Targeting Option - Contextual Targeting (for Websites and Web-Based Apps)

Contextual Targeting is applicable to Video, Display, Native, and Email campaigns.

Contextual targeting allows you to target prospects based on the websites and web-based apps they visit by matching your ad message with relevant keywords and categories. 

This strategy ensures that your ads are placed on websites and web-based apps that are directly related to the product or service being advertised. For example, for Search campaigns, when a prospect enters a keyword that matches your ad message, your ad will be shown.

Contextual targeting is a timely and relevant targeting option where ads are optimized to appear when a user actually needs the product/service.

Pre-Campaign Segment Creation (for Cross-Channel)

The contextual segment is created before you create your campaign and ad group. This is an optional step and can be linked to both a Search or a Display campaign, depending on the ad message and industry targeting.

1.  Under the Utility menu, select Segments.
   
   
2. Click on +Segment.
   
   
   
   
3. Name your segment and type the most relevant keywords related to your industry and ad message. You can also input a URL related to your industry or competitor and click enter.
   
   This will give you a list of keywords that match the entered URL. You can also save keywords based on your ad strategy by entering  Desirable, Required, and/or Excluded keywords for your segment.
   
   
   
   
4. To extract more relevant keywords for you, XPO will automatically analyze and suggest semantically related words to the keywords and web URL you entered. You can select a few and click + to include them in your segment.
   
   
5. Suggested Keywords in the system are based on the keywords you entered first. These keywords are more generic and cover a broader view of the prospect's intents. 
   
   
6. Select either the URL you entered or a matched URL from the list. Then, click Page Analysis to view suggested keywords. Add these keywords to your segment by clicking + Add Keywords. 
   
   
   
   
7. Matched Apps gives you a list of web-based apps (Google Play Store and Apple App Store) related to your keywords. XPO will target your ad messages to these apps as they fall within the category of your selected keywords.
   
   
   
   For instance:
   
   

   Google Play Store	Apple App Store

8. XPO also detects the language of your keywords. You can check the dropdown list and opt for any of our supported languages for your contextual segment. 
   
   
9. Based on the selected keywords, you can also choose to exclude or select required for certain words.
   
   
10. Once finished, click Save. XPO will save your new Segment that you can link to a Display or Search ad group.
    
    
11. After saving the segment, you will be directed to a page containing:
    
    i) Your final Keywords
    ii) Search Phrases (suggestions which can be used for your Search campaigns)
    iii) The Programmatic (Display, Native, Video) section, displays a sample list of websites and web apps matched to your keywords and URLs.
    
    From the Programmatic matched Website URLs, you can extract keywords to add to your segment using page analysis. Once you save these changes, the added keywords will be part of your final defined Keyword list.
    
    

Contextual Targeting For Display, Native and Video

1. Select a campaign and create a new ad group by clicking on + Ad Group.
   
   
   
   
2. Select Display, Native, or Video ad groups. Fill in the ad group details and click Save. 
   
   
   
   
3. Open the new ad group and click on Segments from the sidebar.
   
   
   
   
4. a) Click on Add Segment to select XPO built-in grained segments, related to various industries. You can select the ones most suitable for your ad.
   
   b) If you have created a new built-in pre-campaign contextual segment (as explained in the steps above), click on Add Sub Segment and link the new segment for the ad group.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Save to save the contextual targeting option for the ad group.  

Contextual Targeting For Search

1. Select a campaign and create a new ad group by clicking on +Ad Group.
   
   
2. Select Search ad groups. Fill in the ad group details and click Save. 
   
   
   
   
3. Launch the new search ad group and click on Keywords from the sidebar.
   
   
   
   
4. Click on + Search phrase. To select XPO built-in grained segments, there are 2 ways to generate keywords:
   
   a) Input a URL from where you want to extract keywords from, and click save, OR
   
   
   
   b) If you have created a new built-in pre-campaign contextual segment (as explained in the steps above), select the new contextual segment from the drop-down list and link the new segment for the ad group. Here you can also select XPO built-in keywords related to your industry.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Save to save the contextual targeting option for the ad group. 

• After you save a contextual segment, you can always go back to edit the name or keywords. 
• You can clone contextual segments across campaigns and ad groups.
• If you clone campaigns or ad groups with a contextual segment, the segment will also be cloned.

FAQs

1. When you save a segment, are all the keywords automatically included?

No, however, by default all words are Desirable (XPO's machine learning algorithm will form a context from all keywords to capture the prospect's intent). In XPO you have the option to select which words are Required (keyword will have to appear in the content of the search intent of the prospect or webpage data they browse) or Excluded (must not appear in the content).

Required and Excluded are additional tools that help you further customize your segment by specifying which should/should not appear in the content. 

2. Are broad keywords better for capturing a greater audience or specific to my product or service? 

It's recommended to be specific to your brand and product, however, make sure not to be too narrow in your keyword selection as you may end up with a lower reach.

Including a few broader meaning keywords related to your brand is effective at reaching a wider audience.

3. Is there a limit on the number of keywords I can input in XPO?

No, however, XPO recommends a maximum of 20-50 keywords. It's important to keep your contextual segment focused and relevant to your product and brand. For instance, using over 100 keywords can make your segment too broad and less effective in reaching your target audience.

4. Can I select keywords from 'Search Phrases' for my display ad group segment?

While you can use them, it is not recommended. Search Phrases are suggestions for the Search ad group segments only, and thus may not be suitable for display ads.

5. How many languages do you support for contextual targeting?

As of now, XPO supports 17 languages. You can build a contextual segment for any of these languages and link it to your campaign.

No.	Language
1	Arabic
2	Bahasa Indonesia
3	Simplified Chinese
4	Traditional Chinese
5	English
6	Japanese
7	Korean
8	Thai
9	Vietnamese
10	Bahasa Malaysia
11	Deutsch
12	Russian
13	Swedish
14	Hindi
15	French
16	Spanish
17	Bengali

6. Can we know the estimated reach of our new segment before applying it to the ad group?

After you build and save the segment, XPO gives you an estimated global impressions rate only (Inventory Size). This is because the geolocation factor of the ad group is not included yet. 

7. Do you support in-app mobile contextual targeting?

Currently, we only support web-based contextual advertising. You can still target an app but only if the app has web views. 

8. Does XPO look into the content of an in-stream ad while analyzing the context for our contextual segment?

No, XPO only analyzes the webpage content and not in-stream video content.