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By Matt Cocking

The Forgotten Art of Location Targeting: A Deep Dive

Last Updated 20 Jan 2025

Google Ads Location targeting remains a cornerstone of successful campaigns. By choosing the right geographical locations for your marketing campaigns, you can reach the best audience. This helps you save money and get the most from your investment.

What is Location Targeting?

Location targeting, otherwise known as geo targeting, allows advertisers to control where their ads appear based on geographic criteria. This can encompass a wide range of options, including:

  • Countries: Target entire countries or specific regions within them.
  • Cities: Focus on specific urban areas.
  • Regions: Target states, provinces, or other regional divisions.
  • Postal codes: Target specific postal codes or zip codes for precise targeting.
  • Radius targeting: Set a specific distance around an address or point of interest. This helps target users within that area.

Check out our talk from BrightonSEO. Matt Cocking explains how to do Location Targeting. You can also keep reading for more instructions.

Beyond Basic Targeting:

Google Ads offers sophisticated location targeting options:

  • “Present in”: Targets users physically located in the specified area.
  • “Regularly in”: Targets users who frequently visit or commute to the specified area.
  • “Showed interest in”: This targets users who have shown interest in a specific location. They do this through search queries or other online activities.

By effectively utilising these options, advertisers can refine their targeting and ensure their ads reach the most receptive audience.

The Importance of Accurate Location Targeting:

  • Increased Relevance: Display your ads to users who are likely to be interested in your products or services based on where they are.
  • Improved ROI: Optimise your budget by focusing on areas with the highest conversion potential.
  • Enhanced Customer Experience: Deliver targeted messages that resonate with local audiences and their specific needs.
  • Competitive Advantage: Gain a competitive edge by reaching customers in your local market more effectively than your competitors.

The Problem: Misaligned Targeting

A frequent observation is the misalignment between keywords and location targeting. For example, a law firm focusing on “employment lawyer Watford” may overlook clients outside that location targeted area. Potential clients may still search for an employment lawyer in Watford, even if they are far away. Conversely, targeting “employment lawyer near me” with nationwide coverage can lead to irrelevant impressions and clicks.

The Solution: Keyword-Location Alignment

To optimise location targeting:

  • Align targeting with search intent: For location-specific keywords (e.g., “employment lawyer Watford”), target the specific area. For broader terms (e.g., “employment lawyer near me”), consider broader targeting options or even global coverage if relevant
  • Leverage the “present in” and “regularly in” options to target areas based on a user location or a location they frequently visit.
  • Take it to the next level with bulk targeting radius locations
  1. Gather Data:

  • Compile a list of locations: Obtain a list of relevant locations (e.g., store addresses, points of interest).
  • Extract postcodes: If necessary, extract postcodes from the list of locations.

  1. Geocode the Data:

  • Utilise a geocoding tool: Use a tool like [https://www.doogal.co.uk/BatchGeocoding] to convert postcodes or addresses into latitude and longitude coordinates.

  1. Prepare Data for Google Ads Editor:

  • Open the geocoded data in a spreadsheet (Google Sheets or Excel).
  • Create a new column: Use the CONCATENATE function to combine the following into a single string for each location:
  • distance unit: (e.g., 1km:)
  • latitude:
  • longitude:
  • Example: (1km:51.5074:-0.1278( (for a 1km radius around a location with latitude 51.5074 and longitude -0.1278)
    Excel formula: =CONCATENATE(“(“, “1km:”, A2, “:”, B2, “)”)

  1. Upload Data to Google Ads Editor:

  • Open Google Ads Editor.
  • Navigate to “Keywords and Targeting” -> “Locations.”

  • Select your campaign.
  • Click “Make Multiple Changes.”

  • Select “Location” from the drop-down menu.
  • Paste the concatenated data into the first row.

    Click “Process” to apply the changes.

5. Google Ads View:

 

Benefits of this Approach:

  • Efficiency: Significantly reduces the time required to set up radius targeting for multiple locations.
  • Accuracy: Ensures consistent and precise targeting based on specific coordinates.
  • Scalability: Easily adaptable to campaigns with numerous locations.

Conclusion

By mastering location targeting techniques, advertisers can improve their campaign performance. This includes using advanced methods for bulk radius targeting. These strategies help increase ROI and deliver more relevant ads to the target audience.

Businesses can improve location-based advertising in Google Ads. They can do this by matching keywords with location data. Using effective methods for bulk targeting also helps.

Disclaimer: This blog post provides general guidance and all points are for demonstration purposes only. Always check the official Google Ads documentation for the latest information and best practices.

Need help with Location Targeting, or just want to understand it further? Contact our motivated and creative team of digital marketing experts today. We will bring results right to you!