Use audiences in Adobe Target to target users based on their geographical location.
Geo location parameters let you target activities and experiences based on your visitors’ geography. You can include or exclude visitors based on their country, state/province, city, zip/postal code, latitude, longitude, DMA, or mobile carrier. This data is sent with each Target request and is based on the visitor’s IP address. Select these parameters just like any targeting values.
Create an audience with geo targeting section_49CBFFAAC8694C4AAD3DE4B2DB7B05DE
In the Target interface, click Audiences > Create Audience.
Name the audience and add an optional description.
Drag and drop Geo into the audience builder pane.
Click Select, then select one of the following options:
Country/Region
State
City
Zip Code
Longitude
Latitude
DMA
Mobile Carrier
A visitor’s geo information is determined from the originating IP address of a Target location request (mbox request). The IP-to-geo resolution is done for the first call of a new session. This means, if the IP address of a visitor changes mid session of a visit, the geo information is still based on the IP address of the first call.
(Optional) Set up additional rules for the audience.
Click Done.
The following illustration shows an audience that targets users accessing the activity from a latitude greater than 44° and a longitude less than 22°.
Accuracy section_D63D5FFCB49C42F9933AFD0BD7C79DF1
The accuracy of geo targeting depends on several factors. WiFi connections are more accurate than cellular networks. When a visitor is using a cellular data connection, the accuracy of the geo-lookup can be affected by location, the provider’s data relationship with DeviceAtlas, and other factors. Cell tower-based network connections might be less accurate than wired or WiFi connections. Also, a visitor’s IP address might be mapped to the visitor’s ISP location, which might not be the same as the visitor’s actual location. Some mobile geo-location issues can be solved using the Geolocation API.
The following table shows the accuracy of IP-based geographical information from DigitalEnvoy for wired or WiFi Internet connections. DigitalEnvoy provides the most accurate data in the industry. Global accuracy is more than 99.9 percent at the country level and is up to 97 percent accurate at a city level. Accuracy information does not apply to cell tower-based networks.
Country
State
City
Region
US
99.99%
96%
94%
Canada
99.99%
96%
94%
Europe
99.99%
UK
99.99%
87%
Germany
99.99%
95%
93%
Scandinavia
99%
Low 90s
Mid 80s
Spain
99.99%
Around 90%
Mid to high 90s
Asia
99%
Mid 90s
Low 90s
Japan
99.99%
Mid 90s
Low 90s
Australia
99.99%
94%
91%
Use geo-targeting in profile scripts section_92C93138542C4A94997E3F4BE3F5DA28
You can use geo information for profile scripts.
For example, use:
profile.geolocation.country
profile.geolocation.state
profile.geolocation.city
profile.geolocation.zip
profile.geolocation.dma
profile.geolocation.domainName
profile.geolocation.ispName
profile.geolocation.connectionSpeed
profile.geolocation.mobileCarrier
So, you can write a target expression called “From North America” with the following code:
The following questions are frequently asked about geo-targeting:
How do I specify latitude and longitude?
See details
The value for latitude and longitude should be a numeric value in degrees.
The value for latitude and longitude can have a maximum precision of five decimal places.
The value for latitude should be between -90 and 90.
The value for longitude should be between -180 and 180.
How does geo-targeting work for mobile devices?
See details
Most mobile device users access content via WiFi, which means Target’s IP-based geo targeting is as accurate as on a desktop. Cell tower-based connections might be less accurate because the visitor’s IP address is based on the tower where the signal is being picked up. Some mobile geo-location issues can be solved using the Geolocation API.
How does geo feature handle visitors from AOL?
See details
Due to the way AOL proxies its traffic, Target can only target them at a country level. For example, a campaign targeted to France successfully targets AOL users in France. But a campaign targeted to Paris does not successfully target AOL users in Paris. If your intent is to specifically target AOL users, you can set the region field to “aol.” In fact, you can target US AOL users by specifying two targeting conditions: country exactly matches “united states” and region exactly matches “aol.”
What location granularity does geo-targeting provide?
See details
Country - global
State/province/region - global
City - global
Zip/postal code - US, Germany, Canada
DMA/ITV (UK) - US, UK
Mobile carrier - global
How can I test my activities as if I’m a user coming from a different location?
See details
at.js 1.x: You can override your IP address with an IP address from a different location and use the mboxOverride.browserIp url parameter. For example, if your company is in the UK, but your global campaign targets visitors in Auckland, New Zealand, use this style of URL assuming that 60.234.0.39 is an IP address in Auckland:
Clear your cookies before doing testing the activity.
note note
NOTE
mboxOverride.browserIp is supported in at.js 1.x only. This functionality is not supported in at.js 2.x.
at.js 2.x: To override your IP address with at.js 2.x, install a browser extension/plugin (such as X-Forwarded-For Header for Chrome or Firefox). This extension lets you pass the x-forwarded-for header in your page requests.
How are territories, such as Puerto Rico and Hong Kong, mapped into the geo-targeting structure?
See details
Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, and other territories are treated as separate “Country” values.
Does Target capture (and store) information such as Zip Code when activity is targeted with geo-location targeting capabilities?
See details
No, Target uses geo data during the session only, then the data is discarded.
Training video: Creating Audiences
This video includes information about using audience categories.
