What is targeting and why do companies order it

Modern business is focused on attracting customers, increasing conversion rates, and boosting profits. Traditional advertising that targets everyone indiscriminately no longer yields the same results. High competition, changes in user behavior, and social media algorithms require a more targeted approach. This is why companies actively use targeted advertising — a tool that allows displaying ads only to the relevant audience.

What is targeting and why do companies order it? It is a way of setting up marketing projects of various formats where ads are shown strictly to specific user groups. Audience selection is based on multiple parameters: demographic, geographic, behavioral, interests, devices, and other characteristics. This method not only reduces advertising costs but also increases its effectiveness.

How does targeting work, what tools are used to set it up, what formats exist, and why brands are increasingly ordering such advertising campaigns — a detailed analysis of all factors will help understand how crucial this solution is for businesses.

What is targeting: the mechanism of operation

Targeted advertising is a system for filtering the audience, allowing marketing content to be shown only to users who meet specific criteria.

Algorithms analyze people’s behavior on the internet: the websites they visit, the products they view, the posts they like and comment on. The collected data is processed on advertising platforms (Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, VK Ads, and others) and used to personalize ad displays.

Types of targeting: technologies used in advertising

Various systems offer several types of targeted advertising. Each of them is applied depending on the campaign’s goals, product specifics, and audience behavior.

Types:

1. Socio-demographic targeting: what is it? Audience targeting based on age, gender, education, income level, and marital status. Example: a premium cosmetics brand shows ads to women aged 25–45 with above-average income living in major cities.
2. Geotargeting. Setting up ad displays in a specific location. Used by restaurants, taxi services, local stores. For example, a pizzeria launches food delivery ads within a 5 km radius of its branch.
3. Behavioral targeting. Optimization based on users’ interests and actions on the internet. For example, a person searches for a bicycle, then sees ads for sports goods, helmets, and cycling clothing.
4. Retargeting: allows re-engaging customers who have already interacted with the website or product. Example: a user added a product to the cart but did not complete the purchase. A few days later, they receive a reminder and a discount offer.
5. Contextual targeting: operates based on keywords. If a user searches for “best smartphones of 2025,” they will see ads from an electronics online store with a selection of models.

Why companies order targeting: key advantages

Companies choose targeting as the primary promotion method for several reasons. This tool allows not just advertising a product but attracting genuinely interested buyers.

Advantages:

1. Budget savings. In traditional advertising, payment is made for the overall audience reach, including those uninterested in the product. Targeting works precisely: only displays and clicks from the target audience are paid for.
2. Increased conversion. The material is seen by users who have already shown interest in the product or services. This increases the likelihood of them making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or registering for a webinar.
3. Flexibility and adaptability. Targeting settings can be changed promptly. For instance, if the ad is not yielding expected results, age restrictions can be adjusted, new interests can be added, or different ad formats can be tested.
4. Analytics and precise metrics. Advertising platforms provide detailed statistics on views, clicks, conversions, and customer acquisition costs. This allows analyzing campaign effectiveness and improving it.
5. Personalization. Ads are created considering users’ interests. For example, the same brand can show different creatives to different audience groups: modern trends to the young, functionality and reliability to adults.

How to set up targeting: step-by-step guide

To launch a successful campaign, several key steps need to be considered, including:

1. Defining the target audience. Analyzing potential customers’ characteristics: age, interests, behavior, geography. This helps create a detailed customer profile.
2. Choosing the advertising platform. Different platforms operate with different algorithms. LinkedIn Ads is more suitable for B2B businesses, Instagram Ads for e-commerce, VK Ads for local services.
3. Creating creatives. Advertisements should be engaging and clear: images, videos, carousels, texts with calls to action.
4. Setting parameters. Audience characteristics are selected, and different combinations are tested (A/B).
5. Analyzing results and adjusting the strategy. Running ads requires constant monitoring.

Conclusion

What is targeting and why do companies order it? It is the opportunity to work not with hypothetical customers but with real people ready to make a purchase. This is why major brands, online stores, startups, and local businesses are focusing on personalized advertising that attracts the right network users, rather than just increasing the number of views.