Which statement best describes contextual targeting?

• A. It targets audiences based on surrounding content and context rather than user data; helpful when privacy constraints are high or data is limited.
• B. It relies on explicit user identifiers across devices.
• C. It uses only demographic data.
• D. It always requires cookies to function.

Answer: (A)

Contextual targeting focuses on the content and context of the page to decide which ads to show, rather than who the user is. This makes it a privacy-friendly approach, since it analyzes topics, keywords, and page categories to align the ad with what the user is reading, rather than building a profile from user data. This is why it’s especially useful when privacy constraints are high or data is limited.

Choices that rely on explicit user identifiers across devices describe a different approach that uses individual fingerprints or identities rather than page content. The idea of using only demographic data also misses the contextual angle, since demographics don’t reflect the page topics. And the notion that cookies are always required isn’t inherent to contextual targeting—contextual methods can work with or without cookies, focusing on content rather than user tracking.