Utilize geotargeting to take a more local and effective approach closer to your customers.
Geotargeting advertising is considered an indispensable measure for companies with physical stores such as supermarkets and restaurants. Also called location-based advertising or area targeting advertising.
Some of you may be hearing more and more of these ads lately, but do you know what kind of ads they are and what kind of effects they have?
By using geotargeting ads, you can target your audience based on the acquired location data.
Since it is possible to provide information tailored to the target’s current location, place of residence, and actual behavior history, it is effective not only for community-based services but also for potential customers who are looking for restaurants while out and about. It is possible to distribute it.
This time, I would like to introduce detailed information about geotargeted advertising.
What is geotargeting? How it works
The word “geo” in geotargeting literally means earth or land, so it is also called location-based advertising or area targeting advertising.
Geotargeting advertising is a marketing method that uses location information from IP addresses obtained from smartphones and PCs, GPS base stations, Wi-Fi, etc.
Of course, the main premise is that personal information is collected with confidentiality so that it cannot be identified.
By acquiring location information, it is possible to display advertisements to target users who have entered or stayed in a specific area, making it possible to conduct an effective approach that is closely tailored to the region and behavioral history.
Additionally, by displaying locally-based advertisements, you can connect to the interests of your target audience and increase awareness.
Features and effects of geotargeting advertising
The most important feature of geotargeting ads is that they can extract “users who have been to a specific area in the past” from location information data and display content tailored to the target’s behavior history.
For example, when you want to attract customers to a certain store, if an ad is displayed to both users who live near the store’s nearest station and users who live in other prefectures and have no opportunity to visit the store, the former will receive more customers. It is thought that the probability of visiting the store will be higher.
By acquiring location information, you can display ads only to users who live nearby, and even if they live a little far away, you can display ads to users who often pass by your store on their way to work or school. If it is displayed, there is a possibility that an interested target will visit the store.
It can be said to be the most community-based service among the advertising distribution services, as it is possible to display advertisements that are more tailored to the target’s hobbies and preferences based on the behavioral history of the target, and is considered to be an effective approach to attracting interest.
What can you do with geotargeted ads?
Taking advantage of the above features and effects, we will explain what geotargeting advertising can do specifically.
Reduces advertising distribution costs
By using location information, you can identify the places that target users mainly use for daily life, places they have visited in the past, etc.
By narrowing down the area and distributing advertisements only to users who have visited near your store, you can limit the advertisements to users who are unlikely to actually attract customers.
Geotargeting advertising is a form of advertising that primarily provides information specific to location.
Since you can efficiently distribute advertisements to only those targets who are more likely to visit your store, you can also reduce distribution costs.
Effective for attracting community-based customers
Geotargeting advertising, which is suitable for attracting community-based customers, is similar to newspaper insert flyers. Posted advertisements such as flyers can only reach people who read newspapers or people who live in the area, but if you use geotargeting ads that can be delivered on the web, you can reach people who do not read newspapers or people who live in the area. This means that information can be delivered to people who do not live in that location.
Additionally, since the distribution area can be set flexibly, it is also possible to attract visitors to physical stores from the internet. By specifying the area around your store and distributing advertisements only to targets whose location information is detected within that area, it will be more convenient for the targets and will also be effective in increasing awareness.
You can find out how many potential customers you have
What can be obtained from the location information, which is a feature of geotargeted advertising, is also the behavior history of the target. Behavioral history reflects the target’s hobbies and preferences.
For example, if you want to target people who like soccer, with conventional online advertising, you could only track the history of their visits to soccer-related sites.
By using location information to target people who visit places such as soccer equipment stores and soccer fields a lot within a certain period of time, it is possible to efficiently approach advertisements targeting people who like soccer. can.
The ability to narrowly target advertisements to the customer base identified in this way is an advantage that print advertising and pure advertising do not have.
Additionally, since geotargeting ads do not depend on search content, it is easier to get the target audience interested in the ad.
You can check and analyze distribution results, allowing for more efficient distribution.
Web advertisements are aggregated and can be checked to show how many people have viewed or clicked on the advertisement after it has been distributed.
Furthermore, as a unique feature of geotargeted advertising, it is possible to determine whether the target user to whom the ad was delivered actually visited the store based on the acquired location information.
