Geotargeting and Audience Targeting

Geotargeting and Audience Targeting allow you to control who sees your ads based on their location or user profile data. These tools help ensure that your campaigns reach the right users, improving engagement and overall performance.

What is Geotargeting?

Geotargeting delivers ads to users in specific geographic locations. You can target by: - Country - Region/State - City - Postal Code (where supported) - Latitude/Longitude Radius

Examples: - Show a “Local Store Sale” ad only to users within 25 km of your retail location. - Target specific cities during a regional promotion.

How Does AdButler Geolocation Work?

AdButler uses IP-based targeting to determine a user’s location. This approach identifies the approximate location of a user by matching their IP address with a geographic database.

Pros of IP-Based Targeting: - No cookies required – Works even when users block cookies or tracking scripts. - High country-level accuracy – Over 99% accurate for country and region. - Privacy-friendly – Does not rely on personal identifiers.

Cons of IP-Based Targeting: - Less precise for city or postal code – Accuracy can vary (70–90%) depending on ISP routing or VPN use. - Mobile carriers – Users on mobile networks may appear as the carrier’s hub location. - VPNs or proxies – Can cause inaccurate geolocation results.

Setting Geotargeting for a Campaign or Ad Item

1. Go to Advertisers, then select your Campaign (or Ad Item).
2. Click Targeting.
3. Select Geotargeting.
4. Add the locations you want to include:
   • Country-level targeting: Choose the desired countries.
   • Region/City-level targeting: Drill down to specific areas.
   • Radius targeting: Enter a latitude/longitude and distance range.
5. Save the changes.

What is Audience Targeting (UserDB)?

In AdButler, Audience Targeting is powered by the UserDB, which allows you to target specific users or user groups that you’ve uploaded to AdButler. Rather than relying on generic attributes like browser or device, Audience Targeting matches users based on unique UserIDs you pass in your ad requests.

Key Features: - Upload and sync user data (e.g., email hashes, customer IDs). - Create custom user segments for more precise ad delivery. - Target campaigns to these segments by passing a matching UserID in the ad tag.

How to Use UserDB for Audience Targeting

1. Upload Your User Data:
   • Navigate to UserDB in the dashboard.
   • Upload a CSV of user IDs or other identifiers that AdButler can match against.
2. Create Segments:
   • Group users into lists (e.g., Premium Customers or Abandoned Cart Users).
3. Pass the UserID in Ad Requests:
   • Modify your ad tag to include the udb_uid parameter: html
4. Target Campaigns or Ad Items:
   • In the Targeting section, select your user segment.
   • AdButler will only serve the ad when the udb_uid matches a user in your database.

Recommended Reading: Learn more about UserDB and Audience Targeting.

Targeting Logic

• By default, all targeting rules are inclusive, meaning the user must match every selected condition (geo + audience + keyword).
• If no audience targeting is set, ads are eligible to serve to all users in the linked zones.

Best Practices

• Use UserDB for High-Value Campaigns – e.g., retargeting premium customers or abandoned carts.
• Refresh User Lists Regularly – Keep segments up-to-date with your CRM or customer database.
• Combine Geotargeting and UserDB – Deliver hyper-relevant ads (e.g., local offers to known customers).
• Always Include a Fallback Campaign – Ensure a default creative displays if no user match is found.

Helpful Links

• Targeting Overview
• Geotargeting Overview
• UserDB Database Guide
• Campaign Configuration

Next up: Fallback Ads and Default Creatives, where we’ll configure backup ads to ensure no ad slot is left empty.