Google Ads Location Targeting for Local Businesses

How Google decides where someone is

Everything below comes from Google Ads Help, starting with About targeting geographic locations. If you are new to Google Ads, read our Google Ads basics guide first; this page goes deeper into the location settings only.

Google uses two kinds of signals. The first is physical location: where a person is or regularly is. Google says location is typically based on the IP address, and depending on a user's settings it may use device location from GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or its cell tower database. The second is location of interest: places a person has shown interest in, for example through terms used in searches, past searches, past physical locations, Google Maps searches, or the content of the page where an ad appears.

Location of interest is not limited to the country someone is in. Google's example: if someone in Paris searches for Los Angeles taxi on google.fr, Google may still identify Los Angeles as a location of interest.

Two more points to keep in mind. Google may also show your ad in related areas: "if you target the city of Portland, we may also show your ads to people in nearby suburbs of Portland." And the targeting is a best effort: "Because these signals vary, 100% accuracy is not guaranteed."

Countries, areas or a radius

Google's Target ads to geographic locations page compares three levels:

• Countries. For a national business, an online shop that ships widely, or a business selling to several countries.
• Areas within a country. Depending on the country, you can target regions, cities or postal codes. Google suggests this for a business that serves a local neighbourhood, has offers in selected places, or sells only in some regions or cities.
• A radius around a location. Ads show to people within a set distance of an address, for example a business that delivers within that distance.

Which area types you can pick depends on the country; Google keeps a list of location target types by country and notes that "some target types aren't available in all countries". Google also adds that location targeting "doesn’t determine geographic borders".

Google's main advice is to "target the locations where you can find your customers, which isn't necessarily the same place that your business is located". A plumber based in one town who works in five nearby towns should target the five towns, not only the one with the office.

One practical surprise: if you target an area where you are not located, you will not see your own ad when you search. Google points you to the Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool to check it instead of searching for yourself.

Presence or Interest vs Presence

Under advanced location options, a campaign can use one of two targeting options. These options apply to the Search Network, the Display Network and Demand Gen.

• Presence or Interest. People who are in, or regularly in, your locations, plus people who have shown interest in them. Google calls this the "default and recommended option". In its bakery example, a Paris bakery targeting Paris can reach people in Paris and people who have shown interest in Paris bakeries.
• Presence. Only people who are likely to be located, or regularly located, in the places you target.

Google recommends broad targeting for Search, but says Presence makes sense when "Your business falls within a sensitive vertical with strict targeting limitations" or when you only want people in specific places and not people elsewhere who are interested. It also warns: "Most campaigns will notice a decrease in impressions when switching away from the default targeting option."

For many local service businesses, Presence is the safer start. A locksmith or a dentist can rarely serve someone in another region who only searched for their town. A hotel, a wedding venue or a tourist attraction is different: people often plan from far away, so the interest signal is the point. Look at the location report after a few weeks and decide with your own data.

Google Ads Help also describes an optional, ad group-level locations of interest setting in AI Max for Search campaigns. It lets you reach people interested in one place while the campaign targets another, such as promoting a business in Spain to users in the US.

Radius targeting

Radius targeting, which Google also calls proximity targeting, shows your ads to people within a chosen distance of an address. You set it in the campaign's Locations settings: choose Radius, enter the address for the centre, the distance and the unit, and check the map before saving.

There are limits. Google only allows targets that meet minimum privacy thresholds, and states: "we do not allow radius targeting under 1 km around any given location." Even above that, small targets can starve a campaign: "If you target a small radius or very small location, your ads might only show intermittently or not at all." Hotel Ads campaigns cannot use radius targeting at all.

A campaign can hold up to 10,500 location targets, which Google's account limits page splits into "up to 10,000 individual and 500 proximity targets", counting targeted and excluded locations together.

A radius around your address is simple, but it rarely matches a real service area, which often follows roads, travel time or town lines. If you already know the towns or postal codes you serve, targeting those directly is usually closer to the truth. The same list should match the area pages on your website; see our guide to service area pages.

