Targeting local customers using the internet isn’t as easy as it should be. IP numbers are deceptive sometimes. The wise entrepreneur will use regional targeting AND national geotargeting in a campaign. Here’s why from Richard Ball:
Let’s look at a specific example: marketing for a bank in Columbia, Maryland. With Google’s system, it’s important to create two advertising campaigns, one with a national focus and one with a regional focus. The national campaign needs to include regional-specific keywords while the regional campaign should include more generic keywords. Why is the national campaign necessary? For two reasons:
- Google’s local targeting is achieved by correlating computer IP addresses to geographic locations. Users connected via large ISPs (like AOL) will be routed through proxy servers and the location of those proxy servers (at the ISP) will be the only location Google can ascertain. This location is often not anywhere near the actual searcher’s location.
- Many people search at work. If these searchers have a long commute, their geographic location might not match the location from a Google regional campaign. However, these searchers might be searching for products or services near their home and not their workplace.
No comments yet.