Contextual targeting is one of a few different methods that you can use to get your display ads on sites, apps, and webpages that are part of the Display Network. This method of targeting uses the keywords or topics you’ve chosen to match your ads to relevant sites.
Contextual targeting starts with you adding content keywords or topics to ad groups in your Display Network campaigns. Keywords are individual words, whereas a topic is a webpage’s concepts or central theme rather than its individual terms.
Our system analyzes the content of each Display Network webpage or URL, considering factors such as the following:
- Text
- Language
- Link structure
- Page structure
Based on this analysis, the central theme of each webpage is determined.
By content keywords
When your keyword (using the “Content” keyword setting) matches a webpage’s concepts or its central theme, your ad is eligible to show on that webpage (also known as an automatic placement). Whether your ad actually shows there is determined by a number of factors, including your language and location targeting.
Example
Suppose you've created an ad group to advertise your car dealership’s latest lineup and you've included keywords like fuel efficient cars and 2015 electric cars. We use contextual targeting to identify and place your ad on Display Network pages that match those keywords.
By topic
When your topic matches a webpage’s central theme, your ad is eligible to show on that webpage. Whether your ad actually shows there is determined by a number of factors such as your language and location targeting.
Example
Let's imagine again that you want to show ads about electric cars that are for sale. You could add the sub-topic Autos & Vehicles > Vehicle Shopping > Vehicle Specs, Reviews & Comparisons to your ad group. This would help you target all pages on the Display Network related to car reviews and comparisons, regardless of whether your exact keywords appear on the page.
The tables below explain the effect of inclusive and exclusive targeting.
Inclusive targeting
| If contextual targeting (inclusion) is applied, where do ads serve? | |||
| Placements | Topics | Display/Video keywords | |
| In-stream | |||
| Watch next feed | |||
| Shorts | |||
| Home feed | |||
| Search feed | |||
Exclusive targeting
| Where do exclusion limits determine where ads can show? (For example, where ads can only serve to entities not matching the advertiser’s exclusion) |
||||||
| Placement exclusions | Topic exclusions | Keyword exclusions | Inventory type | Content label exclusion | Content type exclusion | |
| In-stream | ||||||
| Watch next feed | ||||||
| Shorts | ||||||
| Home feed | ||||||
| Search feed | ||||||
Next steps
- Add keywords to your ad group or campaign.
- Add topics to your ad group or campaign.
- Stop your ads from showing on sites you don’t like by adding negative keywords or excluding topics.
