Behavioral Targeting

Also known as: online behavioral advertising (OBA)

Behavioral targeting is a form of ad targeting that serves ads to users based on behavioural data collected about them. Rather than targeting based solely on the context of a webpage or a user's declared demographics, it draws on observed actions — such as browsing history, content consumption patterns, search queries, and purchase behaviour — to infer user interests and intent.

By grouping users into audience segments according to these behavioural signals, advertisers can deliver more relevant messaging to people who have already demonstrated interest in a product category or related topic. This approach is a cornerstone of modern programmatic advertising and underlies much of the personalized ad experience users encounter across the web and in apps.