Geo vs. Geo

A mysterious stranger offers direction on geographical targeting

The following account is a work of fiction. It is the product of too many minutes staring at a blank page, too many Triple Mochas, or perhaps both. But the points it makes about geographical targeting are real, and should be applied to your Sponsored Search account.

The assignment came in from the blog editor: Write a post that explains the differences between the use of the geo-targeting tools in a Yahoo! Search Marketing account, and using “geo-modified” keywords.

At first consideration, this task seemed simple. I was very familiar with both concepts. The geo-targeting tools, which we introduced with the “Panama” platform in 2006 (and enhanced in October 2008), let you target customers located or interested in specific geographical areas. If you want to reach all Canadians, you select Canada. Or you can narrow your geo-targeting all the way down to reach Brandon and Brenda in zip code 90210.

On the other hand, “geo-modifying” a keyword pre-dates Panama. This is where you add a geographical identifier to a search term to match to users who submit queries like “san diego dentist.”

Questions raced across my mind like signposts on a highway: Being able to use geo-targeting, should we still encourage advertisers to geo-modify? Or does that just create double the work? Is there a secret strategy for geographical targeting? And where can I find someone here in Burbank who will give me the straight answers?

The truth is out there
I first pinged a few of my friends in other departments, only to get vague, non-committal answers. Downcast, I was preparing to give my editor the bad news—there’s nothing new to say about this.

Then, upon returning from lunch one day, I spied a small note tucked under a glass paperweight on my desk. I glanced around—no one was nearby. The note read: There’s more to your geo story. Meet me on parking level 4 at 6:00 tonight and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. D.

At 6:00 sharp, I rode the elevator to its nadir. Parking Level 4 is at the bottom of a series of ramps, and eerily empty except for a stray vehicle or two. The elevator car stopped at the bottom, its bell echoing across an acre of empty concrete. I nervously stepped out. The doors slid shut behind me. I didn’t see a soul.

Slowly, I started to walk the perimeter. As I approached a dark corner near a stairwell, I heard the crisp report of a match lighting. I stopped in my tracks. A dark figure raised the match and lit a cigarette dangling from its mouth.

Talking to Daryl
“Are you ‘D’?,” I asked.

“Yes,” replied a raspy voice in a half-whisper. “You can call me Daryl. But I don’t have much time. What do you need to know about geo-targeting?”

I hadn’t imagined that a simple blog post was going to turn into a Woodward and Bernstein caper, but I was determined to get some answers. “With geo-targeting offered in their accounts, should advertisers still ‘geo-modify’ their keywords?”

“They need to do both,” Daryl replied, taking another drag on his smoke. “But in a campaign where they’re using geo-targeting, they shouldn’t modify their keywords with geographical locations. If they do…” He paused for a moment, seemingly remembering some unfortunate cases. “…bad things can happen.”

A chilly December wind suddenly gusted amongst the columns of Level 4. Then Daryl continued: “Over the years, what has proven to work best is to set up separate campaigns with the same group of keywords—one that uses geo-targeting from the user interface, and a second that adds geo-modifiers to the keywords but does not use geo-targeting. This will ensure that an advertiser receives the maximum amount of traffic.”

I was about to ask another question, but he cut me off: “You want to know why this works?” I nodded my head. “If our systems don’t know where a search user is located, they rely on the geo-modifier to match the search to a relevant ad.”

It was really so simple, I thought. One solution for one situation, a second for a different situation. “One more thing,” said Daryl. “If an advertiser is geo-modifying with a common city name…”

“Springfield,” I muttered.

“Yes,” replied Daryl. “In that situation, they should add the state abbreviation to avoid confusion and poor matches.”

Vanished
“Thank you,” I said, jotting down a few notes. “This is great advice.” But when I looked up again, the shadowy figure was gone. On the ground where he had been standing was a DVD inside a case. A simple label on the front read: “Make sure your readers see this. It reveals more secrets about geo-targeting.”

To see what Daryl left me, click here. And heed his advice, lest your potential customers wind up in a bad place—like Parking Level 4.

— Jeff Hecox