15
"kitchen remodel"	12,000	120	1.00%	8
DIY Projects	28,000	140	0.50%	4

Based on performance, we shift budget toward high-performing contexts and pause underperformers.

How It Works

Step 1: Discovery

We identify the content categories and keywords relevant to your audience.

Step 2: Build Targeting

We set up category and keyword targeting with appropriate exclusions.

Step 3: Launch

Ads start appearing on contextually relevant content across the web.

Step 4: Optimize & Report

Weekly reporting by context with ongoing optimization.

Ready to Reach the Right Context?

Put your brand alongside content your customers care about. Contextual targeting matches your message to the moment.