Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Among the 20 EU countries with available data for 2024, online advertising was used by more than 3 in 5 businesses in Malta (60.4%), and nearly half of businesses in Finland (49.8%) and Cyprus (49.4%). Meanwhile, this included less than 25% of businesses in Romania (22.8%), Poland (23.2%), and Portugal (23.6%). According to the European Statistical Office in Brussels, various methods can be used to personalize online ads. The most common method is using information from users' views of content on web pages or keywords from their queries, known as contextual advertising. This method is used by 76.8% of EU companies that pay for online advertising.
Meanwhile, 44.3% used geotargeting, a strategy that uses geographical information from IP addresses or network details to personalize content based on a user's location. To enhance effectiveness, geotargeting can be combined with other advertising methods to better attract potential customers. Behavioral targeting, used by 41.6% of companies that pay for online advertising, uses data from a user's past online activity, via cookies, to determine their interests and preferences. This data allows companies to design personalized ads by matching users with specific target audiences.
Finally, 45.3% of companies that pay for online advertising used other targeted advertising methods.