Ask What is the right way to use location targeting when setting up a Google Ads campaign?

[Newman]

Location targeting lets you control where your ads show. You can target a whole country, a region, a city, or even a radius around a specific address. The right way to use it depends on your business. A local shop should target only nearby areas. An online store can go wider. One important setting many people miss is whether to target people who are in that location or people who are just interested in it. If you sell hotel rooms in Paris, you may want to target people searching for Paris hotels from anywhere. What do you think is the right way to set up location targeting in Google Ads?

 

[Brendan]

One thing people miss when setting up location targeting is the "presence vs. interest" option. If you leave it on the default setting, Google will show your ads to people who are just interested in your area, not just people who are actually there. Changing that one setting can save a lot of wasted money.

 

[Felix😎]

Honestly, starting with a broad location and then narrowing it down over time makes more sense than going too specific from day one. You need some data first to see which cities or areas are actually bringing in people who buy or sign up, then you adjust from there. Don't guess too early.

 

[Edward22]

Radius targeting is really underrated for local businesses. Instead of picking a whole city, you just drop a pin on your location and set a distance around it. That way, your ads only reach people who are close enough to actually visit or use your service. It's a much cleaner setup.

 

[Daniel084]

A lot of people forget to exclude locations too. If certain areas keep clicking your ads but nobody from there ever buys or signs up, you're just burning money on them. Adding those places as excluded locations in your campaign settings is a simple fix that most beginners completely skip.