What is Geo-Targeting?

by Birendra K. Soccer Prediction Expert

It is targeting visitors according to their geographic location determined on the basis of their IP, Wi-Fi, and GPS data connectivity. The visitors are served location-specific content based on their geographic presence like country, city, and state. It looks simple but the process is complex in nature.

The best way to understand geo-targeting is to study SERPs

If you search for restaurants near me, you will get the eateries available in the area where you are and the results would change with the change of location.

ListPe is a free classified site that allows posting via Geo-Targeting.

Why Geo-Targeting?

Location testing gives an interesting insight into what could work for your webpages. For example, it would tell whether you should serve English content to Spanish visitors or use the native language. Similarly, you could choose from Euro and Dollar for price quotation according to location testing of the visitors. You could serve better content and offer better deals.

Whether you use A/B tool or follow a multivariate testing method, you will find better results by segmenting the traffic according to geo-location before the split.

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Important elements to test

Language

Serve content in the native language of the visitors in addition to providing an entire funnel of languages to switch. Or you can use a KPI to test what performs better – native language or English.

Global brands serving global audiences emphasize native language but also provide language switch for better conversions.

Currency

Like language, you can test the local currency of visitors like GBP, Euros, and Dollars. To keep things simple, you can experiment with a popular product or keep it to one landing page. Now check how changing currency according to geo-location affects the conversion. Is it better?

International brands use currency selection to sell their products in targeted markets.

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Offers relevant to local search

Follow visitors to their specific location within a country, state or city to make offers that match with their geo-location. But it needs a thorough research on the local market and needs for matching location with offers. The thing to measure is the behavior of visitors geo-targeted vs those served location-based offers. Is the new filter of any help? Study behavior of visitors that are served direct offers and that of those that are asked to choose their location.

Global brands that use location-based offers face a problem – limited availability of offers. Giving products/services that targeted customers can’t buy would create a negative impact on your brand. But you can think of a middle way to save your global brand image.

Match marketing

Geo-targeting would customize the marketing message to match the location of visitors. The message would be displayed according to specifics – day, time and area – but you should check whether the message on your site is the same as served to geo-specific users. Send geo-targeted based traffic to geo-targeted based landing page and also to a generic page to check what converts better.

For example, the Google Chrome campaign serves over 100 different ads in Europe and the traffic is sent to matching landing pages.

Visual elements

Like other elements, modifying visuals that include design can impact behavior. For example, using national flags can attract attention more than using a similar design. Similarly, the changes can be made according to holiday themes. There are many examples like bright colors that attract visitors from specific cultures.

You can learn from brands that use visual elements as filters with geo-targeting and get the best results for their products/services. Hire Adwords expert for better results with the monthly budget.