This document discusses geo-targeting audiences based on location. It explains that geo-targeting can be done at the country, region, city, or organization level using tools like IP filtering and ccTLDs. While IP addresses can provide location information like city or country, their accuracy depends on factors like the user's ISP. The document also cautions that geo-targeting should not involve cloaking or presenting different content to search engines versus users.
3. Your Target Audience?
• A Country
– The right ccTLD or language
• Region
– Add to it IP filtering
• City
– Add to it IP filtering
• Zip/Postal Code
– Now it gets complex ...
• Organization
• A Person
4. Country
• Studies have shown that searchers use from
around 15% minimum to close to 35%
targeted country results only
– This has changed with Google Instant
• The dominant player Google is more and more
pushing people to their local ccTLD version of
Google
• What you get in Iceland is not the same as you
get in the UK
7. The Algorithm of Search
• Google does not give out their algorithm so
easily but Yahoo calls it “Concept of Region”
• „Concept of Region“ is what influences local
search strength
– The ccTLD
– The IP address
– The Language
– The build-up of external links
8. But that is not all
• With the rise of smartphones the exact location is
starting to play a major role
– There the IP addresses plays a role and so does the ccTLD
• Currency is an indicator ($, £, €, ¥ etc…)
• Some products and service offerings have geographic
components
• But the main influencers seem the information, review
sites, Google maps and Google‘s Business address
services
– This is very dependent on country but likely to change fast
as Google roles out their WikiMaps services
12. How exact do you want to go?
• Using IP filtering methods / technologies you
can be pretty exact how you control you visits
• USA the only country that gives out ZIP codes
based on IP addresses
• Most other countries only look at the area
such as city
• UK ISP’s often lease IP addresses from France
13. Accuracy level of app. 96%?
• Local regions
– Sometimes cities
– Sometimes countries
– Sometimes counties
– Sometimes states
14. Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
• We could get our own IP address
• IPv6 is taking over from IPv4
– Supports 2128 (about 3.4×1038)
addresses
• Penetration was still less than
one percent of Internet-enabled
hosts in any country 2008
15. Take aways
• Don‘t test what is happening in Germany with a
computer in the UK
• Look at the ratio of you target market links
• Look at your TLD‘s, if you are using a .TV ending then
your first point of origion is the Island of Tuvalu
– Use Webmaster tools to help you understand how Google
understands you ,then help Google understand you
• Google ignores GEO Meta tags
– Bing still ok with them
– http://geotool.flagfox.net
16. Geo Targeting = Cloaking?
“Geo-targeting by itself is not cloaking under Google's
guidelines. Because what you are doing is taking an IP
address and if your audience is from Canada you will
show him a particular page, if the IP address is from
Germany then you will show a particular page…”
”… just don’t treat Googlebot differently”
Matt Cutts - Google