Prevent clicks outside of your geo-targeted locations

You may be getting clicks on your Google Ads from outside your geographically targeted areas. This article explains how you can help minimize clicks from outside your targeted locations.

Set location options for targeted area

The default setting for the “Location options” target is “People in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in your included locations (recommended)”. This will show your ads to users who are likely to be physically located in the targeted locations, as well as those interested in the targeted locations.

To show ads only to people likely to be physically within your targeted locations, you need to change this location option.

Keep in mind:

This change will refine your ad traffic, leading to more focused and valuable impressions.

Go to Campaigns within the Campaigns menu .
Select the Settings tab at the top of the page.
Expand the Locations drop-down menu and select Location options.
Select Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations (if it’s not already selected).
Select Save.

Your ads will now appear only to people likely to be physically located in the targeted locations.

Include location names in your ad text

If a significant amount of traffic is coming from outside your targeted locations, consider adding those targeted areas to your ad text. For example, you can change “coffee shop” to “Boston coffee shop”. This minimizes clicks from people not located in Boston and those not interested in Boston.

Limit your audience to within a specific country

If your ad targets a country, it may show to people searching on that country’s Google domain, even if their IP addresses are outside the selected area.

Here are 2 ways to help show ads only to those within a specific country:

How to select a country as your ad's location

Go to Campaigns within the Campaigns menu .
Select the Settings tab at the top of the page.
Expand the Locations drop-down menu and select Enter another location.
Enter the name of a country.
Select Location options.
Select Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations.
Select Save.

How to select a country's regions as your ad's locations

Ads won’t be shown to people whose IP addresses can be resolved at only the country level.

Go to Campaigns within the Campaigns menu .
From the Settings tab, select the Locations drop-down menu.
Select Enter another location, then select Advanced search.
Enter all regions for the country.
Select Save.

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