Geotargeting is the practice of delivering content to a user — via mobile or web — using geographic location information about that individual. This can be done by city or zip code, by way of the IP address or device ID, or it can be also done on a smaller level through GPS signals, geo-fencing, and more. Adversely, a business can restrict its reach to people only located in a defined geographic area such as a city or a state. By using location and geotargeting, you’ll often be provided with much deeper, more meaningful and identifiable traits that will tell you what a person wants, needs, or that they are interested in.
3 Benefits of Geotargeting Marketing
Marketers love to geotarget users on their mobile devices because it tells a lot about the location, environment, and their mindset at any given time. This also makes it easier to deliver relevant ad content. The concept behind this is the more relevant an ad or offer is, the more likely it will drive the client to purchase.
If you still find yourself asking ‘what is geo-target marketing’ then read below for 3 practical uses of this technology.
1. Venue Targeting
Places like stadiums, airports, universities, businesses, and malls are examples of places that can be targeted in order to reach specific audiences. Stadiums are a great example where marketers can focus on specific short engagement events with an audience defined by that event, like sports. There are generally fans from two specific cities or schools or teams or a specific music genre that is heavy in one demographic- like a concert.
2. Excluding Locations Within Your Audience
While you can define an area you wish to reach, you can also carve out areas you wish to exclude. You can exclude venues, specific streets, businesses, and so on.
3. Define A Radius By Distance Or Time
Geofencing is when a marketer sets a perimeter around a specific location where ads can be delivered. To geofence ads, they can include messages acknowledging the user’s location or location-based feature. You can also try geo-conquesting, which targets customers around a competitor’s location.
Another great way to define a perimeter is by time. There are API’s that allow mobile apps and sites to search for consumers by time rather than by distance. This is useful for many different reasons. For example: if there’s an apartment unit in a specific area of town looking to attract new residents with very long commutes, or a coffee shop targeting hotel patrons within a certain walking distance.