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Location, or geographic targeting, has long ago established itself as one of the more important and relevant tools for all digital marketing campaigns. By improving ad relevance, and surgically pinpointing quality reach, it was a win-win for all parties involved, advertisers, ad networks and customers alike.

However, ad networks did not rest on their laurels by just offering to target specific regions of interest. Oh no, they significantly diversified their offerings. SelfAdvertiser, for example, offers Bid per Geo among its geo-targeting features. New and improved offerings have gotten everyone’s creative juices flowing, using geo-targeting in new and exciting ways. Yes, it is extremely useful for those with store windows, but other advertisers have been using it with great success, too.

Below we will show you a few examples of how to diversify your geo campaigns at minimum risk of failure.

Go After Your Competitors

We will cut to the chase and go straight to the point. You probably know who your clients’ competitors are. If they have stores, offices, or any type of physical presence, you know where to find them. And that is where you hit them with the ads. This is a particularly strong strategy among retailers. Research has shown that more and more people use their mobile devices while in stores to read reviews on products and compare prices.

People are browsing competitors when in a store [Image Credit: Econsultancy]

According to Econsultancy, eight different studies have confirmed that people are increasingly using mobile phones while in stores. The best part is – they use it mostly (33 percent) to compare the site they are currently in – to their direct competition. This is an ideal time and place to reach out to them – at the end of the day, they are seriously considering spending some greens, so they might as well do it with you.

Show Your Audience You Are Targeting Them Locally

Zebra Advertisement’s CEO, Rocco Baldassarre, says one of the more common mistakes advertisers make when creating geo-targeted campaigns is not letting their audience know they are targeting them locally. “Very effective Geo-Targeting practices are usually in the content of the ad copy; this is where most businesses fall short to emphasize the fact that they are targeting local areas,” he says.

“There are many cases where campaigns and keywords are set to target specific areas however the ad copy fails to draw attention to the local targeting. If you set up a campaign to target an area specifically one must not fail to have your ad copy highlight the area.” As multimedia is generally perceived as more effective than text-based ads, always consider adding an image, or a video, of the area you are targeting with your ads, to increase its effectiveness.

Unique Places, Unique Needs

Sports fans visiting a local stadium will not be interested in cheap eyeliners, but if there is a Taylor Swift concert happening that evening, that is exactly where advertisers will want to appear, and exactly what media buyers should be paying attention to. At the same time, hotel owners or rent-a-car businesses will want to pay attention to any cross-national events such as Champions League games. In the latter scenario, there are two ways to diversify a geo-targeted campaign: by aiming for the stadium itself, or by aiming at the countries/cities from where away fans will be flocking. This approach can be applied to various different locations, like airports or universities. Consequently, timing is also of the essence. Weekday fliers are mostly businesspeople, so expensive restaurants will probably want to show up on their mobile screens. On the other hand, weekends are a great time to advertise leisure and tourist attractions and events.

Use Behavior Patterns

There are two types of location-based events that can be used to diversify your campaigns and target consumers with great success. Some are known in advance, like Spring Break at Panama City Beach or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while others, like certain weather events, can be unexpected.

Last winter, for example, Glengary, West Virginia, was hit with an astonishing 42 inches of snow. When heavy snow or rain gets a forecast, people usually flock to local stores to stock up on supplies. Food, blankets, heaters, and shovels are in demand. During a heatwave, however, it might be drinks and coolers. Purple Mattress is a great case study of using such behavior patterns. When a heatwave struck Phoenix, Arizona, Purple Mattress communicated a geo-targeted ad with the copy “start sleeping cooler” and was able to generate ‘higher click-through rates’.

Combine Geo-Targeting with Retargeting

All of the abovementioned tactics and strategies can be additionally augmented by the use of retargeting. Those that can add retargeting lists to any of the strategies mentioned here (especially when going after the competition or tapping into behavior patterns) can expect better CPA offers and improved conversion rates. All of these strategies will work well on their own, but for people who have already visited your client’s site, it is much easier, as they have already seen it, know what it is about, and have probably considered (or maybe even purchased) the solutions on offer there, before. As their behavior can hint either ongoing or a renewed interest in whatever it is that your client is offering, retargeting just might be that last nudge needed to significantly improve conversions.

Final Thoughts Geography

It is known for a fact that customers respond better when marketing messages are relevant and localized. By building such campaigns, it is normal to expect a higher ROI. Ad agencies, SelfAdvertiser included, have improved their geo-targeting offerings, giving advertisers ample opportunities to get creative with their solutions. Those that have an in-depth knowledge of their competition, their customers, the technology that they are using, places they are visiting and the interests they are having, will be able to use various geo-targeting tools at their disposal to build amazing, diversified campaigns. And with mobile technology being omnipresent as it is, geo-targeting becomes a huge advantage to those who use it.