While I was in Ohio on business I was searching keywords in Google as I was explaining the purpose of Adwords GeoTargeting. Of course it was the perfect time for GeoTargeting to not target per my geo(graphy).
I had recently launched an Adwords campaign targeting New York (the state) in a rather competitive market, lets call it real estate. I was bidding on a term like “New York Real Estate”, and expected no one outside of the tri-state area (lets be real with the Geo part) to see the ad. I had no intention of seeing my ad come up while in Ohio, boy was I wrong.
After I wiped the egg from my face I tried to rationalize why Google would show a search ad that was specified to not show (other than clicks = money). Here is my conclusion:
- Google likes money
- Google wants to increase their stock price
- Google is greedy
Or, Google came to the conclusion that in Ohio there are not enough ads for “New York Real Estate” that they would pull any in their database.
Regardless, Adwords GeoTargeting only works when it favors Google. I assume it works some of the time, and what other option do I have if I really do want to geotarget?
Ive seen similar things happen before also, I think it has to do with which data center google thinks you’re accessing from.
Comment by Scott Fish — November 15, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Did you limit the range of the add or did you think just adding New York in the keyword list was enough to geotarget it?
Did you do the search from your laptop and previously provide Google with your zip (or maybe your past browsing history in the New York area) overrode your IP?
Comment by Chris In Cincinnati — November 15, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Chris,
I had the geotargeting option on in adwords for the state of New York. I was not using my computer, but one in the building I was working.
I believe that Google was just providing more ads for the keyword I searched.
Comment by Tyler — November 15, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
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From my understanding, Google Geo-targets based on the searchers IP address. Therefore, if you use a service like AOL, all IP addresses are routed and through Virginia. Point being, I don’t believe ad words is able to actually determine where a searcher is, but rather where their internet connection is originating from.
Comment by KM — September 4, 2008 @ 9:32 am