The setting most accounts get wrong
- People in or often in your area
- Best for local service businesses
- Fewer wasted clicks
- The safer choice for most
- Google's default setting
- Adds people searching about your area
- Can reach people far away
- Suits travel and relocation
A Chicago resident searching "Miami plumber" for their parents may see your ad under the default. That can be useful. More often, it brings clicks from people you cannot serve.
Ways to draw your area
- Cities or counties, for a clear service area
- ZIP codes, for precise neighborhoods
- A radius, for distance from your office
- Exclusions, to remove areas you do not serve
Google may also show ads in nearby, closely related areas, and location detection is never fully accurate. Check the locations report to see where clicks come from.
Match targeting to where you work
Target only places where you take jobs at a price that pays. If far suburbs bring low-value jobs, exclude them or lower bids there. Separate campaigns for core and outer areas let you set budgets for each.
Good example. A cleaning company targets 18 ZIP codes it serves, uses presence only and excludes a town across the river it never visits.
Bad example. A cleaning company targets the whole state on the default setting. Clicks arrive from three hours away.
Read radius targeting for local ads. Our Google Ads management maps targeting to your real service area.