In brief: Behavioral targeting selects an advertising or content audience according to recorded behavior, such as visits, interactions, or purchases. Use must respect consent, purpose, and data limitations.
How I use Behavioral targeting in practice
I first define which decision it should clarify. I write down the current state, intended customer, available alternatives, and company constraints. Then I seek one change that can be made and verified. Theory is useful only when it helps choose a priority, owner, and action we will consciously not take now.
What to watch out for
Do not try to include every customer and channel. Behavioral targeting should help select and reject. Without boundaries it produces generic communication anyone could use. Another mistake is changing direction after every weak week instead of checking the original hypothesis.
Questions for decisions
- Which concrete decision should the term clarify?
- What supports our claim and what remains a hypothesis?
- What will we do differently because of this decision?
- Who owns the change and when will we assess its impact?