Skip to content
The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryAdtech & ProgrammaticContextual Targeting

Adtech & Programmatic

Contextual Targeting

Placing ads based on the content of a page or video rather than the viewer's identity.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Appears in Lesson 6 of Programmatic 101

Short answer

Contextual targeting is the practice of placing ads based on the content of a page, app, or video rather than on the identity or tracked behavior of the viewer. Systems analyze text, images, or audio to match ads to relevant topics. It has gained importance as privacy rules and cookie restrictions limit user-level targeting.