Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 Online advertising helped me find, purchase and flip flop around in a new pair of sandals for my husband. Online behavioral ads use third-party tracking in the form of cookies. This collects and analyzes the user’s behavior online. When targeted correctly, online ads are helpful to the consumer and welcomed, rather than blocked due to that push marketing vibe. As a marketer, I’m fully aware of the time, cost and manpower it takes to do it right. Wearing my consumer hat (or sandals in this summery situation), helped me experience that perfect placement, timing, serving and usability to get to my purchase. Here’s what went down and what you can learn from it. I searched on Amazon, Zappos and Payless for a new pair of sandals for my husband. After a few minutes of searching, Amazon updated it’s right nav with the most popular sandals. Payless served up relevant shoes in their left nav and touted their BOGO sale (buy one get one). Later that day, I resumed my regular surfing, and these ads appeared: The more targeted the ad, the better. I found myself clicking through to many of these sites right from the ads. And while I didn’t buy the shoes online, I went into Payless and got a pair. Check out the husband’s kicks. As a marketer, this experience taught me a few things about effective behavioral targeting, including: Partner with a big ad server like AdChoices to spread your ad across many sites. Make the ads targeted and specific to exactly what the user is looking for (even venturing off sandals or men’s shoes felt like waste). Target right away. Don’t let your audience forget about you. Keep at it. Continue the targeting for days or weeks, if needed. Some purchasing decisions take a while to make. Know when to turn it off. If a purchase is made through your site, don’t target them again (especially with an ad promoting what they just purchased). This crosses the line from helpful to annoying. Be aware that this type of advertising can extend into breech of privacy. In other words, do it right or get burned. This MarketingSherpa post has more details. Have you experienced online ad targeting and was it helpful or hurtful? Share your experiences here. Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article originally appeared on A Media Mix and has been republished with permission.Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C Join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Author: Jay Leonard Jay is a UK-based cryptocurrency expert, specialising in fundamental analysis and medium to long term investments. Jay has a great deal of hands-on experience in analysing financial markets and performing technical analysis. Jay is currently focusing on the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and what it means for the future of … View full profile ›More by this author:Top Trending Meme Coins: ELON, HOGE, SAMO, TAMA, MARVIN, BABYDOGE, MONAHotbit Exchange Forced to Suspend Service As it’s Under Criminal InvestigationCameo CEO Steven Galanis Wallet Hacked – $231k Worth of NFTs Stolen