Definition:

Contextual Marketing is a technique of marketing in which the advertisements are served based on the webpage content (such as its theme or overall look)

Information:

During the beginning phase of web-based marketing, advertisements delivered on web pages were allocated to early birds first. For instance, the first marketer was free to select the place where his ad was going to be shown regardless of the context of the page content. Newspaper advertisements also worked in much the same way. Google changed things.

For the first time, Google AdSense introduced the idea in the advertisement industry that took into account the context of the entire page to decide what kind of ad-campaigns the page will get. If a web-page, for instance, showcases furniture, then Google AdSense displays ads related to furniture or other household items. Thus, the aim is to enhance the click rate of the advertisement as ads must be relevant to the visitor’s interests. That doesn’t, however, mean contextual advertising is a solution for all issues.

Numerous software still cannot match the complexity of human communication. Thus, content containing irony or sarcasm, for example, might not be decoded properly. This leads the advertising system to present potentially risky results. For instance, an obituary page might foolishly present an ad about health or life insurance, or a dairy product or meat might be displayed on a page dedicated to vegetarians.

Source : Krcmic.com