In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about geo-targeting and IP addresses and we will help you understand how modern age advertisement leverages the vast possibilities of internet tools in order to gain as much reach as possible and transmit their advertisement to a selected group of potential customers via IP address.
IP Address
Computers communicate with each other over the internet and other networks using a unique Internet Protocol address or an IP address. With an IP address, any device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) can be identified on the internet. IP addresses are important for advertisers for reaching businesses and customers and targeting them with customized ads. If you are interested in learning your unique IP address follow the steps below:
Go on Start > Settings > Network & internet > WiFi and then go to the Wi-Fi network you are currently connected to. After that go under Properties, and search for your IP address next to your IPv4 address.
What’s IP Targeting?
Now that we have explained and established what an IP address is, we will explain another key term on what IP Targeting is. IP Targeting is the way advertisers gain access to specific target groups. In this way, advertisers find out exactly who to advertise customized ads and improve the customer’s experience.
This method of advertising can reach any customer or business that has access to the Internet via computer, smartphone, or tablet, which makes it an effective way of advertising.
Geotargeting
Geotargeting is a method used in advertising through digital marketing. It is a way to reach consumers based on their location which is determined by the earlier mentioned IP address. Google uses its databases to map IP addresses by location.
Advertisers can thus assume the location, habits, and behavior of potential customers and, based on that, target the most relevant group of people that will lead to increased engagement.
This means that an electronics store can create an advertising campaign through geotargeting, which will show the ad to all potential relevant customers within 20 miles. The advertiser will also be able to customize their reach so that they can exclude certain specific geographic locations or indicate certain information that will improve reach and layer relevant ads to the right people at the right time. Advertisers can also use keywords such as city names to target customers with the postal addresses of that designated city.
Who Should Use Geotargeting?
- Businesses with only one location (for example a restaurant);
- Businesses that have customized landing pages that they show to customers in different areas.
Main Advantage of Geotargeting
Geotargeting is an effective and easy way to reach relevant customers at the right time.
Offers Local Relevance
As mentioned earlier, geotargeting is a particularly good way to advertise for small businesses that can easily target relevant groups of people in their local area.
Ability to hide ads from competition
Just as defining the exact location of an advertisement the user can omit some sites that the business deems not worth advertising, so it is possible to omit certain IP addresses from the target location.
This is a good way to keep competition out of targeted advertising and prevent information from reaching them. This strategy requires knowledge of the IP address of the competition that is entered when defining reach for an advertising campaign.
Disadvantages of Geotargeting
- Unoptimized ads: When creating an advertising campaign through geotargeting, we enter information about the location of relevant people that we want to reach. When defining, there is always the possibility of error due to the same or similar names of geographical areas or the names of some cities or settlements. In order to reduce the risk of such an error, it is recommended to exclude undesirable locations when defining target areas and thus increase the effectiveness of the campaign and overall ad quality.
- Hyper-geotargeting and possible complications: Some companies operating in a multi-business location need to be careful when segmenting a campaign and optimizing advertising costs. If they define reach only by location, ads may overlap for some space for two or more business locations. In such a situation, segmentation by product or service is recommended, where the business will offer different services or products in the same area from different business units.
