Location Based Geo-Targeting Boosts Paid Search Ad Performance…Or Does It?

Columnist Wesley Young discusses the importance of truly local data in search marketing decisions.

Mobile device usage continues to soar, and it now accounts for more than half of time spent on digital media. “Always on” consumers are checking their mobile devices upwards of 100 times a day, and as a result, advertisers have been paying more and more attention to mobile.
This rise in mobile use particularly impacts local search. Data from Thrive Analytics found that 60% of consumers use mobile devices to find information on local products and services, and 40% of those are on-the-go when searching.
Growth of mobile local search rose four times that of mobile internet use, according LSA’s Local Mobile Search Study.  Importantly, 70% of consumers are willing to share their location information if they believe they are getting something of value in return, such as coupons and loyalty points.  Yet, according to Econsultancy’s Cross-Channel Marketing Report 2013, just 39% of agencies are currently using location based data to target mobile consumers.
There is plenty of data to support the use of location based data to improve the performance of ads including paid search ads. A common cited and well supported metric is that geo-targeted ads perform two times better than the industry average for non-targeted campaigns. But what if you cite this statistic to your advertiser and then the ads you place do not perform at that rate? Failing to meet expectations can cause real problems with client retention and satisfaction.
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