• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, February 28, 2012

Familiarity breeds use -- especially when it comes to technology. Apple did it through hardware; Microsoft, software. Search marketers who are familiar with keyword contextual targeting on the Google Display Network can now take that same process through Simpli.fi's demand side platform (DSP) and target ads through about a dozen ad exchanges by leveraging familiarity in a workflow that search marketers already use.

Simpli.fi, a DSP that supports both search engine and display marketing, will offer a feature called Keyword Contextual Targeting via its platform. The company's CEO Frost Prioleau tells me the targeting option enables marketers to use keywords to define, target, and optimize custom contextual categories for any campaign running on the company's platform. Brands can create custom contextual categories by uploading a list of keywords into Simpli.fi's platform.

Prioleau said many of Simpli.fi's search marketing clients already use GDN for contextual, so it's one familiar way to target display ads on pages related to keywords. Search marketers can also apply the feature to real-time bidding inventory. He calls it another example of "elemental-level" targeting, because targeting gets done at the keyword level rather than the contextual-segment level.

Keyword Contextual Targeting provides both brand and direct-response advertisers with more precise control and deeper insights than traditional contextual targeting campaigns, claims Prioleau. It enables advertisers to leverage keywords to pinpoint the pages where they want their ads to appear. As a result, advertisers can display ads only on the Web pages that contain content relevant to their offering. The feature also enables advertisers to bid, report, and optimize their contextual campaigns at the keyword level.

Thanks for reading. And if you get a chance, click over to the Data and Behavioral Insider blog Wednesday to read about how law enforcement officers have begun to use search engines to find information that could lead brands to target ads based on inaccurate search signals.