Ready To Go Big With Behavioral Advertising?

Currently, targeted advertising is, on average, almost twice as effective as non-targeted advertising. It’s the reason that for years, publishers have taken advantage of this type of advertising. It increases the effectiveness and relevance of marketing messages that they display online.

In this article, we give you all the information you need to know about behavioral advertising. This includes the different types of behavioral advertising available today. Read on to learn more.

What Is Behavioral Advertising?

Behavioral advertising is also referred to as behavioral targeting. It is a method used by advertisers to display ads based on the browsing behaviors of potential clients.

Types of Behavioral Targeting

Generally, there are two major types of behavioral targeting. These are:

Onsite Behavioral Targeting

This type of behavior targeting takes place within a particular website. Its implementation is part of website personalization and contributes to its success.

In onsite behavioral targeting, the display of ads is based on behavioral data of the visitor while on the particular website. Through this method, it’s easy to build a more relevant and streamlined user experience.

This method allows advertisers to display relevant content and products to the visitors. Users are thus more willing to engage with the website and spend more time there, which encourages conversion.

Network Behavioral Targeting

In this type of advertising, the advertisers make implied choices for the audience. The technique categorizes the audience based on factors such as interests and purchase intent. These factors result from the web behavior demonstrated by the users.

Typically, the data used in network behavioral targeting comes from the advertiser’s website. It is then used for retargeting and personalization.

The data can be shared across multiple sites. The data may involve device identifying information like IP addresses and cookies. However, it cannot include people’s names, telephone numbers, or emails.

The algorithms in this technique crunch data and assign users to different segments. The algorithms can assume the age of a user, their gender, and their possible purchase decision. This way, it’s possible to play personalized ads that the user is more likely to click.

For instance, if a user repeatedly visits automotive sites, and male-fashion sites, then a reasonable guess would be that the user is male. The advertiser can thus focus on this segment to send relevant ads.

How Does Behavioral Targeting Advertising Work?

How is it possible for behavioral targeting to create customized and profitable advertising experiences? Well, the process involves tracking the behaviors of users online and gathering data from these behaviors. Such data is referred to as cookies.

The process of behavioral targeting usually involves four steps:

Step 1: Collecting Cookies

When you create a new account or visit a new website, a cookie is placed on your device. This storage happens either temporarily on a local memory drive or permanently in your computer’s hard drive.

Step 2: Creating a User Profile

This is possible through the collection and storage of more cookies every time you visit new pages, click on ads, or spend time on a particular content. Your behavioral pattern that’s related to your shopping and search habits can be developed.

Step 3. Designating Consumer Groups

With the created profiles, companies can separate users into various market groups. After making the distinctions between users, sites know the purchasing interests of each segment.

Step 4: Sharing Relevant Information with Viewers

With the distinction between users made, consumers can now view personalized content. They won’t receive random ads when they reconnect to the website or network.

The success of behavioral targeting relies on an effective data gathering tool and a reliable means of implementing it. A robust data management platform for collecting data is needed. It should also include reliable analytical resources.

How Behavioral Targeting Differ From Contextual Targeting

In contextual targeting, the user views ads that are relevant to the content of the page they’re visiting. Contextual targeting does not make use of user information. Instead, it takes advantage of the context of the marketing message.

In behavioral targeting, marketers and advertisers can target individual users. The idea behind this type of advertising is that the marketing message should be relevant to the user visiting a page, not the content of the page. Over the last decade, its applications have increased as a result of the increasing availability of user data.

Of course, behavioral targeting relies on ample information about users to be effective.

Benefits of Behavioral Marketing

While behavioral targeting is centered on data, its benefits are much more real than any other abstract systems. Basing your marketing campaign on the behavior of your target market benefits both the advertiser and the consumer. In this section, we take a closer look at some of the top advantages of behavioral advertising.

It Enhances User Engagement

With behavioral tracking, advertisers reach consumers who portray habits of engaging with particular products. All it takes to redirect a consumer to an online storefront is a one-click ad. On the other hand, if the advertisements displayed on a site do not create interest and trust, the viewer is less likely to engage in the beginning.

If you can get the user to access a company’s website, the brand can provide content from other pages of the site, increasing clicks for targeted ads.

You Get a Higher Number of Ad Click-Throughs

Unlike a generic ad that has no appeal to users, a customized ad captures the viewer’s interests. Once an interested viewer gains exposure to a product they highly desire, they’ll want to seek more information regarding it. The same is not the case with brands that do not align with the previous browsing and purchasing behaviors of users.

