With everything we do online, information is gathered about our behaviors. Some information gathering can be obvious, like if we search for a car, we may start seeing ads for that car. However, it’s the ads that show up that are relevant, but we didn’t search for, that can take us back.
Information gathering and ad targeting is not only coming from searches. Marketers use information retrieved through behavioral targeting to select ads they think will appeal to you based on your unique online behavior. Everything you do online including clicks, searches, social media, and what you’ve bought and browsed can be gathered to better promote products and services to you. Content you create and posts you interact with, apps and features you use as well as frequency gives insight to maximize relevancy and effectiveness of the ad.
In addition to behavioral targeting, first-party data is collected directly from individuals by companies or organizations through interactions, transactions, or engagements with their own website, mobile app, or other owned platforms. Your online behaviors give insight into what ads would be best placed in front of you for marketers to run successful ad campaigns.
For example, when it comes to Facebook, you’re interacting with the platform, so it starts to learn what you’re interested in based on content you create, posts you interact with, and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities while using the app. Amazon has multiple different avenues of collecting first-party data through their different platforms resulting in cross-platform ad targeting. They may use information they gathered from you when you were using their website to promote ads to you while you listen to Amazon Music.
Ads know so much about all of us because of how our phones are used and integrated into most facets of our lives for both business and leisure. Our information is integrated into the apps we download and use, and the behaviors surrounding the use of the apps results in data being gathered. This data is applied to behavioral targeting to promote relevant ads to you that make it appear as if they know you.
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