Below the IAB offers an introduction to the primary methods of targeting a campaign that will continue to see improvements over the coming years:

Demographic targeting

The old demographic targeting chestnut of targeting audiences based on key traits like age, sex, salary, location, socioeconomic class and marital status. Being a two-way medium, the internet has always been top-dog for demographic targeting because it allows for up-to-date and interactive collection of data.

A lack of consistency and poor planning on media owners’ parts has proven to be the biggest drawback in the past for online demographic targeting. In 2007 however, media owners have become smarter and more efficient at collecting and utilising user information for internet advertising.

Contextual targeting

Contextual advertising has always existed but has come into its own with the emergence of internet advertising. It is the placement of advertising next to related content such as a written webpage, user generated content, online video or in search results.

In 2007 there have been significant leaps forward in contextual internet advertising that allow for advertising to be positioned in ways that were never before possible. It allows for more precise targeting resulting in better attention from consumers equating to better exposure for brand building, higher clickthrough rates and ultimately increased return on investment (ROI).

Geographic targeting

At the moment geo-targeted internet advertising uses location based searches and websites with geo-specific content. These open up the option for geographical targeting already in a similar way to a regional newspaper. Google Maps and other similar offerings allow an individual to enter their postcode to find the location of local business already such as pizza deliveries.

However, the internet knows where you are - especially when using your mobile phone. While a user’s location could always be discerned roughly using an IP address, it is now entirely possible to pin-point a consumer’s location very accurately. In 2007/2008 geo-targeted internet advertising will begin to be based on a user’s actual location, so advertising specifically to Bognor Regis will no longer be the stuff of marketers’ fantasies.

Behavioural targeting

Behavioural targeting is the method of targeting individuals based on their past behaviour. By monitoring behaviour, marketers can learn patterns and attempt to predict ways to market to user behaviour in the future. The majority of behaviour is monitored anonymously with all data being aggregated confidentially - so meaningful behavioural information won't be tracked back to any one individual.

Search engines and display advertising are leading the field in behavioural advertising thanks to their immense reach. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft can monitor every search carried out and then offer trends based on the information provided by thousands of consumers with similar search patterns.

Display advertising (including rich media) can use behavioural targeting in an incredibly powerful way thanks to advertising networks and sales houses. These companies deliver display adverts to thousands of publisher sites like the Guardian, ITV and Sky. At the same time their technology is able to monitor consumer patterns such as the content people look at and then how likely they are to be stimulated by particular types of advertising.

As these giant global networks continue to collect data from the millions of consumers that access their pages, patterns and trends will continue to emerge allowing marketers to know more about the consumer than the consumer will ever know about their own subconscious buying patterns.