Geo-Advertising: What It Is and Why You Need It

Geo-advertising, also known as geofencing and geotargeting, allows advertisers to send personalized messages to people depending on where they are in real-time. With geo-advertising, you can get your display and banner ads right into your customers’ hands.

Plus, with our network of cannabis-friendly sites and apps, you can remain compliant while advertising to people on their phones within certain areas. Instead of just casting a wide net and hoping for the best, geotargeting your ads can help you spend your marketing dollars more efficiently by serving ads to people who are more likely to buy from you.

Geoadvertising is possible thanks to the popularity and accessibility of smartphones. Wherever people go, you can bet they have their phone with them. Never have there been so many smartphones in use, and never has the average person spent so much time on their mobile device. Research indicates that the overwhelming majority of Americans have their phone within reach 24/7.

Consumers are also becoming more and more comfortable sharing their personal data with apps and services, especially if it benefits them in some way. Location data is no different. Most people are happy to share location info with retail apps as long as they obtain some kind of potential benefit from the exchange.
In addition, consumers are also developing a preference for online shopping and for localized search ads that help them get what they want faster. Thus, geo-advertising has become an essential marketing strategy for retail businesses that depend on foot traffic.

Find out how geo-advertising can help you spend your dispensary’s marketing dollars more efficiently today—give us a call at 925-393-0444

How Does Geo-advertising Work?

Geo-advertising works by showing ads and impressions to mobile users in specific geographic locations. Sometimes also known as local PPC, geo-advertising uses location-targeted ads to advertise to local prospects.

To geotarget your ads, consider some geographic locations that may contain large concentrations of potential customers. The first locations to target should be the area around your dispensary and other nearby residential and commercial zones.

You should also consider targeting nearby neighborhoods, competing dispensaries (and their neighborhoods), relevant local events (cannabis conferences, music festivals, etc.), and other retail locations (smoke shops, vape shops, etc.) that your target customers may shop at.

Collecting customer data and organizing it into customer personas can give you a better idea of the locations that potential customers may be concentrated in. Understanding your customers is the key to successful geotargeting.

Remember that in order for geotargeting to work, targets must actually take action. CTAs (calls-to-action) that inspire action are crucial for turning potential customers into actual customers. Short and concise ad copy, including effective CTAs, can take your geotargeted ads to the next level.

Geotargeted ads can also be equipped with call extensions and location extensions to maximize their effectiveness. When location extensions are used in your search ads, prospects in your geotargeted zone will see your address. When call extensions are activated, they will see your phone number. These kinds of extensions allow potential customers to reach you directly, instead of just being directed to a landing page.

Geo-Advertising Is Targeted

One of the primary advantages of geo-advertising is that it is targeted.

Better ad targeting means less money wasted showing ads to people who are unlikely to be interested in your products or services anyway. Instead of casting a wide net, geotargeting lets you spend your marketing dollars more efficiently by focusing on specific geographic areas where potential customers may be concentrated.

If a consumer sees an ad when they are far away, they may consider purchasing or learning more later. However, if a potential customer sees an ad when they are nearby, they are more likely to convert, and to do so more quickly.

Simply by targeting your ads to someone’s geographic location, you are more likely to show them something relevant and less likely to throw away valuable marketing dollars on wasted clicks and impressions.

Geotargeting Works in Real-Time

Because location data is tracked and processed in real-time, geotargeting provides opportunities to serve ads to potential customers at precise moments. That way, you can determine when to run your ads. For example, you probably don’t want to run ads telling people to “order now” if you aren’t open. Better to save those for when you’re open and able to fulfill orders.

To learn more about Geotargeting, make sure to check out this webinar.

Ready to get started? Call us today.