Ever heard of this term in any of your semesters? Yes ??? Probably your professors are teaching much beyond the University Curriculum!! Jokes apart!!
Behavioural Targeting is one of the primary tools in internet marketing. Started in the early 2005’s with the internet bubble, this trend grew by leaps and bounds. Today almost every company having a web presence (Which really uses the web to gain business and not for flashing on the Business Card) uses tools like Behavioural Targeting.
What is Behavioural Targeting?
Behavioural Targeting is the science of using online user surfing statistics in a manner, so as to enhance the the business for the advertising organisation + do not give the user what he does not want.
It is a not a technology that knows who you are but where have you been.
Let me elaborate this. When a user clicks on a certain site or a certain link the stats are stored in the database of the advertising company. Stats of thousands if not millions of users from across the segments are studied and then, only those advertisements are targeted to the users which they would be potentially interested in.
Let me give and example. Suppose I search for an MBA college in Google, then visit fifa.com then again search some more sites engaged providing MBA coaching in Mumbai. So what does Google observe from this. (Have you seen permission dialogue boxes popping up, while installing programs like Web Browsers etc, which say “Participate in our anonymous data collection program and help us know you better.” These are the kind of permissions which allow service providers to collect anonymous information about user tastes and preferences which are then used by the service providers for targeting potential customers) Coming back to the example, Google now has an idea that I am a male, love soccer. am in the age group of 20 – 30 years and am searching for a MBA Coaching Institute. Also I am out, looking for MBA colleges in and around Mumbai. Now what Google does is, instead of targeting me with random ad’s it targets me with ad’s of companies selling soccer related stuff or institutes providing MBA coaching and MBA institutions in and around Mumbai. Thus it has increased the chances of attracting my attention. Also it gets more money as I click on more ad’s and last but not the least I face less nuisance by getting less irrelevant ad’s.
Are there different types of Behavioural Targeting?
Yes, One is Behavioural Targeting and other is Contextual Targeting.
Where on one hand Behavioural Targeting involves keeping track of customers on a single site, Contextual Targeting deals with tracking customers within a range of sites.
Are there any tools available for Behavioural Targeting?
Of course there are IT companies developing and distributing software used for surfing habits of internet users
If there are any further queries, feel free to leave a comment and I will make sure they are promptly responded.
