This is how a producer of premium diapers would probably specify his target group to be reached via TV or radio campaign: female inhabitants of large cities, aged 25-39 with average or higher income. However, this group could also include women with small children and mothers-to-be. Moreover, the same set also comprises emancipated singles and well-off mums who have their shopping done by grandmas or nannies.

So how could one precisely target an advertisement to the right persons? The internet offers some considerable opportunities in this respect. With the proper analytical tools at hand, it becomes possible to determine whether an online user is a mother, to tell the age of the child, and define the financial potential of her to buy the upper shelf product.

Do mums read only about child care?

Online mothers are easily spotted on websites devoted to baby care and upbringing. That’s quite obvious. But where else could publishers place their young mums-targeted ads in order to get the expected impact?

All you have to do is identify which of the internet users are actually mothers. This can be done by analyzing the manner in which individuals browse a website. They usually are interested in the child section, but also would normally enter other pages. For instance, one group of young mothers may start a visit with a reconnaissance in the news section, then proceed to the page about children related matters, and finally enjoy some video content on celebrities. Other group of moms could check out the women section twice a week and browse cuisine related articles, but then once every week seek for recipes for allergic children. If these processes are thoroughly analyzed, one can point out to types of behaviour characteristic of mothers using the web. Consequently, different patterns of behaviour can be compared with other internet users visiting a researched website. If anyone browses the website in a way defined as being typical for a mother, then even if the parenting section is omitted by such person, then it is highly probable that the individual is a mother too.

How to effectively use the knowledge about mothers’ online behavior?

With the appropriate tools for internet analytics, you can identify the key correlations and delineate groups of internet users who display the same patterns of online behaviour. As a next step, based on cookie files, the internet users may be grouped and this way you can check what segment young mothers fall in. Then the chosen target group may be displayed the desired ads. One should bear in mind that young mothers do not only enter websites devoted to bringing up children. If you know which of the cookies belong to women who have children, then there is hardly any significance about the fact where the files exactly appear. This knowledge is precious for both advertisers and publishers.

By compiling internet users groups of the right socio-demographic profile and regular updates to the associated cookies list, you can accurately define who should be the target of your communication. One can also learn where the advertisement must be placed, as the frequency at which the cookie (i.e. the person belonging to the desired target group) is noticed in the selected part of the website is known. What is even more, the message can be adjusted in response to the current sales performance. This can be done with internet analytics tools which facilitate defining internet user segments, and with the adserver system supporting ad displays and assessing the effectiveness of online activities.

Who may benefit?

Precise cookie-based definition of who should be displayed what ad brings benefits to advertisers and publishers alike. Advertisers are offered a chance to get through to their target groups, while publishers can sell their ad space in new locations or identify user groups not only through socio-demographic profiling, but also through concrete needs and behavior of users.

There is also the third group of satisfied people – it’s the 25-39 year old women. Mothers or not, they do appreciate the fact that the ads they see displayed are relevant and match their needs and interests.