{"id":287,"date":"2011-02-25T13:00:19","date_gmt":"2011-02-25T20:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salesjumpstart.net\/blog\/?p=287"},"modified":"2011-02-27T15:57:14","modified_gmt":"2011-02-27T23:27:14","slug":"google-geo-targeting-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesjumpstart.net\/blog\/2011\/02\/25\/google-geo-targeting-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Geo-Targeting Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"State<\/a>
Image via Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Google Geo Targeting <\/strong>is tricky, here is why.<\/p>\n

If you are using Geo-Targeting on a Pay per click campaign, and have a very specific part of a metro area you want you ads to run in you assume the geo-targeting will show your ads for the searchers from that area.\u00a0 Well, maybe, and maybe not.<\/p>\n

In our experience, (mostly my own), Google decides where the searcher is based on the searched ISP’s point of presence., or node, or what ever you want to call it.\u00a0 So when I search from my home in Lafayette Colorado, Google thinks I am in Sherrelwood Colorado, which I have never heard of, but according to the map Google serves up, is about 8 miles south west of my actual location. As a crow flies, you would need to fly over two cities before you landed in Sherrelwood.<\/p>\n

So… I assume that this is true for most searches, and that most seachers are getting results based on not their local information, but thier ISPs nodes (or wire centers or ???) location.<\/p>\n

That also has BIG implications for Local SEO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now I use comcast as my ISP.\u00a0 Comcast is the largest ISP so I can assume that lot’s of potential prospects have the same issue. If I want my business or client to show up in Lafayette CO.\u00a0 on the maps, I need to get a Sherrelwwod address?<\/p>\n

You can see how messy this is. Might have been one of the reasons Google decided to combine organic and Google places results back in October.<\/p>\n

So my long winded point is, if you are doing PPC,\u00a0 don’t be too precise with your google geo-targeting or you may miss your entire market, and end up selling in Sherrelwood, a nice place I am sure, even if as a native of Denver I have never heard of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anyone with any more information please let me know!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is some info from Google help on setting your location:<\/p>\n

Automatically detected location<\/h3>\n

To provide you with the most relevant results, Google attempts to automatically detect your location and customize results based on that detected location. A location that’s labeled “Auto-detected” is chosen based on the following factors:<\/p>\n