You can also check data such as the number of users who clicked on the ad and visited the store, the number of users who visited the store without clicking, and the page transition from seeing the ad to making an inquiry. By analyzing it, you can understand the current situation and use it for improvement.
Disadvantages of geotargeted advertising
Up to this point, we have mainly introduced the advantages of geotargeted advertising that takes advantage of the acquisition of location information, but of course there are also disadvantages and situations in which geotargeted advertising is not suitable.
From here, I would like to write about the disadvantages.
Disadvantage 1: Advertisements do not directly lead to purchases or service applications.
Geotargeting advertising specializes in advertising that is specific to location.
Although it is effective for expanding awareness and approaching potential customers who have not yet surfaced, it does not mean that distribution will directly lead to purchasing products or applying for services.
For example, if a beauty salon distributes discount information through geotargeted advertisements, it will increase the target’s awareness, but it is unclear whether the target will actually visit the store and apply.
Please be careful on this point.
Disadvantage 2: If you narrow down the target too much, it will be difficult to deliver.
No matter how locally-based your ads are, if you specify too narrow a range or only specific information, fewer users will actually see your ads.
Please note that this will reduce the effectiveness of your advertising.
Disadvantage 3: Measuring effects requires a specialized point of view, so it may be necessary to ask a professional.
As for what you can do with geotargeting ads, I mentioned the advantage that you can check and analyze the distribution results, which can be used for improvement. However, even if you only check the measured data, the distribution results are good. I think it’s hard to tell whether it was good or bad.
You can check the distribution results themselves using tools such as Google Analytics, but if you are not sure how to view the data, it is best to ask a professional for advice. It is necessary.
One of the better ways to improve your performance is to not only focus on the number of ad impressions and clicks, but also to check and receive advice from a professional with specialized knowledge.
How does geotargeting advertising work? Typical methods for obtaining location information
In recent years, smartphones and mobile phones have become personal necessities, and many people carry them with them at all times. Since most smartphones and mobile phones are equipped with location information services, data about when, where, and for how long a person is staying is accumulated.
Some people may not have a very good image of acquiring location information, but it can be said that the majority of people are now benefiting from it on a daily basis.
Location information is also used in apps such as the hugely popular “Pokémon Go.”
Here we will introduce how location information is acquired from smartphones and mobile phones.
GPS
GPS (Global Positioning System) is a worldwide positioning system. Basically, it receives radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites and determines the current location.
In the case of smartphones and mobile phones, the distance to the mobile phone’s base station may also be referenced to improve accuracy.
In addition to smartphones and mobile phones, many people are aware that other familiar devices such as car navigation systems also use GPS.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is one of the wireless communication standards. Data can be exchanged between compatible devices without connecting cables, and the effective range is approximately 10 meters. Since standards are unified around the world, compatible devices from any manufacturer in any country can be connected.
In many cases, it is actually used in stores to encourage users to launch a specific app within the store and distribute coupons.
Wifi
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is a technology that connects to networks wirelessly. The wireless part is similar to Bluetooth.
A decade ago, Wi-Fi was only used to communicate between computers and connect computers to the Internet, but now it is installed in peripheral devices, printers, televisions, game consoles, tablets, and of course smartphones, and it is now an essential part of daily life. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a feature that cannot be used. Positioning accuracy ranges from a few meters to several tens of meters.
It is often provided as free Wi-Fi on Shinkansen trains, inside stations, cafes, etc., so I think everyone has seen it at least once. If you turn on the Wi-Fi function of your smartphone, it will automatically connect to the Wi-Fi access point mentioned above, so you can obtain location information.
If you are concerned about having your location information collected, you can set your smartphone to “turn off location information.” By configuring the settings, users can decide whether or not to provide location information.
summary
This time we introduced geo-targeted advertising.
With the spread of smartphones in recent years, it has become possible to obtain a variety of information from the Internet. Geotargeting advertising is attracting attention as an advertising medium that uses location information to replace newspaper ads and insert flyers.
However, some people may not have a good image of acquiring location information.
The fact that we can ensure confidentiality so that individuals cannot be identified and deliver advertisements tailored to the user’s hobbies and preferences based on the user’s behavior history is an important aspect of existing marketing methods, which requires an understanding of the user. It’s common.
By utilizing geo-targeted advertisements that are local to the needs of consumers, you can expect to uncover potential customers and further expand awareness.