What Is Location Targeting?
Also written as geotargeting, geo targeting, Presence targeting.
Definition
Location targeting is the Google Ads setting that picks which places your ads can show in, such as a country, region or city. For an ecommerce store, it should match where you really ship. The Presence option aims at people in or regularly in those places. Presence or interest also reaches people only interested in them.
Written by Christopher Krassnig, Founder & CEO of ZenoX Media. Written by the ZenoX team from the accounts we run. Definitions are general; the numbers in examples are maths, not client results.
Location Targeting, Explained
Google says location targeting "allows your ads to appear in the geographic locations that you select" (checked 5 November 2026). You set it per campaign. A store that ships only to Germany targets Germany. A store selling in three countries may run a campaign for each one.
The setting that catches people out sits in the location options. There are two choices.
Presence aims at people who are in, or regularly in, your chosen places. Presence or interest also reaches people who have shown an interest in those places, even when they live somewhere else.
Picture a home decor store shipping only inside Germany. A person in Brazil plans a move to Berlin and searches for sofas. Under Presence or interest, your ad can show. You pay for the click, and you cannot deliver the sofa.
Presence or interest is the default, and Google recommends it as a best practice on Search. That can suit a travel business, where interest in a place is the whole point. It fits a shipping store far less.
So a new campaign can sit on the wrong option until you change it. Open the location report. Look for countries you do not ship to. If you see spend there, the setting is the first thing to check. Also make sure your feed's shipping countries match your campaign.
How We Use It at ZenoX
We set Presence on our campaigns, because a click from a person outside the shipping area cannot become a sale. Our daily QA flags any campaign left on Presence or interest. We go against Google's advice here on purpose. Countries we target must match where the store ships.
Questions People Ask About Location Targeting
What Is the Difference Between Presence and Presence or Interest?
Presence aims at people in, or regularly in, your chosen places. Presence or interest also reaches people who have shown an interest in those places, even if they are somewhere else. For a store that ships to set countries, Presence keeps your budget on people you can really deliver to.
Why Are My Ads Showing in Countries I Do Not Target?
Check the location option first. On Presence or interest, someone abroad who shows interest in your target country can see your ad. Switch to Presence, then read the location report a few days later. Ads can also reach someone traveling inside your target area.
Related terms
- CampaignA campaign is the main building block of a Google Ads account.
- Search CampaignA Search campaign is a Google Ads campaign that shows text ads on search results when someone types a search that matches your keywords.
- Merchant CenterMerchant Center is Google's catalog tool that holds your product feed and checks each item against Shopping rules.
- Performance MaxPerformance Max is a Google Ads campaign type that can show your products on Shopping, Search, YouTube, Display, Discover and more from one budget.
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