hmu.ai
Back to Marketing Dictionary
Marketing Dictionary

Behavioral Targeting

Definition

A technique used by online publishers and advertisers to increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by using data on user behavior.

Deep Dive

Behavioral targeting is an advanced advertising technique that leverages a user's past online activities and browsing history to deliver highly relevant and personalized advertisements. By analyzing data points such as websites visited, content viewed, searches performed, time spent on pages, and even purchasing patterns, advertisers can construct a profile of user interests and intent. This data collection often relies on cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to monitor user journeys across different websites and platforms.

Examples & Use Cases

  • 1An online shoe retailer shows ads for running shoes to a user who recently visited several running shoe product pages and read reviews on their site.
  • 2A travel website displays promotions for Caribbean cruises to a user who frequently searches for beach vacation destinations and looks at travel blogs.
  • 3After a user abandons a shopping cart with specific items, they start seeing retargeting ads for those exact items across various websites they visit.

Related Terms

RetargetingPersonalizationCookies

Part of the hmu.ai extensive business and technology library.