Contextual advertising is advertising on any website that is targeted to a specific individual visiting the site. The keywords that are so vital for any website are scanned by the contextual ad system and then they come up with relevant advertisements for that website.

Often, contextual advertising is used by different search engines to display ads on their respective results pages, again based on the key words the user has searched for. Key words here depend on the tastes and preferences of the customers and their habits, the sites they surf and the products that they browse etc.

So ideally this process should yield very positive results, but then why theseads are missing their mark and why there is no great impact. Monitoring personal data for content is done privately but very securely, and in this scenario everything should be in sync. But unfortunately, the real picture is not as cozy, and users are not at all happy. Because in spite of the fact that all their movements are being monitored the service that is being provided is not of the expected quality; after all this is the least the user can expect after they have paid for their data, and this is where the main problem lies. The users want to avail the best service, but they are not getting what they are paying for.

For instance a site like Facebook, which monitors our every movement, keeps a tab on our interests, our preferences our dislikes and almost everything the sun. Yet, the contextual ads that they provide are almost never in tune with the requirements and are sometimes completely off-color. Compared to the amount of personal data collected, the advertisement provided in the bargain is completely random.

So then this is the bone of contention: first they pay for the service available and then secondly every movement of the user is monitored and scrutinized, hence this heart burn for the customers.

Another poignant example is google-ads. If suppose I look for a pair of running shoes on Flipkart, and then surf other sites, different types of shoes will flood my webpage for weeks together. Now how this is relevant is still a mystery and is one of the biggest concerns.

It boils down to the type of algorithm used. For example, if on Facebook we scroll through the timeline of any of our friends or families, we will find there are a number of posts that does not appear on our timelines. This is the intriguing part, since on what basis is this decided is still very confounding. The only way these shortcomings can be nullified is through meticulous planning, configuration of the campaign, emphasis on key words, and flexibility that will allow the advertisements to be regulated according the changing scenario. Clearly, these parameters are not being followed hence these problems are facing us.

Any publisher should not only possess the above mentioned skills, but also should be adept at proof-reading, copy-editing and should also be a good analyst. Also, ideally one should keep a track of the changes and latest trends that are on in the market and should keep incorporating them into his campaign. What we mean by keeping abreast with the trends is that the placement of ads should be according to them.

Another reason why contextual ads may fail is the fact that owing to the same audience, stagnancy could creep into their tastes, and hence rotation of ads is mandated in such scenarios.

Always keep the platform open for public discourse and never be shy to voice your concerns.