Geo-Targeting for Paid Search - How Accurate Is It?
The Accuracy of Geo-Targeting and How to Use it to your Advantage
I recently returned from SMX Advanced in Seattle, where one of the topics covered during the "Mythbusting PPC Urban Legends" session included a conversation about how accurate geo-targeting a paid search campaign actually is.
Everyone was in agreement that geo-targeting can positively influence a campaign, however, it is important to know how to effectively geo-target a paid search campaign to increase performance and not misuse your marketing dollars.
How Geo-Targeting Works
As of right now, geo-targeting is tracked by IP addresses. This method is pretty accurate, but if you review your analytics and notice traffic spikes in Reston, VA and Sunnyvale, CA, don’t go adjusting your geo-targeting just yet. Reston is where the AOL datacenter is located, and Sunnyvale is where another huge datacenter is located, so all traffic goes through there, thus, proving that it is not 100% accurate. To help increase accuracy, each of the search engines are continuing to make advances in their geo-targeting capabilities, including incorporating personal info supplied by their users (such as an email account) to narrow down where they are located better. However, this is still not used consistently enough. Also there are many people that have Hotmail and Yahoo email accounts, yet use Google to search.
Who Should Use Geo-Targeting?
Geo-targeting is a great tactic for local and regional businesses. If your company only offers shipping in certain states, which is the case with wine distributors, or services are only offered in one city, like a local hair salon, then advertising in other markets where you will never acquire new customers is not logical. Instead of the default U.S. targeting, change the focus of your campaign to the areas where the business has the greatest opportunities for growth.
As of today, every search engine offers geo-targeting at multiple levels, including:
International
National
State
City
Zip code
I do not recommend targeting by zip code just yet, because the technology just isn't there. For a small business only wanting to advertise in a small geographic location, testing your targeting at the city and zip code level will be beneficial. For example, large metropolitan areas, like Phoenix, are made up of many smaller cities, so geo-targeting cities within the Phoenix area, such as Scottsdale or Tempe, along with the zip codes 85281 and 85257, can benefit your campaign, and ensures that you are targeting all relevant areas.
Include Geo-Related Keywords in your Geo-Targeting Campaign
Another way to increase your campaign’s relevancy is by using geo-modified keywords. Before geo-targeting, this was only way to geographically target a paid search campaign. If your company sells soccer shoes in Phoenix, include “phoenix soccer shoes” into your keyword list, because when a search with a geo-modifier is conducted, you know the searcher is looking for soccer shoes in Phoenix, AZ, not California or New York. Also, if you have stores in a city with the same namesake in other states, like Springfield, IL (there are 11 other Springfield’s in the US), include negative keywords of the other states in your campaign.
Modifying your campaign’s geo-targeting is essential for success these days, and because the technology is enhancing daily, now is the best time to test. With the variety of options available from the search engines today, selecting the correct targeting does require additional research and review of your analytics, but can definitely help improve the targeting of your campaign and focus your marketing budget on attracting more qualified customers.
About the Author: Ellen Stevens
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1 comment so far
Amy says:
Good stuff, El and so true! We run into the same thing with online display advertising and some of the pitfalls of geo-targeting. Very important to keep in mind. Maybe someday soon PPC can be behavioral targeted too, like online display ads:).