Quite often, contextual advertising is confused with targeted advertising and vice versa. Probably because in the context there is such a function as “targeting” (setting up ad impressions for people with specific GEOs, interests, age, etc.). But in reality, both types of advertising have completely different approaches to promoting a product or service, and also involve the use of different tools.
Therefore, let’s figure out what are the differences between context and targeting, what are the subtleties of these advertising channels, what are their differences, and when is it better to use one or another way to promote your product.
Generalized about contextual and targeting advertising
Contextual advertising (context, CR) is one of the methods of promoting goods and services on the Web, in which advertising is displayed to a person in response to his specific request (in the search engine results). Therefore, such ads are shown to those search engine users who are already interested in a particular service or product.
The place where contextual advertising will be shown can be search results, a web project that is connected to the search engine’s advertising network and has a topic relevant to the ad, a mobile application. In other words, contextual advertising should be understood as ads that are displayed in the issuance of Google, Yandex, on partner resources.
Targeted advertising (Target, TP) – advertisements that help promote the product in popular social networks: VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook, Odnoklassniki, etc. Such ads can be tailored to different audience parameters:
- floor;
- age;
- Country of Residence;
- social status;
- interests;
- places of study;
- and so on.
Targeting ads on social networks is possible due to the fact that the algorithms of such sites automatically collect, process and group data about their users. And this helps advertisers to “hit” their target audience as precisely as possible.
Both the context and the target are similar in their format, since in both cases the advertisement will consist of text and graphics. But their main differences from each other are the placements and the tasks that they can solve. Let’s dwell on this moment in more detail.
Main differences between context and target
Consider the 3 main differences between targeted and contextual advertising.
1. Platforms for displaying ads
We have already mentioned this above, and now we will understand in more detail. So, if we talk about the context, then there are only 2 main services:
- YAN (Yandex Advertising Network). With the help of YAN, advertisers can show their ads in search engine results, on various Yandex online services, as well as on many sites that cooperate with the company (for example, Lenta Ru, Rambler Ru, Afisha, LiveJournal, Mail.ru, etc. .).
- Google Ads (Google’s similar platform). After registering in the advertising account and launching a campaign in Google Ads, it will also be displayed in Google search results and on other company services (YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Sites, Finance, etc.). Ads will also be broadcast on partner sites that are connected to the Google Adsense network.
If we consider targeting, then this concept should be understood as advertising in popular social networks (listed above). Moreover, this ad will be displayed both on websites and in mobile applications. Each social network, at the same time, has its own advertising account, where you can work with your campaigns:
- specify the size of the budget, set the maximum cost per click;
- select the countries and cities of users to whom advertising will be shown;
- indicate gender, age, income level, interests of the target audience;
- perform audience segmentation to show them different ads;
- set up notifications that the ad has passed moderation, etc.;
- import export certain data;
- and perform other manipulations that greatly simplify the work with advertising campaigns.
Moreover, today there are services that allow you to work with advertising accounts of different social networks from one site (for example, PromoPult). This is convenient and allows you to control all your campaigns. Of course, the functionality of such services is paid.
2. Algorithms for selecting the target audience
Contextual advertisements are displayed in search results depending on a specific user request. And the cost of such an impression will depend on the popularity of the selected query. That is, in simple words, contextual advertising gives answers to people who ask questions to the search engine. For example:
- looking for a particular product or service;
- want to buy cheap trips to the sea;
- planning to rent or buy a home;
- seek to find a quick way to lose weight;
- and so on.
If the CI is shown on partner sites of the advertising network, then the site visitor will see ads that are relevant to his past queries in the search engine (after all, both Yandex and Google collect data on the activity of all their users).
And targeting is “free” in terms of depending on key queries. After all, ads will be displayed only to those users of the social network who are relevant to the campaign settings. In this way, targeted advertising allows you to create demand for a particular product among potential consumers.
3. The degree of “warm up” of a potential client
This factor is closely related to the previous one. Thus, advertising in social networks is usually created for “cold” customers who have not yet shown interest in the promotional offer.
The context works mainly with “warm” and “hot” representatives of the target audience, that is, potential customers who have clearly formulated a request and perfectly understand what they are looking for.
That is:
- targeted advertising is used to familiarize the target audience with a product or service;
- and contextual advertising is aimed at stimulating immediate sales or upsells.
What about cost
You probably noticed that we did not compare CR and TR in terms of cost, because this is almost unrealistic. Prices for displaying ads of approximately the same format can differ by tens or even hundreds of times. After all, it all depends on a lot of factors:
- the level of competition in a particular niche;
- the selected format of a particular ad;
- topics, allocated budget, etc.
In which cases is it better to choose contextual advertising, and in which – targeted
Advertisers prioritize context in the following situations:
- It is problematic to determine the characteristics of the target audience. There are products whose target audience can be united by only one thing. For example, the need to repair a laptop or the desire to relax in a warm country. Targeting ads for such users is almost impossible (after all, demographic and social parameters do not play any role here). And the context will help to collect potential customers thanks to their specific requests, such as “buy a ticket to Goa”, “laptop repair service”, etc.
- Demand for a product or service has already been formed. If the target audience of a certain product/service has existed for some time, and the product itself is not something unique and fundamentally new (for example, clothing, pizza delivery services, etc.), then you also need to choose contextual advertising. And in this case, it makes sense to use the targeted one to disseminate information about promotions, discounts, and new arrivals at the warehouse.
- A complex or very expensive product is being sold. Among such products, one can distinguish complex IT solutions in the B2B (business to business) segment, sale of special equipment, supply of unique equipment for a narrow niche, etc. It also makes sense to publish contextual ads based on user requests. Moreover, in this way you can select those potential customers who are already ready to buy. Targeting to promote complex and expensive offers can also be used. But, only in combination with other SMM methods.
Targeted advertising is better to choose when:
- Some new unique product is being promoted on the market. By setting up and launching targeting with an advertisement for a new product, you can effectively communicate it to potential buyers. But, if you use only one targeting, then you should not expect a large influx of buyers, but in their heads, on a subconscious level, an image of a new offer will form. For example, targeted advertising is extremely effective when promoting a new mobile application, a platform with unique features, and other digital innovations in the market, which you can learn about by clicking on the link in the ad.
- The target audience is quite narrow and can be defined. Targeting advertising is possible (and necessary) if the product is initially aimed at a specific segment of consumers. For example, fashionable clothes and shoes, foreign language courses, textbooks, etc. can be advertised to young people. And for women over 40 – means to rejuvenate the skin of the face and maintain its health and beauty.
- Need to gather an audience for some upcoming event. With the help of targeting, you can effectively gather an audience for an upcoming party, exhibition, concert, performance, training, master class, webinar, and other event. And the effectiveness here is due to the fact that targeting will cover the maximum of the total number of representatives of the target audience with specific interests.
- You need to promote your own account, community, etc. in the social network. It is quite logical that if, for example, a new community is being promoted on VKontakte, then it should be promoted using targeted advertising on the same social network. The main thing is to correctly configure all the parameters of the target audience.
All of the above are general patterns and rules. And if you are a beginner who launches ads for the first time, then it is better to test both channels – both the target and the context, in order to evaluate their effectiveness and understand how to proceed.