Which Client Would You Advise To Use Radius Targeting?

Location, location, location.

Even in the Digital Age, location matters.

Some businesses neglect advertising on search engines because they hold the misconception that it is only valuable for large box stores or online companies that don’t have a physical store location.

In other words, local businesses don’t always understand that search marketing can attract nearby customers and encourage in-store visits.

The secret to localized PPC campaigns is how you target audiences in your immediate area. When performed correctly, the results can rival even a local billboard or radio ad.

Radius targeting is one of the best features to use in local PPC. This discussion will highlight its benefits and help newer marketers answer the question, ‘Which client would you advise to use radius targeting?’

What Is Radius Targeting?

Radius targeting is one of two location-based targeting options that Google Ads offers to advertisers. Instead of manually entering nearby towns, cities and other areas, this option creates an X-mile radius around a centralized point, typically your store’s location.

In other words, radius targeting allows you to market to a very specific area. You can market directly to people that are close by to your business or within your service range.

Why Is Radius Targeting A Good Option?

Manually entering every location in your area can be a painstaking task, especially in cities or large metropolitan areas where there are lots of different boroughs and towns within the area.

You don’t want to accidentally leave out a nearby area and miss potential conversion opportunities. Radius targeting ensures that you hit every search within the designated area.

Not only can you use radius targeting to highlight the area surrounding your business, but you can also target popular attractions and other spots that draw your target audience.

When used correctly, radius targeting can provide much more accurate and effective location targeting than the other options available to PPC marketers.

Who Should Use Radius Targeting?

Revisiting the title question of ‘Which client would you advise to use radius targeting?’, there are several types of businesses that can use radius targeting to great benefit.

• A local service provider that wants to target specific neighborhoods or areas within their service area.
• A local business or restaurant that wants to advertise in a radius around their business to draw in foot-traffic.
• A hotel or hospitality company that wants to advertise around popular tourist attractions or events in the area.
• Anyone that wants to attract local audiences to their business!

Many of these business types don’t need customers from across the globe. They need clients and consumers right in their area, which is why radius targeting is the answer.

Setting Up Radius Targeting With Google Ads

Google Ads is an easy-to-use platform, which means enabling radius targeting is a straight forward process. When you create a new campaign, you’re asked if you want to use proximity targeting or enter locations yourself.

You can also edit existing campaigns to locate potential customers within your designated radius.

Here are the basic steps to begin radially targeting customers:

• Click on the “Campaigns” tab in the Google Ads dashboard.
• Select whichever campaign you wish to edit.
• Find the “Settings” option inside this campaign and press “Edit” alongside your ad locations.
• Then, select “Advanced Search” to see more location options, one of which is “Radius Targeting.”
• Next, you’ll be asked to enter the address for the center of your radius, the size of the radius and the unit of measure (miles, kilometers, etc.)
• Be sure to look at the radius on the map and make sure that it is the right area that you want.
• Finally, “Add” the radius to your campaign, click “Done” and then “Save.”

Google will also display all of the individual areas within your radius. You may want to review these locations to double-check that there are none you wish to exclude.

Four Powerful Examples of Radius Targeting At Work

While you may have a clear idea of which clients you would advise to use radius targeting, they may be less certain. Here are four ways to use radius targeting to achieve excellent PPC results. You can use these to justify your decision to clients or stakeholders.

1. Adjust Bids By Customer Proximity

Customers are more likely to make an in-store visit the closer they are to your business. If a customer is right around the corner, they have no excuse not to stop by and check it out; they are practically already there!

Thus, reaching customers that are in your immediate proximity is very valuable. With radius targeting, you can layer radiuses on top of one another and adjust bids by the size of the circle. For example, you can bid more for searches that are made within half a mile of your business than you would for customers that are 3 miles away.

2. Advertise At Popular Attractions

Radius targeting isn’t always used specifically around your business’ location. Sometimes, it’s best used to capture areas with high volumes of search. Putting a radius around popular attractions, airports and tourist spots is an effective way to use radius targeting.

Not only are these high traffic areas, but they attract a lot of out-of-towners that may not know the area. This means they are more likely to lean on Google to find local restaurants, shops, hotels, etc.

3. Events In Your Area

Similar to popular tourist attractions, certain events also draw large crowds of people from out of town. Putting a radius target over the event allows you to tap into this dense area and draw event-goers to your business once the show is over.

Some hotels use this tactic to target airports during bad weather to attract business from travelers that have had their flights canceled.

4. Target Specific Neighborhoods With Valuable Opportunities

This is a great tip for service-based companies. Not every town or neighborhood offers the same amount of opportunities. For example, a pool servicing business or landscaping company doesn’t find a lot of customers in highly urban areas.

Radius targeting can be used to target neighborhoods with the most potential value for your type of service.

Conclusions

Which client would you advise to use radius targeting? Any local business that thrives on in-person visits or nearby customers can utilize radius targeting effectively. That said, it is perhaps best used by companies with a limited range of service or brick-and-mortar stores that rely primarily on foot traffic.