The Evolution of Targeting
From contextual to behavioral targeting and web3's onchain advantage
This is what separates effective marketing from noise.
Learn how targeting has evolved and why web3 offers unique advantages
Understanding where we've come from helps contextualize where web3 is now.
In the earliest days of web advertising, targeting online closely resembled offline media buying. Advertisers bought placements on specific sites much like they would buy space in newspapers or magazines. Often, these sites were run by the same publishing groups or broadcasters and served as extensions of existing media buys.
The first major shift in web targeting was contextual advertising, where ads shown on a site relate directly to the content being viewed. For example, if you visit a paper airplane website, you might be shown an ad for a book on paper airplanes. Google popularized this form of advertising. One of the strongest indicators of interest is what people actively search for, which is why search advertising remains powerful as an intent signal.
The next major evolution came with behavioral targeting.
“Behavioral targeting tends to outperform demographic targeting because it reflects what users actually do rather than who they are. What changes is the level of behavioral granularity the system allows you to target to.”— Alex Schultz, Click Here(source)Facebook's breakthrough was recognizing that behavioral signals (what people click, like, share, and comment on) predict conversion better than demographics (age, location, gender).
Someone who regularly engages with DeFi content is more likely to try your protocol than someone who just happens to be 25-35 years old in San Francisco (although this is a good indicator for an AI startup founder).