Geo-Targeting your paid search engine advertising on Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Microsoft’s adCenter and others is one of the simplest and most important direct marketing tools to effectively drive qualified traffic to your small business website. But on more than one occasion, I have seen small business owners creating ads with their city mentioned in the headline and then posting these ads nationally! (i.e. I live in “Colorado” but I’ve seen ads for “Boston Chiropractors” while searching from my home office). This is a good example of how NOT to geo-target and waste advertising dollars in areas where your customers do not live.

Instead, I suggest that all PPC advertisers take the following steps to ensure their ads are geo-targeted properly and seen by the most “relevant” number of potential customers as possible.

1. First, look at your customer database, web logs and/or billing addresses to determine where most of your customers live. This will give you the first sphere of geographical focus for which to display your advertising

2. If you are seeking to expand your geographical reach in search of new potential customers, consider “like” areas throughout the state, region, country or world for your next target focus. For example, if you are selling “golf clubs”, look for cities, states or areas where golf courses exist (i.e. Alaska may not be a best place to start, but Florida is probably a good bet).

3. Advertise in areas of the smallest increments. For example, if you are currently advertising in the U.S., consider lowering the target areas to all states or even metro areas. This trick will give you another line of copy on your Google advertisements and can separate your ad from the competition.

4. When targeting small areas within a state or region, I recommend to use both the custom geo-targeting map AND the city/state selections. By including both the names of the cites/states along with a circle radius or polygon around your business location, you will be able to show your ads more frequently to more potential customers while still gaining the advantage of the 5th line of copy underneath your ads.

5. Use negative geo-targeting where appropriate to avoid unwanted clicks from strange countries, states or areas where you are prohibited to advertise or not licensed to do business in that particular area (e.g. lawyers, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers). This may be especially true if you live near a state, county or country line.

6. Remember that some internet service provides (ISPs) reside in areas that may not be located in your target market region. Since the search engines usually segment the geo-targeting by the physical location of the ISP address, you may need to add these regions to capture your entire target market audience.

By using some of these advanced geo-targeting tips for your pay-per-click campaigns, you’ll be able to raise your click-through rates (CTRs), increase your Quality Scores (which lends itself to lower bids for less expensive clicks), and ultimately, acquire more customers within your desired market area.

About the Author: With over 20 years of experience in direct marketing, database analysis and pay-per-click advertising, John Pfeiffer helps small business owners succeed with Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft’s adCenter. As a Google AdWords Professional, he is also the author of numerous articles and books on PPC advertising and search engine marketing. John can be reached at http://www.PPCforSmallBiz.com

John Pfeiffer
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