Reference / Glossary / Targeting and data
Contextual Targeting
Placing ads based on the content of the page, video, or app rather than on who the user is. Contextual targeting requires no personal data, which has made it the default privacy-safe method as user-level signals decline. Modern contextual vendors classify pages with natural language models against the IAB Content Taxonomy and custom categories, well beyond the keyword matching of earlier generations.
Used in The Signal
Cite this entry:
Agency Echelon. "Contextual Targeting." Agency Echelon Reference, reviewed September 2026. https://agencyechelon.com/reference/glossary/contextual-targeting/