> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/target-content-based-on-a-panel.md).

# Target content based on a panel

Let a seed segment tell you which content to target, then activate the resulting URL list.

## Your goal

Find the content worth targeting when you know the *people* you want to reach but not the *context* they consume.

## Expected outcome

A live panel-based targeting list on a segment, with a lift threshold you chose deliberately, recalculated every night and activated on your ad platform.

## When this is useful

You have a segment that matters - high-value customers, subscribers, a converter audience - and you want to buy the content those people over-consume, including on inventory where you cannot address them as users. Panel-based targeting turns an audience into a content strategy.

If you already know the context you want - a sport, a topic, a set of brands - use [Target content based on semantic criteria](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/target-content-based-on-semantic-criteria.md) instead.

## Prerequisites

* The contextual module enabled on your organisation. Contact your Account manager.
* URLs and hits being captured. See [Prerequisites shared by both solutions](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference.md#prerequisites-shared-by-both-solutions).
* An existing segment to act as the panel.
* For activation: the [activation setup](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/contextual-activation.md#activation-setup-optional) completed on your environment.

## Concepts you need first

| Concept        | Where it is defined                                                                                                                 |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Lift and reach | [Lift and reach](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/panel-based-targeting.md#lift-and-reach)         |
| Targeting list | [Targeting lists](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/targeting-lists.md)                             |
| Targeting key  | [The targeting keys](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/contextual-activation.md#the-targeting-keys) |

## Steps

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open the panel segment

Go to an existing segment - this is your panel - and click the **Contextual Targeting** tab.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Start the content analysis

Click **Start content analysis on this segment**. The platform crawls the content, and especially the URLs, browsed by users in this segment, to determine which URLs are the most viewed relative to the whole datamart.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Read the reach per lift

Once the calculation is done, Navigator shows the **Reach** per **Lift**. Reach indicates how much a particular piece of content has been seen during the last 30 days by users in this segment, compared with the whole datamart.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Choose the lift threshold

Select the lift threshold, and with it the expected reach based on the past 30 days. This pair determines the **targeted page views ratio**, which is used to recalculate the appropriate lift threshold for URL selection every night.

While editing the lift value you can work out dynamically which URLs will be targeted, and therefore added to the contextual targeting JavaScript tag.

{% hint style="info" %}
Higher lift means content more distinctive of your panel, and less of it. Lower lift means more inventory and a looser association. Move the slider and watch the reach figure rather than picking a number in the abstract.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Go live

Click **Activate those settings**. Semantic analysis then runs on the targeted content your lift configuration selected, which lets the platform categorise URLs it has not seen before, and tells you what kind of content the users in this segment mostly browse.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Activate on your ad platform

Add a feed on the targeting list and fill in the mandatory information for the platform. The targeting key and values are created on the platform automatically. See [Activating a list](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/contextual-activation.md#activating-a-list).
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Verification

* The **Reach** per **Lift** chart is populated after the analysis.
* The list appears in the **Targeting lists** menu with the type `Panel-based`, a plausible **# URLs** count, and once activated, the platform named under **Activated on**.
* On the ad platform, the key `ct_panel_mics` exists, with the segment ID as its value.

## Maintaining it

You can edit your settings after activation with **Edit these settings**. Three things refresh nightly without any action from you: each URL's lift, the semantic analysis, and the contextual targeting JavaScript tag. See [What happens once it is live](/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/panel-based-targeting.md#what-happens-once-it-is-live).

## Troubleshooting

<table data-search="false"><thead><tr><th width="300">Symptom</th><th>Likely cause</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Very few URLs selected at your chosen lift</td><td>The panel is small, or its browsing is not distinctive. Lower the lift threshold, or widen the panel.</td></tr><tr><td>Content you expected is absent from the list</td><td>Only URLs with a minimum number of page views are taken into account. Your Account manager can check that minimum for your organisation.</td></tr><tr><td>The list is live but no targeting happens on the platform</td><td>The activation setup is incomplete - the contextual snippet, or the platform-specific configuration. See <a href="/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/contextual-activation.md#activation-setup-optional">Activation setup</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Related pages

<table data-view="cards" data-search="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Panel-based targeting</strong></td><td>How the analysis works, and what lift measures.</td><td><a href="/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/contextual-reference/panel-based-targeting.md">Panel-based targeting</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Target content based on semantic criteria</strong></td><td>The other route, when you can name the context.</td><td><a href="/audience-and-activation/target-contextually/target-content-based-on-semantic-criteria.md">Target content based on semantic criteria</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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