Google Ads Location Targeting: Best Practices to Boost Conversions

Location targeting in Google ads enables us to reach potential audiences and customers in any specific area. We can trigger Google ads in our desired locations when anyone searches in Google in that area or based on users’ interests & demographics.

The location feature is one of many Google Ads’ options that help us bring more leads or sales for our business.

How Does Google Ads Location Targeting Work?

Let’s talk of Google Search Ads. We use keywords and set up campaigns and decide the location in which our customers can be searching for our products of services. 

While creating a search campaign, we get the option to include regions to target our ads. Location targeting can be at different levels like

• Country
• State
• City
• Regions
• Zip code
• Radius targeting around your business or any location.

We can even exclude the location in which we don’t want to show our ads.

Support, If you are targeting your ads to the whole country but don’t want ads to show users in a particular city then you can exclude that city. As a result, your ads will be visible to everyone in that country except that location.

HOW TO USE LOCATION TARGETING IN A GOOGLE ADS CAMPAIGN?

Location can be added or excluded at two places. 

1. Go to the campaign setting or while setting a new campaign, you fill find the option to add or exclude your location. You can try your location name and select/exclude it.
2. Once the campaign setup has been completed, you can Add/exclude or update the location on the left-side navigation menu. Look for the Locations Option and go there to update your locations.

Location Targeting Options in Google Ads

From left navigation

Advanced Location Targeting Options in Google Ads

To make your campaigns even more effective, Google Ads offers advanced location targeting settings. Under the campaign setting, you get advanced location options to target people are physically present in that location or people who has also shown interest in your targeted location but may not be present in that location.

1. Presence-Based Targeting: Show ads to users who are physically present in your target area.
2. Interest-Based Targeting: Reach users who have expressed interest in your target location, even if they aren’t physically there.

This help us to reach more potential customers and we can have better conversions.

Google Ads Radius Targeting

Radius targeting in Google Ads is particularly useful for small businesses that rely on proximity, such as local restaurants, clinics, or home service providers. With this option, you can display ads to people within a specific distance from your business.

Steps to Set Up Radius Targeting:

1. Go to your campaign settings and select “Location Options.”
2. Choose the “Radius” option and enter the desired distance (e.g., 10 km).
3. Adjust the radius to include or exclude specific areas for precise targeting.

Optimization Tips for Location Targeting in Google Ads

To get the most out of your Google Ads location targeting options, follow these optimization tips:

1. Combine Broad and Specific Targets: For campaigns targeting large areas, such as an entire state, manually add key cities for greater precision.
2. Use Radius Targeting for Local Businesses: Businesses like plumbers, electricians, or delivery services benefit from targeting users near their physical locations.
3. Monitor Matched Locations: Use the “Matched Location” report in Google Ads to analyze performance by location. Focus more budget on high-performing areas and reduce bids for low-performing ones.
4. Separate Campaigns by Location: Create dedicated campaigns for different cities or regions to control budgets and messaging more effectively.
5. Leverage Google My Business: For hyper-local campaigns, integrate location targeting with your Google My Business listing to improve local search visibility.

Benefits of Location Targeting in Google Ads

There are many benefits of Google ads location targeting.

1. Better Results: Ads are shown to people in your location and highly chance of getting converted
2. Location-wise campaign: Provide an option to better control our budget and customer message as per customer demographics. It helps in a better conversion rate.
3. Clear Analysis: Having location targeting gives us much better and clearer data on location-wise performance that you can use to plan your future marketing.

MATCHED LOCATION INSIGHTS

This section provides us with great insight into location targeting and performance. It will show data of each targeted or untagged location that might have got the clicks. 

To access this:

1. Navigate to the “Insights and Reports” section in your Google Ads account.
2. Select the “Matched Location” report to view performance metrics for each location.

Use this data to find your top-performing area and adjust your campaign accordingly.

CONCLUSION

Location targeting is an advanced option that can be used to get better results from Google ads and reduce the cost of Google ads for businesses.. It helps in advertising efficiency and conversions.

 Making mistakes can cost a loss in terms of wasted budget, low-quality conversions/leads, etc.

By following best practices and continually analyzing performance data, you can refine your campaigns and achieve outstanding results. Need expert help? Contact-us to optimize your location-based advertising campaigns.