How it works
Ad platforms estimate location from signals like IP address, device location settings and search terms. In Google Ads and Meta, you choose the areas to include or exclude for each campaign.
Presence versus interest
Google Ads can target people who are in or regularly in your area, or also people searching about your area from elsewhere. Local service businesses usually want people who are physically in their service area.
Adjusting by area
Some areas bring better customers than others. Splitting campaigns or adjusting bids by location lets you spend more where jobs are more profitable and less where they aren't.
Why Geotargeting matters
Paying for clicks from people you can't serve wastes budget. Tight geotargeting keeps ads in front of people who can actually become customers.
Cutting the far-away clicks
A pool cleaning company targeted its whole metro area and got many leads too far to serve. Narrowing ads to the ZIP codes it covered, and excluding the rest, lowered wasted spend and sped up response times.
Common mistakes
Using the default location setting
Default settings may include people outside your area. Check the location options in each campaign.
One big radius for everything
A single wide radius treats near and far the same. Break areas up and compare results.
Forgetting exclusions
Exclude areas you don't serve, so ads don't spill over into them.