Behavioral is Better Than Contextual

According to a recent study done by Forrester for RevenueScience, behavioral targeting advertising efforts are better for reaching online consumers than contextual advertising.

The study, which surveyed 2,035 online consumers, found that across 14 categories, between 10% to 22% more consumers were more receptive to behavioral targeting efforts than to contextual efforts.

“When marketers use behavioral targeting, they can be sure that 93 percent of the audience receptive to their ad shop online, and those consumers make a more attractive online advertising target because they represent a higher income bracket, spend more money online and shop online more frequently,” said Marla Schimke, vice president at RevenueScience. She concluded that behavioral targeting is “clearly the best performer.”

This obviously gives a clear vote of support to behavioral targeting efforts. Vendors and marketers who have not looked into this path should do so if they want to take advantage of a more responsive target audience that, incidentally, has more money to spend.

It seems like a no-brainer. The only hurdle could be the cost of implementing measures to realize this potential.

“Take advantage of the multiple steps of the purchase funnel where online shoppers leverage the Internet for more than just purchasing online