What is contextual advertising?

Contextual advertising is an online advertising method in which ads are displayed based on the content of the web page the user is viewing, rather than on the user’s prior browsing history or behaviour.

In simpler terms, when a user visits a page about "running shoes," they might see ads for athletic footwear because the ad‑network analyses keywords and topics on that page, then matches relevant ads. This helps avoid relying on personal tracking and aligns ads with the user’s immediate interest.

How does contextual advertising work?

Here’s a simplified breakdown of how contextual advertising works:

1. The ad platform or network scans the content of a webpage (text, images, metadata) to understand what that page is about.
2. Keywords, topics or category labels are extracted and matched against the advertiser’s targeting settings or inventory.
3. An ad is selected and displayed on the page in real‑time, aiming to align the page’s content with the ad’s theme so that the ad appears relevant and “in‑context”. Because it relies on page content rather than tracking user history, contextual advertising is increasingly important in privacy‑conscious environments.