If you want to deliver messages to the right audience at the right place and time, geo-precise targeting is the way to go. This marketing tactic helps you determine where your ideal customer is and deliver content to them based on that location. The increase in mobile users has made this hyperlocal strategy more relevant to a user's intent. Now you can serve up campaigns to people searching or viewing your products or services in a particular location, rather than where that user lives.
With geo-targeting, you leverage precise locations to increase your relevance to the user, as Google explains. This is ideal for targeting mobile users because you can set geographic boundaries (called geo-fencing) and deliver ads to mobile users when they enter this area.
advantage of geo-targeting is it allows you to be flexible based on events and patterns you can't control. For example, if you sell swimwear, you might want to run ads in areas in the midst of a heat wave, and if you sell rainwear, targeting an area facing a week-long downpour is a good bet.
Precision Targeting
Mobile allows geo-precise targeting to go beyond standard targeting, which is based on a range usually determined by zip codes or designated market areas, or IP targeting, which is based on individual households. Instead of reaching just a group of people in a certain location, you can reach highly targeted users based on not just their location, but their interests and online behavior as well.
Geo-precise targeting has become increasingly effective as technology becomes more sophisticated and as more users turn to mobile devices for information. Google recently reported that more searches now occur on mobile devices than desktops, so knowing where those users are and the precise time to serve up a relevant ad makes you more timely and relevant. This is particularly useful if you are in a business where decisions are made quickly or can change on a whim, such as retail, restaurants or automotive; in fact, 95 percent of campaigns in these markets were geo-precise last year, according to Direct Marketing News.
Geo-Conquesting
Another tactic growing in tandem with technological sophistication is geo-conquesting. This involves putting up a geo-fence around a competitor's location by setting GPS coordinates and then delivering ads to potential customers to steer them away from the competitor's doorway and down the block to yours. In other words, as people near your competitor's location, they will see your mobile ads.
Mobile advertisers are employing geo-precise targeting more and more in their digital marketing campaigns. If you haven't implemented geo-precise targeting already, it may be time to talk to your digital expert about adding it to your toolbox. Otherwise, you might find yourself on the wrong side of the fence.
