24/7: Behavioral Targeting Yields Inconsistent Results
The study, the second in a quarterly series by 24/7 Real Media, found that marketers achieve varying results with content-based behavioral targeting--that is, serving ads to online users based on their Web surfing behavior.
24/7 Real Media based its report on hundreds of behaviorally targeted campaigns run during the first quarter of this year across hundred of sites, said Jack Smith, vice president, product strategy at 24/7 Real Media. The vast majority--91 percent--of impressions appeared on run-of-network inventory, while 7 percent ran on tier 2 inventory and 2 percent were on premium pages.
Overall, the report concluded, advertisers saw higher click-through rates, but not consistently so. "There are no hard and fast rules that we could draw," Smith said. "It depends on who you're targeting and how well you know that audience."
One example of a behavioral targeting initiative that didn't pan out involved a fourth-quarter effort to serve ads to Web users categorized as potential DSL subscribers based on their visits to tech sites. Results would have been better, concluded the report, had the ads been limited to consumers who were connecting via dial-up.
But, in other situations, content-based behavioral targeting lowers advertisers' acquisition costs while increasing the value of publishers' inventory, according to the report. On average, the report concluded, publishers increased the value of their inventory by 22 percent by using behavioral targeting.
Advertisers also saw higher click-through rates, but results varied depending on category and other factors, including the ads' context. For example, ads served to consumers classified as "techies" saw higher click-throughs on sites related to news and technology than on entertainment sites.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Google+ Needs Android To Climb Out Of Experimental Phase May 20, 9:24 p.m.
Marketers continue to view Google+ as a fledgling network requiring experimentation, although the company released a ... -
AOL, Support.Com Settle Scareware Lawsuit For $8.5 Million May 20, 5:20 p.m.
Web company AOL and software vendor Support.com will pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought ... -
Gmail Hangouts Disable Google Voice May 20, 3:23 p.m.
Google's new version of Hangouts for Gmail eliminates Google Voice features. The move is frustrating heavy ... -
Digital Boost: Ziff Davis Acquires NetShelter May 20, 3:19 p.m.
Ziff Davis on Monday announced the acquisition of content network NetShelter from ad platform inPowered. Financial ... -
LikeableAds.com Launches, With Focus On Social Media Ads May 20, 3:04 p.m.
To keep up with growing demand from Madison Avenue, the social marketing consultants at Likeable Media ... -
Yahoo To Ramp 'Native' Ads On Tumblr May 20, 1:37 p.m.
With its $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo on Monday made clear that it plans to ... -
Gigya Improves Marketing, Adds 21 Social, Tech Partners May 20, 9:15 a.m.
Social services startup Gigya on Monday is expected to announce the addition of 21 social and ... -
Health/Wellness Shop Diversifies Into Happiness, Launches Platform To Fuel It May 20, 9:06 a.m.
The CementBloc, a spunky New York-based agency specializing in health and wellness marketing, is diversifying into ... -
Yahoo To Buy Tumblr For $1.1 Billion May 19, 7:26 p.m.
The Yahoo board has agreed to acquire popular blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, ... -
Weather.com Develops Real-Time Data Ad Targeting May 17, 5:12 p.m.
Weather.com has begun using audience segmentation data from Lotame to develop real-time targeting services based on ...
Be the first to comment on "24/7: Behavioral Targeting Yields Inconsistent Results"
Leave a Comment