Google AdWords has brought in new some new local targeting choices for advertisers in 11 nations including the USA, Canada and 9 others. The new tweaking options include postal code targeting for Canada and switching to Nielsen DMAs for USA metropolitan areas. Location extensions and local targeting options have been given a welcome twist across the other 9 countries as well.
In the US, advertisers can now choose designated marketing area or DMA targeting, a delineating process trademarked by Nielsen. As Google says, “Now your online campaigns and reporting will more precisely match TV-based audience data and campaigns. If you’ve been using metros, you’ll notice that the new geographic shapes look different on a map. While you might see some increases or decreases in traffic with the new regions, we estimate the impact will be small for most advertisers.”
In Canada, you can target using the Canadian Postal Code FSAs (Forward Sortation Area)- the first 3 numbers of the postal code. As Google says, “Expanding on our launch of ZIP Code targeting in the US, Canadian Postal Code FSAs are now available for targeting. You can now reach over 1,500 Canadian Postal Code FSAs, the first three digits of the Canadian Postal Code. Now you’ll be able to plan, buy and get reporting with AdWords the same way you do with direct mail.”
The other nice countries in alphabetical order are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, India, Ireland, Romania, Sweden, Taiwan and Vietnam. Here you can target by area as well as city. Targeting by location extensions has also been facilitated by Google. Advertisers can display their nearest location as well as phone number with the search ad. This functionality is available in 6 new countries —Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, India, Ireland and Taiwan.