What is Geo Targeting?
Geo Targeting allows customers to deliver ads to listeners tuning in from specific locations. This is most commonly used to restrict ads from delivering outside of an advertiser’s region of influence. Using an industry leading third-party geo-location service, AmperWave checks a listener’s IP for their last known location. The information gained from that IP check then determines the listener’s eligibility for geo targeted ads. If they are within the targeted geographic area they will be eligible to receive the geo targeted ads. If they are outside that geo targeted area, or if their IP does not return the specific geo information, they are not eligible to receive the geo targeted ad.
AmperWave offers Geo Targeting on multiple levels of geographic granularity. Each of these options allows you to Include or Exclude the selected geo-areas.
-
Country
-
Country targeting allows you to select entire countries. This is the widest targeting option AW has available.
-
In the AW console, this is a static list you can select countries from.
-
-
Region
-
For US customers, region targeting is state level targeting.
-
Outside of the US, there are other regions available in the search results. Try searching for a region you are interested in targeting to see if it’s available.
-
In the AW console, you can search for the state or region you are looking for and select from a list of search results.
-
-
DMA
-
AW uses the Nielsen rated list of DMAs and their geographic areas for targeting.
-
To learn more about Nielsen’s DMAs, read here:
DMA® Regions | Nielsen -
In the AW console, this is a static list you can select DMAs from.
-
-
MSA (US)
-
MSA is the Metropolitan Statistical Area. This breakdown focuses around larger cities and metro areas. Metro includes contiguous or additional counties when the economic and social relationships between the central and additional counties meet specific criteria. Nielsen Metros generally correspond to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the U.S. Government’s Office of Management and Budget. They are subject to exceptions dictated by historical industry usage and other marketing considerations.
-
You can read more about MSA here:
US MSA Map - Mapline -
In the AW console, this is a static list you can select MSAs from.
-
-
City
-
City targeting allows you to specify any US city with a population greater than 500.
-
In the console, this is a search feature you can begin typing the name of the city into to display the options available.
-
-
Zip code
-
Zip code targeting allows you to target listeners based on their USPS Zip code.
-
In the console, this is an open text field you can type individual zip codes into, or copy/paste lists of zip codes separated by commas, spaces, or returns (One zip code per line).
-
Currently we can target up to 5000 zip codes at once.
-
Users can paste in lists of zip codes up to 1000 at a time.
-
-
Radius
-
Radius targeting lets users input a zip code, address, region, city, DMA, or MSA and a radius in miles. Any listeners within the defined radius, from the center of the geo-selection will be targeted.
-
In the console, this option allows you to search for a geo-selection, input a radius, and then view the result of the selection and radius on a map.
-
A green circle indicates areas that are INCLUDED. A red circle indicates an EXCLUDED area.
-
When you select a radius, a new map icon appears in the selected geos list that will give you a preview of what your radius selection will look like on a map.
-
How to use Geo Targeting
Geo Targeting is only available when trafficking Impressions or SoV-type inventory. We do not support any advanced targeting capabilities with Play based campaigns or ads.
When creating your Campaign or Ads, you can enable “Geographic Targeting” to expand the geo targeting pane.
Geo Targeting looks similar on the Reporting pages that offer Geo Targeting like Inv. Forecast. You can enable Geo Targeting using the toggle on the left.
Once you enable Geo Targeting you can select the type of geo targeting you want to use from the list on the left.
Under Target first select whether you want to Include or Exclude the geographic target.
You can then search and click on the item you wish to use as a target. This will move that item from the Target list to the Selected Target list on the right.
Note - You need to select Include or Exclude before you add the item to the Selected Target list. You cannot update it after it’s been placed in that list.
You can add multiple target types and multiple Includes or Excludes to reach your desired geographic targeting area.
The logic of the tool can be read from the top to the bottom. Lower items in the list will take precedence over higher items. Because of this, it is recommended to start at the highest/largest geographic area you need to define. As you add more items, they should be decreasing in physical area the lower you go on the list.
For example, if I wanted to target ALL of the United States, EXCEPT Oregon, I would do this:
In this case, anyone who is in the US and NOT in Oregon will be eligible to hear ads from this campaign. Because the United States is INCLUDED at the top of the list, all other non-defined geographic targets will be EXCLUDED.
Alternatively, if I were to reverse the logic in this example:
This would EXCLUDE anyone in the US unless they are in Oregon, and also include everyone outside of the US because the United States is EXCLUDED at the top of the list.
Areas NOT explicitly defined in your list of selected targets will default to the OPPOSITE of what the first line’s Include/Exclude setting is.
For example:
This targeting setup would include the whole state of Texas, UNLESS a listener is within the DMA of Austin Texas, and also exclude anyone outside of Texas.
The key takeaway here is that whatever the TOP item in the list is doing (Including or Excluding), the non-specified areas will be treated the opposite.
Note: Remember that the order of the list is important and that conflicting or overlapping geo-areas will resolve with the lower item on the list taking precedence.
Recommendations and Best Practices
-
Keep your geo targeting setup as simple as possible.
-
If you are only targeting a single area, you don’t need to explicitly define anything beyond that one selection. Any non-defined areas will automatically be excluded.
-
-
Start broad and work your way down.
-
If you need to layer geographic areas, remember to start with the largest first. Country>Region>DMA>City>Zip
-
MSA and Radius can fit at multiple parts of this chain
-
-
-
Read the list from the top down.
-
If there is any geographic overlap, each item in the list will take precedence over the one above it.
-
-
You can add multiple geographic types to a single targeting setup.
-
For example, you can target a state AND a DMA without issue.
-
Do mind any overlap and ensure your Includes and Excludes are set properly.
-
-
Examples
Here are some examples of geo targeting setups you may encounter. Note the order of the selections as well as the top-level include/exclude status.
Advertiser needs to target a single DMA.
Advertiser needs to target multiple DMAs
Advertiser needs to target a state, but exclude a city within that state.
Advertiser needs to target a list of Zip codes
Note - You can copy/paste lists of zip codes separated by commas, spaces, or new lines.
Advertiser needs to target a state, but block a radius within that state.
Note - You need to set a target at the center of the radius, the miles around the radius, and then the include/exclude before you can click “Add Target"
End Result:
Note - Moving a radius target to the selected target area will give you a new icon at the top of the list to view a preview of that radius selected.
Advertiser needs to target a DMA, but block nearby states within that DMA.
Advertiser needs to target multiple geo-areas, and exclude a city with overlap.
If you have any questions about Geo Targeting please reach out to AmperWave Support
For more information see: