Geo-Targeting
TargetingDefinition
Geo-targeting is the practice of showing ads to users based on their geographic location — country, state, city, zip code, or radius around a specific point. It ensures your ads reach people in the locations where you can serve customers.
Google Ads offers location targeting and location exclusion. A critical setting is "Presence vs Interest" — "Presence" targets people physically in a location, while "Presence or interest" also targets people searching about that location. For local businesses, "Presence" is usually the correct choice.
Meta Ads offers similar location targeting with options for people living in, recently in, or travelling to a location. Radius targeting allows you to draw circles around business locations. For multi-location businesses, separate campaigns per region enable localized messaging and budget control.
In Google Ads, set locations at the campaign level. Choose target and exclude areas. Select "Presence" targeting for local businesses. Use bid adjustments to increase bids in high-performing locations and decrease in underperformers. Review geographic reports monthly to optimize.
Geo-targeting prevents wasted spend in locations where you cannot serve customers. For local businesses, it is essential — a Berlin dentist should not pay for clicks from Munich. For national campaigns, geographic bid adjustments optimize budget toward high-performing regions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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"Presence" shows ads only to people physically in the location. "Presence or interest" also includes people searching about the location. Local businesses should use "Presence" to avoid irrelevant clicks from people just researching the area.
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Google Ads allows radius targeting down to 1 km. You can also target specific postal codes. Meta Ads allows radius targeting down to 1 km around an address.
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For multi-location businesses with different budgets or offers per location, yes. Separate campaigns allow independent budget control and localized ad copy. For single-location businesses, one campaign with tight geo-targeting is sufficient.
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