What Is Geotargeting and How Is It Used?
Marketing is necessary to create sales and profits and without it, you wouldn’t be able to reach out to your ideal client. While some say marketing is about being lucky, we’d argue it’s often about being in the right place at the right time. Geotargeting increases your “luck,” putting your ads in the location where they’re most likely to be noticed by potential customers.
All you have to do is think about how you search to see just how important geographic location is. No longer do you use one or two words when you search. Chances are you combine it with phrases like “where to buy” or “near me.” Statistics show that mobile searches containing the phrase “near me” increased 500 percent in the last two years and continue to grow exponentially.
This statistic alone makes concepts like local SEO, Google My Business, and even your IP address increasingly important when creating your digital marketing plan. Geotargeting is an absolutely essential part of any local business’s marketing plan. Let us explain:
What Is Geotargeting?
Geotargeting focuses on personalizing online content based on the geographical location of the potential buyer. Geotargeting gives companies the ability to offer content based on where they are physically located, whether it’s where they work, live, shop, or visit. This improves the user experience, giving them more of what they want.
Geotargeting uses location data from mobile devices like tablets, smartphones, and laptops, allowing companies to deliver targeted ads and messages within a specified geofenced location. It optimizes your advertising dollar and helps you reach the audience where they work, live, or play.
How Does Geotargeting Work?
Geotargeting uses privacy-compliant location data collected from mobile devices to determine a user’s location, in order to deliver personalized and relevant messages. Geotargeting works by extracting data from the IPs of users who visit a specific website and then using it for commercial targeting. It isn’t foolproof, nor is it as exact as VPNs, proxy servers, or other tools that can work to hide IP addresses.
When you’re looking to target a specific geographical area with a marketing message, geotargeting can benefit local companies looking to spread the word about their business.
Why Use Geotargeting?
Digital marketing evens the playing field between the most prominent companies and the smallest businesses. No matter your organization’s size, you can get access to tools to help you reach a targeted audience and use advertising to continue growing your customer base.
Geotargeting is a great tool for businesses of any size, giving you the ability to connect with a specifically targeted audience. As most local businesses rely heavily on word of mouth and foot traffic, if you want users to visit a particular location, geotargeting helps drive business.
Let’s look at a couple of examples of how geotargeting works.
- Say you own a cookie shop. You can geotarget restaurants close to you, offering a coupon or special for those looking for a sweet treat after their meals.
- An auto dealership is another great example. Dealers know they have a short window of opportunity once a consumer starts shopping for a new car. Geotargeting can create an audience out of visitors to competitors’ lots, sending educational messages promoting interest in their own brands or listings of cars currently available for sale.
- A coffee shop would benefit from targeting offices nearby, offering a free upgrade to a larger size when you show your card key or ID from any nearby office. A restaurant could offer a percentage off to office workers who order “grab and go” or when they eat during specific “downtime” hours or for a happy-hour deal.
There are many ways that geotargeting can help fill restaurants, sell your products, or get clients booked.
Benefits of Using Geotargeting
Digital marketing strategies that include geotargeting can help you reach your audience on a more targeted level, ultimately increasing conversions and profit. Instead of sending out one generic message, you can segment your market and deliver targeted messages that reach out to the core of what your audience is looking for.
Benefits include:
Personalized Content and Messages
People not only enjoy personalized content, but they are also learning to expect it. Geotargeting allows you to create ads relevant to your target market and provide a better user experience once they reach a specific location.
Using geofencing, your ads will only display in locations you choose. You can talk about specific stores and local culture or provide seasonal information that applies directly to your prospects. Give them a reason to click your ad, and they’ll feel more aligned with your business’ message.
Effective Ad Spend
Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker is credited with saying, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Geotargeting can help tighten up your marketing budget and create a more effective ad campaign.
Since people expect personalization, you can give it to them when they’re in your neighborhood. You’ll see a better return on investment (ROI) when you better relate to who they are and what they want, and they can relate to what you do.
Build Authority
Ads aren’t just about selling a specific product or service. Ads can also help you build authority and become the go-to expert in your local market.
You could highlight information relevant to your community, providing you with a chance to answer common questions and even partner with other local businesses. You can be very specific about what’s happening in your area.
Testing
Thinking of offering a new product or service? Geotargeting is a great way to fine-tune your ads before you ramp them up for a broader release. Marketers have long since used this with many other traditional marketing strategies, such as TV ads or postcard marketing. Geotargeting allows you to get hyper-specific with location-based testing.
Get Started With Geotargeting
Geotargeting strengthens your brand, increases visibility, and improves the relationships you form with your prospects and clients. Geotargeting improves user experience and personalizes the content you display. If you’re looking for more significant interaction from every piece of content you use, geotargeting may be the perfect solution for you.
While geotargeting works well on its own, it is often best used in combination with other targeting practices within your marketing campaigns. If you’re ready to see how geotargeting can serve your local business, reach out to InnoVision today. We’d be happy to show you what we can do.