Excluding locations

Exclusions stop ads from showing in part of a targeted area. Google's exclusion page uses the example of a real estate business that targets the state of Hawaii but excludes Maui, where it has no office. The rules that matter:

• Exclusions work on presence. Google says you exclude people likely to be located in the excluded areas, and "People who are located outside these areas may still receive your ads."
• If an area is both targeted and excluded, "exclusion takes priority". Exclude California and target Los Angeles, and Los Angeles is excluded.
• You can add up to 1000 exclusions at once with the bulk option, one country at a time. Google notes that the number you exclude "shouldn't exceed the number of locations you're targeting per campaign".
• You do not need to exclude places you never targeted: "there's no need to exclude areas that you haven't already targeted".

Checking where your ads showed

Google's page About measuring geographic performance describes the Locations report with two views:

• Targeted locations shows performance by the locations you targeted.
• Matched locations shows performance by where your ads appeared, which can be people's physical locations or locations of interest.

The matched view is the one to check after a few weeks: it shows whether clicks are coming from places you can serve. If you also use location assets, a distance report groups results by the distance between the location that triggered the ad and your nearest business location. Some data shows up as Unspecified, for example when neither the IP address nor the search shows a recognisable place, and Google notes: "Metrics listed below country level may not add up to campaign totals."

Google's Refine your location targeting page lists what to do with the data: give more budget to areas that perform, for example with a separate campaign for your best area; write ad text for specific areas; send people to location-specific landing pages; show your address with location assets; and exclude regions that bring clicks with a low conversion rate. For any of this you need conversions measured; see our conversion tracking guide.

Language targeting

Google's language targeting page says the setting lets you reach people "based on the languages those customers understand". On Search, Google uses the search term language, the user's language settings and preferences.

This is changing. Google writes that starting in September 2026, for Search campaigns "The campaign-level language targeting setting will be removed. Search ads will automatically match based on the language of your ads." For Performance Max, the campaign language setting no longer applies on the Search Network, and Google states that "No action is required by advertisers for this change."

In practice that puts the weight on your ad text and landing page. Google's advice from the location page still applies: keep language and location consistent, and if you target English speakers in England, write the ads in English. A business that serves two language groups is usually better off with separate ads and landing pages in each language.

A set-up checklist for a local business

1. Write down the towns, regions or postal codes you actually serve, and target those (or a radius only if it really matches).
2. Decide between Presence and Presence or Interest. If you can only serve people who are already in the area, choose Presence.
3. Exclude areas inside your target that you do not serve.
4. Avoid tiny targets: under 1 km is not allowed, and very small areas may barely show.
5. Write ads and landing pages in the language your customers search in, and mention the area you serve.
6. After a few weeks, open the Locations report, look at the Matched locations view, and adjust.
7. If you mainly want phone calls for a trade service, compare this with Local Services Ads, which are a separate Google product.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Presence and Presence or Interest?

Presence shows ads only to people who are likely to be in, or regularly in, the places you target. Presence or Interest, the default Google recommends, also reaches people who have shown interest in those places, for example by searching for them.

What is the smallest radius I can target in Google Ads?

Google does not allow radius targeting under 1 km around a location. Google also warns that a small radius or very small area can mean your ads show only now and then or not at all.

Why can I not see my own ad when I search?

If you target an area where you are not located, your own searches will not show the ad. Google recommends the Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool to check your ads instead.

What happens if I target a city inside a region I excluded?

Exclusion takes priority. If you exclude California and target Los Angeles, Los Angeles is excluded because it is in California.

Do I still need to set a campaign language?

For Search campaigns, Google says that from September 2026 the campaign-level language setting is removed and ads match on the language of the ad itself. For other campaign types, check the setting in your campaign.

How do I see where my clicks come from?

Open the Locations report. The Targeted locations view shows results by the places you targeted; the Matched locations view shows where ads actually appeared, by physical location or location of interest.

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