Sometimes internet advertising can leave agencies, media planners, and brand marketers feeling like teenagers: lured by the latest technology, distracted by shiny new gadgets, and seduced by marketing savvy and trends. When we are deep in strategy talks with our clients and discuss ad targeting options, behaviorable targeting (BT) often comes up. Behavioral targeting—delivering ads based on a user’s browsing habits—is often considered an attractive and effective but controversial strategy. Though BT is not new or buzzworthy to us, it’s a tactic we don’t treat lightly.

There are many facts and realities that need to be considered before venturing into BT waters. In an effort to “keep it real” for our clients and avoid what we like to call fadvertising, let’s face the facts about behavioral targeting together. Today we’ll explore what behavioral targeting is, weigh a few BT pros and cons, and share the types of considerations we typically weigh before recommending behavioral targeting to our clients.

First, a quick primer on BT from Wikipedia:

And a few recent BT stats from eMarketer:

Behavioral targeting sounds like the perfect way to target ads and double conversion rates, doesn’t it? However, the reality is that the use of behavioral targeting raises many privacy concerns and recent studies indicate that a majority of US internet users reject it:

BT has been controversial from the start and may move from self-regulation to stricter opt-in regulation. Currently, internet users must opt-out of receiving behaviorally targeted ads. But privacy experts and advocacy groups feel that the notice-based model is outdated. As recently as last week, Federal Trade Commission Chairman John Leibowitz surprised many when he informed the Senate that the FTC might recommend a “Do Not Track” registry for behavioral targeting.

The above facts help highlight why we don’t recommend behavioral advertising without full disclosure. When venturing into online media buying on your own or assisted by an agency, we recommend proceeding with caution around BT to limit risks and avoid pitfalls. When we recommend a strategy or tactic, we like to provide strong rationale if something will benefit your overall marketing campaign. If we have not recommended behavioral targeting, then we have evaluated, with good reason, if this is a right fit for your advertising campaign.

Are Behaviorally Targeted Ads a Fad or Fate?

Scenario: You are idly surfing the web for dating advice, having just broken up and feeling pretty lonely, when you notice an ad for an online dating site. Ignoring it, you move on to other sites but the ad seems to follow you, becoming more progressive with each of your on-site actions in its promise to help you find true love. Do you: A) finally click the ad, feeling like fate intervened, pay the sign-up fee and start creating your dating profile on the spot; or B) feel like you’re being stalked, get a bit creeped out, and avoid the ad at all costs?

If your ads are being served this way, there’s a good chance your audience will have one of the two reactions above—is the risk of turning people off worth it? The truth is, a good media planner who carefully selects relevant, interest-targeted sites is effective without the aid of automated behavioral targeting technology. There are also safer avenues to consider, like the Google Content Network, which incorporates multiple targeting methods like location, age, interest level, content, keyword and contextual into your ads; cover all the latest campaign buzzwords in one network buy. Some media buyers view behavioral targeting as a fad and do not even present it as an option; if clients are adverse to the risks, BT may never make it past discussion stages.

On the other hand, there are certain situations where behavioral targeting is very appropriate, and can be extremely effective: when your ad offers a great value to the end user. For example, using the same scenario from above, what if that ad you saw offered a free sign-up or a free month of service? Would you be less offended and more willing to click it then? Most likely, yes. In other words, the value of the ad outweighs your uncertainty: it’s a very appealing offer that popped up at the right time as opposed to a sub par offer that just felt lukewarm. The point is, don’t use BT just to use BT with all its associated risks—make sure it’s appropriate and well-suited to your offer.

How to tell if you are a good candidate for Behavioral Targeting:

1. Your ads and placements offer increased relevance and value to end product users.
2. You have enough budget, time, and patience to use numerous simultaneous ads and multivariate testing.
3. You have a large enough budget to receive a high level of traffic before analysis of the metrics provide confidence that the probability of an offer will yield a conversion from a set behavioral profile.
4. Your message or offer evolves over time.
5. You are able to customize landing page content according to a user’s interests.
6. You have a sophisticated analytics team who can track and report progress.
7. You are able to set up audience segmentation and personas.
8. You can develop unique content or change it to be compelling within each segment.
9. You are able to follow best practices, FTC regulation, and The 7 Self-Regulatory Principles of Behavioral Advertising established by key regulatory trade groups such as the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Ensure you engage a network or are represented by an agency that is up to date on BT guidelines, discloses risks, and knows about regulations. Web Ad.vantage provides Online Media Buying & Planning services that incorporate a variety of tactics that achieve results. Let us help you decide if behavioral targeting is right for you.