It’s 2020 and contextual advertising is still the buzzword in the industry. The implementation of privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA only fueled the popularity of contextual advertising. While this form of advertising has existed in the market for years, it recently made a comeback as the preferred method of advertising. This comes as no surprise since contextual advertising comes with a host of benefits for both publishers and advertisers.
Advertisers now have deeper pockets only for those ads that are hyper-relevant and target high intent users. In such cases, contextual advertising seems to be the logical way forward. But if you think contextual targeting still is how it used to be in the 90s, think again. AI and machine learning have come a long way and now contextual ads are served only after carefully scanning the content of the webpage - going as deep as the keyword level and the sentiment it expresses.
Contextual Advertising 2020
Given this scenario, there are one too many ad networks competing for audience attention and I have seen many of them succeed. One ad network that certainly stood out for me was Media.net. A contextual-first ad tech company, Media.net caters to 5,00,000 websites and 21,000+ publisher partners via its publisher program. The ad network has partnerships with big names in the industry such as Forbes, Webmd, MSN, Reuters, and GoodHouseKeeping.
Here’s why Contextual advertising is a must in your ad stack this year:
- What’s in it for the Publishers – One of the many ways publishers can earn substantial revenue is through contextual ads. Let me break it down for you.
- You absolutely need no audience data to display these ads
- Contextual ads are hyper-relevant and are served to audiences with high intent of action
- Media.net brings exclusive budgets as high as $6 billion from the Yahoo! Bing Network to the table, leading to increased revenue
- Media.net offers customizable sizes and designs so that your website shows ads that blend in well with the website.
- What’s in it for the Advertisers – As contextual advertising guarantees niche targeting to specific high-intent users, advertisers too are willing to pay higher than usual for such ads. This not only ensures more efficient use of working media capital but also promises higher clicks and more business. Contextual ads not only guarantee targeting audiences with high user intent but also promise brand-safe environments for brands.
Many publishers have realized that simply modifying user consent policies is a losing battle. It’s almost like trying to duct-tape the cracks of Titanic after it has hit the iceberg. This is why contextual targeting is perfectly placed to capitalize on the cookie crumbling, and more and more publishers are seen skewing towards this method of serving ads.
Contextual advertising seems to be the only logical way forward. Publishers that I’ve worked closely with have seen tremendous success, and I strongly recommend you incorporate contextual targeting into your strategy now!
