Note: iPromote does not create its own geographical data. It acts on data received from one or more third-party resources. For example, it uses data provided to it from an ad exchange that initiates a bid request.
Geo targeting is the process of serving ads to an end-user based on their inferred geographical location. Careful geo targeting is one of the best ways to ensure that a campaign's value is maximized. Because there are different ways to collect geo data, with varying degrees of accuracy, reliability, and usefulness, it's important for you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of geo data.
Geo targeting on the iPromote platform is a two-step matchmaking process:
- An advertiser specifies geographic target settings for a campaign. In effect, such settings say, "Put my ads in or around these places and only in or around these places."
- A publisher makes an ad request that includes geographical information. In effect, such settings say, "I want an ad placed on my webpage that matches a place this user cares about. Got something for me?"
Automated "decisions" are then made by the iPromote system. These decisions include finding a fit between an advertiser and the available ad space (and bidding on and winning the space).
For more information on geo targeting, see the main IAB site.
Best practices
The iPromote platform makes use of well-known and accepted methods of geo location and geo targeting.
The following are a few established practices to follow:
- Where applicable, ensure that the campaign geographic radius is set to at least 20 miles. In general, less precise geographical data makes it easier to place ads from a pool of advertisers because the target is large. More precise geographical data sounds nice, but it makes it harder to place ads from a pool of advertisers because the target is small.
- Specify geographic areas where you want to market, not just where a business is. For example, a business might be in a town of 100 people, but their clientele comes from nearby urban areas. Target those urban areas, not the business's town.
- If a campaign is not placing as many ads as you expect, widen its geographic settings to expand your ad reach, wait 24 hours, then check analytics to see if fill has improved. For example, increase radius sizes or add new cities to your geographic settings.
- Use the Top Cities reporting module to gauge where a campaign's ads are serving most and use this information to refine your campaign(s). Among other things, this might help you manage your budget better, putting money where conversions are. For example, if a campaign is running for all of California but most of your conversions occur in the Central Valley, you could focus the campaign to that Central Valley audience and try another approach with a new campaign for coastal cities.
Different needs and circumstances affect how you use geo targeting. Carefully consider the relationship between your geo settings and the desired campaign audience.
Marketing strategies
When setting up a campaign, you have many geo-targeting considerations. Much depends on the nature of your business and strategy.
The following is a list with some example strategies:
- To attract walk-in business, use the Local (Near Me) targeting option set to a 20 mile radius. For example, an advertiser owns a burger shack in an area with a lot of competition and wants an edge.
- To pull in specific remote traffic, use the City (Cities/Towns) targeting option and specify cities by name. For example, the advertiser owns a historic ice cream shop near several urban areas and a summer music festival is coming to town.
- To advertise to a certain community within a larger area, use the Regional (States/Provinces) targeting option and specify regions by ID. For example, the advertiser owns a sporting goods shop in an urban area that wants to drwa in clientele from nearby rural counties.
- To advertise to a national audience, use the National (Countries) targeting option and specify countries by name. For example, maybe the advertiser provides a service that is prohibited in some neighboring countries but not others.
Some creative settings are not specific to geo targeting, but they should be used in support of an effective geo-targeting strategy. For example, personalized messaging text, like including the name of the geo you're targeting, can be written to appeal to a geographic group. Ad extensions like a location address can funnel traffic to a storefront. And you can correlate geo settings with ad scheduling to really find the right people at the right time.
Geo data sources
Geographical data is highly valuable in the internet advertising space for obvious reasons. Namely, if you know where someone is, you can tailor ads to suit their interests. However, there are shortcomings in device technologies and networks that make the collection of accurate geographical data problematic.
Geographical data typically, but not always, comes from these sources:
- GPS coordinates on mobile devices, like phones and tablets
- IP addresses on non-mobile devices, like desktops and laptops
Overlap between the two data sources is possible. For example, a user might be on a mobile phone at a coffee shop, using the shop's Wi Fi connection. It is possible that geo data associated with the phone comes by way of the shop's IP address, not the phone's GPS coordinates.
GPS coordinates
Note: When latitude and longitude are received in a bid request (for example, from a mobile device), iPromote matches those parameters with the city nearest to them. No other considerations are made; cities are treated as points.
GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) are supplied by a GPS facility in mobile devices. (GPS facilities are being added with increasing frequency to non-mobile devices, like laptops.)
The following is a list of shortcomings to using GPS coordinates:
- GPS is not available on all devices.
- GPS signal strength can be low.
- GPS can be turned off on devices.
- GPS can provide such highly specific coordinates that it is hard to match a user with an ad.
- Device location can be provided by other means, including IP address on a Wi Fi network, cell tower coordinates, and app registration data.
But when it is available, GPS is the preferred way to locate and target a user.
IP addresses
IP addresses are identifiers assigned to devices on a network, like the internet. IP addresses are mapped to locations in databases by third-party geo-location services. This association enables geo targeters to infer that the location of an IP address is the location of its device (and its user).
The following is a list of shortcomings to using an IP address:
- Organizations route traffic through centrally located IP addresses, possibly far from an end-user. For example, a corporate user in Wichita might be connected to a central server in Denver.
- ISPs dynamically (re)assign IP addresses, making accuracy problematic. For example, IPs can be reassigned to new locations, making geo-location data inaccurate.
- ISPs use proxy servers, which assign many users private IPs behind a few public IPs. The proxy server might be remote from a user. For example, an end-user in Fresno might be connected to a proxy server in Reno.
By using an IP address, the location of a user can be inferred with a fairly high degree of accuracy. However, there is no perfect association between an IP address and a device (and its user).