Location Targeting.how accurate is it?

[SEMblahblah]

I'm using location targeting as an option for one of my campaigns (targeting only 1 state).
But I'm getting a large no of clicks(about 50%) from other places(states).
Had a chat with Google representative about this issue.I was informed that it might be due to query parsing in case of the search campaign.
For instance if I'm promoting resorts in state x and a person from y state searches for "resorts in x", he may see my ad!WHY?HOW?
What is the whole point of specific targeting then?

Can some one provide a better explanation for this?

[edited by: SEMblahblah at 11:30 am (utc) on June 5, 2008]

[T_Media]

Well lets say you're selling web design services in new york.

Targeting just new york you'll get lots of visitors from new york.

But say someone in Texas (A bit far away, I know) wanted some web design doing, but they knew they wanted to get services within new york.

They would type - "web design services new york"

And thus our advert would appear because there's a good chance he'll buy from us.

This is the reasoning google uses.

[natim]

they don't allow as granular targeting as many people want because they can. If you want customers from specific zip codes it's very limited and the DMAs take in far too many areas that aren't needed

[SEMblahblah]

T_media..Thanks!
I understand that and I totally agree that more often than not, it might add to my business/sales but I believe I won't get the same conversion rates from those places as I would from the one I'm targeting.

Secondly and more importantly, query parsing can occur only in case of a search campaign. But as I now notice, my ads are being shown in locations (other than targeted) in case of my content campaign.

How could this possibly happen?

[NatronZero]

Hey SEMblahblah (love the name)

I guess this parsing only works where the "x" is a city name or state name, and does not work with state abbreviations. If you want to stop this from happening you could make every major city and the state name a negative keyword & then see how this works in other states by using the ad preview tool [adwords.google.com...]

Then you could test and see if it is more profitable to attempt to ban this outside traffic, though it will probably also limit your in-state exposure as well. Just a though.

N.

[SEMblahblah]

NatronZero..Thanx!
Adding negatives sounds like a good idea!But would that make a difference in case of a content campaign?

[NatronZero]

Hey SEMblahblah,
As far as I can tell, it won't hinder this entirely because of the main target. Though who knows due to the content of the sites on which your ads will show. While I will never argue that SEM is akin to rocket science, it can be difficult gaining full disclosure as one comes up against new obstacles/situations. More on this later - I've recently entered a similar market space & we are not sure how we are going to handle this moving forward.
n.

[SEMblahblah]

cool!
anyways..I've contacted Google rep. regarding the same issue...should get a reply soon..will keep u guys posted!