Online Behavior Advertising (OBA) describes a process in which companies attempt to display relevant content or advertising by collecting user data. This can be done using cookies on websites, for example. This marketing method is based on cookie technology.
This type of advertising is also known as “behavioral targeting”.
Online marketing practice defines behavioral targeting as follows:
Behavioral targeting is based on the analysis of an Internet user’s surfing behavior. For example, the click paths of an anonymous user profile are analyzed for this purpose.
If the user spends more time on websites that deal with the topic of “cars”, ads from car manufacturers can be displayed based on this previous surfing behavior. Behavioral targeting is based on cookie technology that analyzes the content of websites visited and interaction with advertising banners. Based on this data, a specific ad is displayed to the user. In this case, the time component plays a decisive role: advertising that is displayed to the user after the purchase is no longer relevant to them.
With OBA, companies do not know any personal data such as name, address or telephone number. With the help of a randomly generated ID number, an attempt is made to estimate the demographic background based on surfing behavior.
Relevant factors for online behavioral advertising
- Age group (e.g. 18-25 years)
- Gender (male or female)
- Purchasing interests (e.g. car accessories or clothing)
This targeted approach for interest groups can lead to a significant minimization of advertising waste. By knowing the needs of customers, content and advertising can be adapted to them.
Behavioral advertising on Amazon
Advertising on Amazon mainly only works at keyword level, i.e. when creating campaigns, Amazon keywords are stored for which ads are displayed when a search query is made, as is the case with Amazon Marketing Services, for example. Amazon uses a number of performance indicators to decide whether the stored keyword is relevant and whether an ad is displayed. It is currently almost impossible to track users’ activities on Amazon using cookies in order to obtain more information from potential customers.
Amazon is already making initial progress in reaching customers outside of Amazon with Amazon AAP. In addition, a pilot project is currently underway in the USA for Amazon Sellers.