ScaleyGoogle Ads Location Targeting (Geotargeting)
How Google decides where a person is, the setting that quietly shows your ads abroad, and how a store that ships to one country should set it.
Written and reviewed by Christopher Krassnig
Published Last checked
Location targeting decides which places your Google Ads can show in. You pick countries, cities or a radius around a point. Google has 2 options: "Presence or Interest", the default, reaches people in or interested in your places, and "Presence" reaches only people in or regularly in them.
Also called: geotargeting, geo targeting, presence or interest
How Google Works Out Where Someone Is
Google uses two ideas. Physical location is where someone is or regularly is. Google says it is typically based on the IP address, and, depending on the person's settings, on device location from GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cell towers.
Location of interest is a place someone has shown interest in. Google lists the signals: places named in their searches, past searches, past physical locations, the content of the site where an ad shows, Google Maps searches, and a custom location set for search results.
Google's example: someone in Paris searching "Los Angeles taxi" on google.fr may count as interested in Los Angeles. Google also says location targeting is its "best effort" and is not 100% accurate in every case.
Presence vs Presence or Interest
This is the setting under Advanced location options. It decides who counts as "in" your location.
| Option | Reaches | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Presence or Interest (default) | People in, regularly in, or who have shown interest in your locations. | People elsewhere can buy from you, like a gift shop or travel brand. |
| Presence | People in or regularly in your locations. | You only sell or ship to the places you target. |
Google says to consider Presence when you only want to target people in specific locations, or when you are in a sensitive vertical with strict targeting rules. Exclusions work on Presence: an excluded location blocks people who are there.
What You Can Target
Google lists entire countries, areas within a country like cities or territories, and a radius around a location. When you target an area, Google may also show ads in nearby, closely related areas, like the suburbs of a city you picked.
Household income targeting has moved. Google says it is being migrated from location targeting into demographic targeting, under Audiences.
Example: A Store That Ships Only in the US
Made-up numbers, to show the method. A furniture store ships only inside the US. Its campaign targets the United States with the default Presence or Interest.
In the locations report it finds clicks from people in other countries who searched for US furniture brands. None of them can order. It switches the campaign to Presence, so only people in or regularly in the US can see the ad.
It also excludes two states where shipping costs more than the order is worth.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the default on when you ship to one country
Presence or Interest can show your ads to people abroad who only showed interest. If they cannot buy, switch to Presence.
Forgetting related areas
Google may show ads in nearby areas you did not pick. Check the locations report.
Expecting perfect accuracy
Google calls location targeting its best effort. Signals like IP and device settings vary.
Questions People Ask
The setting that decides which places your ads show in: countries, areas within a country, or a radius around a point.
Google's Own Pages We Quoted
Every rule, limit and size on this page comes from these pages, read on 8 October 2026. Google changes them, so check the page itself before you act.
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