Google has announced a new service that enables Display ad partners to promote their products and services based on contextual relevancy. The company is allowing businesses to specify not only keywords, but also topics that fit their products and services.

Google has announced a new service that enables Display ad partners to promote their products and services based on contextual relevancy. The company is allowing businesses to specify not only keywords, but also topics that fit their products and services.

Google explains that it is rolling out a topics targeting option this week. The contextual targeting options lets advertisers choose from more than 1,750 topics to help them “quickly reach a broad audience across the web that's actively engaged with content related to [their businesses].”

The new feature will likely benefit brands, as contextual targeting has helped a number of the company's ad partners in the past. Last summer, Brafton reported that Seventh Generation boosted sales with contextual content for the Google Display Network.

Notably, one of the targeting topics promoted by Google is its “News & Current Events” topic, which can be narrowed down by subcategory according to industry. The company suggests that pairing products with industry developments may help brands reach an audience of “enthusiasts,” with the ultimate suggestion being that news will demonstrate a need for products or services in light of ongoing developments.

Display ads can be one way to promote products alongside related news topics, but marketers can also consider adding custom news content to their sites to this end (and also to position their brands as thought leaders). As Brafton has reported, businesses in a number of industries are planning to boost their content marketing efforts this year.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.