There’s Improved Conversion Rate

A marketing message that reaches a behavioral target market has more appeal to people who view it. This increases the likelihood of users to complete a purchase or seek more information regarding the product.

By using behavioral advertising, most businesses experience an increase in sales.

As we mentioned earlier, behavioral marketing is also beneficial to the consumer in several ways. Here are three of them:

The Consumer Has a More Exciting Ad Experience

The vast majority of online visitors don’t cherish the idea of giving up their personal information to marketers. That, however, is less frustrating than encountering ads that are unengaging and irrelevant.

Most consumers prefer personalized online advertisements even if it exposes their purchase habits.

With customized marketing messages, browsing experience is a lot more enjoyable.

Enhance Efficiency in the Online Shopping Process

When products that interest you feature prominently in your web browser, it becomes easy to access storefronts. Often, you are automatically redirected to the page that provides more information regarding the product in the ad. Adding the item to your shopping cart and checking out is a simple process, which all online shoppers appreciate.

Consumers Get Reminders and Alerts for New Products

When viewers continually see ads for products that interest them, they can keep up with new releases and updates about brands they love. Moreover, if a consumer didn’t complete an online purchase, a customized ad can remind and encourage them to resume the transaction.

What are the Challenges of Behavioral Targeting?

Strict rules regarding the storing of cookies in users’ browsers is a challenge facing behavioral targeting. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can force advertisers to give up much of their reliance on behavioral data.

Using Your Data Management Platform for Successful Behavioral Targeting

Almost every business has a certain amount of data on their clients. Many companies collect that data proactively, while others do so unintentionally. For those who know how to use the data they collect and attain results, the information they have on their customers is beneficial.

Marketers need to implement information carefully, so they avoid creating ineffective ad content.

The Role of a Data Management Platform in Behavioral Targeting

Among the most helpful tools for content creators in behavioral advertising is a data management platform (DMP). A DMP helps in harvesting, storing, and analysis of a company’s target audience, for successful behavioral advertising.

But why is DMP beneficial for businesses that want to apply behavioral targeting? Well, the best DMP can know what type of data a company requires to achieve a specific result. Such a platform draws from both online and offline data to drive maximum advertising potential.

Types of Consumer Behaviors That Targeting Companies and DMPs Track

A company that implements the full potential of their DMP must always be attentive to their audience. As visitors complete web searches, the company’s DMP records that information and continues interacting with the consumer through ads. Below are some of the behaviors that a DMP focuses on:

Frequently Visited Pages

A DMP starts its monitoring by checking the specific web pages a user visits within a specified network. The DMP checks whether the user accessed the web page once, many times, or regularly. By looking at these pages, it’s possible to get an idea of a user’s behavior patterns or interest patterns.

For instance, if a user made a purchase after visiting a particular page, there’s a chance that they’ll make another purchase in the future. This influences the kind of advertisements the user will start to see moving forward.

Webpage Viewing Times

How much time, on average, does a consumer spend on a particular site? This is a vital element in gauging their interest level. If the user clicked the page only briefly before moving on, it could indicate that they found the information irrelevant to them.

If, on the other hand, the viewer spends a considerable amount of time on the page, that’s a sign of high interest in the content on the page.

Clicked Ads and Links

To best determine the sort of language and ads that attract a certain user’s attention, you need to monitor what kind of links they frequently click on. The clicking habits of a user determines their objectives. It is through surfing that you know the products they’re interested in.

Personal Web Searches

Web searches can reveal online users who are looking to fulfill a certain need or what assistance they need. When a user visits your website and searches for a particular item or service, you can use that recorded data to send related targeted ads when a user visits your website in the future.

Transaction Progress

Often, consumers fill their virtual shopping carts but stop their purchasing process at checkout. On the surface, this may look like a negative result for the retailer, but in reality, it portrays a higher readiness to complete the purchase process compared to consumers who simply view products without putting any of them in their cart.

Advertisers can use this information to direct ads to users who are involved in transactions, highly some of the products that they’d expressed an interest in buying earlier on.

It’s Time to Try Behavioral Targeting

With companies looking to provide consumers with more personalized offers, the future of behavioral advertising looks brighter than ever before.

Its ability to help you get into the shoes of consumers makes your brand more attractive to potential clients. Customers can better engage with your marketing messages and enjoy a more pleasant shopping experience, which boosts your company’s overall appeal and profitability. You can also combine it with programmatic advertising for even better results.

If you’re looking for marketing solutions that are uniquely suited to your business, we can help. Contact us today for more information.