AdWords: Geographically targeting your way to more conversions.

Geographically targeting campaigns within AdWords is nothing new. Most people will perform a basic geo-targeting setup to make sure it only includes their service area. What you might want to consider is taking geo-targeting a step further. Do this by using the analytics data that you’ve acquired to your advantage. Gain a solid understanding of how your campaigns are working in different geographic locations and you may be able to increase sales.

Before we talk about using this data to improve your account, I wanted to give you a short recap summary of how you’re able to geographically target within AdWords.

Recap on Geo-Targeting

Target locations by

Country
State/Province
City
Postal Code / Zip Code
Map location and Radius (ex. show my ads within 20km of a specific address)
Custom Shape (ex. Clicking points on a map to create location area)

Distinguish regionally targeted ads

Regionally targeted ads will be distinguished from nationally targeted campaigns by adding the region or city to the bottom of the ad such as the example below.

ACME Umbrellas
Tired of rain in Vancouver?
Don’t get wet get ACME
Acmeumbrellas/Vancouver
Vancouver

Add your company’s physical address

If your business has physical locations you can add an address or have it connected to your Google Places account.

ACME Snowshoes
Snowshoes for a Colorado Winter
A Large Variety at Great Prices
Acmesnowhoes/Colorado
230 – 3456 Lansdown, Vail Colorado

Now, that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about using analytics data for your geo-targeted locations.

Using analytics data to your advantage

Analytics will give you a wealth of information about your account. For this instance you will want to understand how your ads are performing in different locations. If you’re running an account nationally through the US you may want to find out what your top performing states are. Are California and New York driving the most traffic? Perhaps you can take advantage of this by making a more targeted experience for these users.

Some questions which can help you gain a better understanding may include:

Which locations are driving the highest traffic volume
Which locations are driving the most conversions
Which locations have the highest conversion rates
Are certain products doing extremely well in specific areas

Now it’s time to make this information work for you. If you don’t already have any separate campaigns for different locations, you may want to start by targeting your top traffic producing area. Some of the advantages that you’ll gain with this technique are the following:

Specific Ad Text

Localized ads resonate with users much more effectively than a general ad would. This is because there are so many generic ads out there that people become indifferent to them.
Ads that mention the user’s location or mention something happening locally can help to break through this indifference and help to encourage more clicks.

Specific Budget

Do you have a daily budget which constantly reaches its limit? Create a separate campaign targeting the area where you have the highest conversion rate. You can then ensure that your budget isn’t running out on the areas that get you get the most conversions for your money.

Specific Keyword Bids

By separating a campaign for an area that converts well you may consider raising your keyword bids. You can then take advantage of a higher position to acquire more traffic and potentially increase sales.

Specific Landing Pages

The rules that we talked about previously with location based Ad Text also apply with specific landing pages. A more targeted version of a page that speaks directly to the people within a certain location will likely perform better then a generic page.

Google will Distinguish a Regionally Targeted Ad

If you’re targeting a specific city or area then this ad will be distinguished by adding this location directly below the ad. This can help separate your ads from the rest of the pack and possibly increase click-through rates.

There’s no doubt that separating some of your locations into separate campaigns is going to increase your workload. It’s worth testing this technique as the benefits that come from it may be well worth it to your bottom line.

Cardinal Path