Local Ads on Worldwide Site

Do you block them?

[Jane_Doe]

I get a lot of local ads for things like widget steam cleaning in Columbus Ohio on a widget site that is geared towards an international widget audience.

I have been blocking the local ads, but I just thought I'd post to see if anyone has any reasons why this might not be a good idea.

Is the Adsense software smarter than I am about what ads would be good on my site? Are these ads maybe really lucrative ads and I should be grateful for the occasional click when someone from Columbus or the surrounding suburbs visits my site?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[sandor]

do you live in columbus ohio?

you're probably getting geo-targeted ads ... ads served up based on the visitor's location. so maybe other visitors arent seeing those .. maybe they're seeing ones specific for their locality which i think is a good thing .. more likelihood that they'll click

[Jenstar]

If you aren't in Ohio, AdSense geotargeting might have thought that was where your IP is from. AdSense will display regional ads based upon your IP location (or what they think it is, lol). Try having others check in different areas or use a proxy server, and see if you are getting different ads. Chances are, it is a case of incorrect geotargeting (unless you ARE in Ohio, then it would be accurate).

[adwords.google.com...] has more about the regional targeting.

[Jane_Doe]

I just used Columbus as a made up example. I see local ads from all different cities across the U.S. when looking at the ads from my home PC with a cable connection. I do see more from the local area, however, so I guess that's Adsense local targeting?