Geo Targeting: Countries, Regions, Cities, and Hyperlocal GPS

For the complete campaign setup process, refer to the Campaign Setup Guide.

Overview

Geo targeting controls where in the world your ads can appear. It is the second step in the line item setup wizard and one of the most impactful — geographic precision directly affects reach, relevance, and cost efficiency.

ad:personam offers two targeting modes, presented as tabs. They are mutually exclusive — selecting one clears the other:

• Location targeting — target visitors in defined countries, regions, and cities based on their IP addresses
• Hyperlocal targeting — reach users at specific physical locations using GPS coordinates and a radius

Location Targeting

Location targeting uses IP-to-location mapping to identify where a user is browsing from and determines whether they fall within your selected geography. This is the standard approach for most campaigns — it works across all device types and environments (web, app, and CTV).

How It Works

You build your geography using a cascading hierarchy. Each level narrows the scope:

Selecting a country alone targets the entire country. Adding regions narrows delivery to only those regions. Adding cities narrows further to specific metropolitan areas.

Selecting Locations

• Countries — Choose from approximately 250 countries, sorted alphabetically. Multi-select.
• Regions — The region dropdown filters automatically to show only regions within your selected countries. Approximately 4,100 regions are available globally.
• Cities — Cities load dynamically when you open the dropdown. Browse one region at a time — select a region, pick your cities, then move to the next region. Your city selections are preserved across region switches.

Tip: You do not need to select every level. If you want to target all of Germany, select "Germany" and leave regions and cities empty. The platform will bid on all impressions geolocated to Germany.

IP-Based Targeting Accuracy

Location targeting relies on IP address geolocation, which is accurate at the country and region level but less precise at the city level. Two important considerations:

Truncated IP addresses on some exchanges: On certain supply-side platforms — including Google, Xandr, and Smart AdServer RTB — ad:personam does not receive full IP addresses for some countries. The final digits are hidden for legal and privacy reasons (e.g., 127.0.0.* instead of 127.0.0.1). Because the platform depends on the Digital Element geodatabase to detect cities by IP, this truncation can reduce city-level accuracy. Expect a discrepancy of at least 10% — meaning some users from neighbouring cities may be included in your targeting.

Country-level targeting is reliable. IP geolocation is highly accurate at the country level across all exchanges. If precise location matters, consider combining city-level targeting with hyperlocal GPS targeting for mobile campaigns.

Hyperlocal Targeting

Hyperlocal targeting uses GPS coordinates to reach users at specific physical locations. Instead of relying on IP addresses, it uses device-level location data — the same signal that powers map apps and ride-hailing services.

This mode is ideal for mobile app and mobile web campaigns where devices actively share their GPS position. It lets you reach customers when they are in specific places — near a retail store, at a trade show, inside a stadium, or walking past a competitor's location.

For full details on configuration, limits, and radius guidelines, see the dedicated Hyperlocal Targeting guide.

Language Targeting (Coming Soon)

Language targeting will allow you to target visitors based on the language configured on their device. This is useful for multilingual markets where geography alone does not distinguish your audience — for example, targeting French-speaking users in Belgium or English-speaking users in Germany.

This feature is currently in development and will be available in a future release.

Location vs Hyperlocal: When to Use Which

Important: Location and hyperlocal are mutually exclusive. You cannot combine country-level targeting with GPS coordinates on the same line item. If you need both broad geographic coverage and venue-level precision, create separate line items — one using location targeting for national reach and another using hyperlocal targeting for specific venues.

Quick Reference

Related Pages

• Hyperlocal Targeting — Detailed guide to GPS-based radius targeting
• Environment — Device, browser, and OS targeting (next step)
• Campaign Setup Guide — Complete 10-step walkthrough