Contextual advertising

Contextual advertising (also called contextual targeting) is a form of targeted digital advertising. Contextual advertising is also called "In-Text" advertising or "In-Context" technology. Contextual targeting involves the use of linguistic factors to control the placement of advertising material. The advertisements are selected and delivered by automated systems, taking into consideration the context of a user's search or browsing behavior.^[1]

As advertisers and marketers increasingly prioritize brand safety and suitability, contextual advertising has emerged as a crucial aspect of safeguarding brand reputation and value.^[2] Contextual ads are commonly perceived as less irritating than traditional advertising, therefore influencing users more effectively. It reflects user interests, thus increasing the chance of receiving a response.^[3]

A contextual advertising system scans the content of a website for specific keywords and phrases and then displays advertisements based on those keywords.^[4] For example, a user browsing a sports-related website sees advertisements for companies related to sports, such as sellers of sports memorabilia or tickets. Contextual advertising is also used by search engines to display advertisements on their search results pages based on the keywords in the user's query.

When a visitor does not click on an ad quickly enough (the minimum time a user must click on the ad), the ad automatically changes to the next relevant ad.

Google AdSense was the first major contextual advertising network.^{[citation needed]} It works by providing webmasters with JavaScript code that, when inserted into webpages, displays relevant advertisements from the Google ad inventory. Relevance is calculated by a separate Googlebot that indexes the content of a webpage. Competitors use language-independent proximity pattern matching algorithms to increase matching accuracy.^[5]

Media.net is the other major contextual ad network competing with Google AdSense.^[6][7]

• Ferguson, Renee Boucher. "A Battle Is Brewing Over Online Behavioral Advertising". www.eweek.com. Retrieved 2008-10-20.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Ostrow, Adam (19 June 2008). "When Contextual Advertising Goes Horribly Wrong - Mashable". mashable.com. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
• "FTC Staff Proposes Online Behavioral Advertising Privacy Principles". www.ftc.gov. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
• Kenny, D.; Marshall, J. (November–December 2000). "Contextual Marketing: The Real Business of the Internet". Harvard Business Review. 78 (6): 119–125. PMID 11184966. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
• Revesencio, Jonha (2015-04-09). "CRM Retargeting: How It Works and Everything You Need to Know Before Using It - Huffington Post". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2015-04-09.