Using Location to Improve Search Ad Relevance

As many advertisers are aware, customer location is very important when implementing PPC campaigns. With location targeting and extensions becoming ever more important, Google confirmed yesterday that ‘4 out of 5 consumers say they want search ads to be customised to their city, post code or immediate surroundings’.

This stat came from a study commissioned by Google to discover local search behaviour. They made the following conclusions based on the 5,000 people who replied to their survey or logged a diary:

• Consumers search for local information from all kinds of places. On computers and tablets, those places can include home (76%), work (24%) and hotels or motels (18%). On smartphones, those places include home (53%), on the go (51%) and in stores and malls (41%).

• More than 60% of consumers say they’ve used ads with location information like address, directions, phone number or a click-to-call button. And, more than 70% of consumers who have used location information in ads say that information is important.

• Consumers choose stores close to where they happen to be. 72% of consumers who searched for local information on their smartphone visited a store within 5 miles.

 

See more on Google’s report below:

http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/how-advertisers-can-extend-their-relevance-with-search.html

Overall, the message for advertisers (especially those who still run broad national ads) is to begin considering consumers who are really looking out for ads that are customised to their city, post code or immediate surroundings. It’s more important than ever for advertisers to have an ad strategy that accounts for consumers’ context and location.