Geo

Use audiences in Adobe Target to target users based on their geographical location.

Geo location parameters let you target activities and experiences based on your visitors’ geography. You can include or exclude visitors based on their country, state/province, city, zip/postal code, latitude, longitude, DMA, or mobile carrier. This data is sent with each Target request and is based on the visitor’s IP address. Select these parameters just like any targeting values.

Create an audience with geo targeting

1. In the Target interface, click Audiences > Create Audience.

2. Name the audience and add an optional description.

3. Drag and drop Geo into the audience builder pane.

4. Click Select, then select one of the following options:

   • Country/Region
   • State
   • City
   • Zip Code
   • Longitude
   • Latitude
   • DMA
   • Mobile Carrier

   A visitor’s geo information is determined from the originating IP address of a Target location request (mbox request). The IP-to-geo resolution is done for the first call of a new session. This means, if the IP address of a visitor changes mid session of a visit, the geo information is still based on the IP address of the first call.

   For Mobile Carrier, Target uses the IP address registration data (who owns the block of IP addresses) to determine the appropriate mobile carrier using Mobile Country Codes (MCC) and Mobile Network Codes MNC).

5. Specify an operator and the appropriate value.

6. (Optional) Set up additional rules for the audience.

7. Click Done.

The following illustration shows an audience that targets users accessing the activity from a latitude greater than 44° and a longitude less than 22°.

Accuracy

The accuracy of geo targeting depends on several factors. WiFi connections are more accurate than cellular networks. When a visitor is using a cellular data connection, the accuracy of the geo-lookup can be affected by location, the provider’s data relationship with DeviceAtlas, and other factors. Cell tower-based network connections might be less accurate than wired or WiFi connections. Also, a visitor’s IP address might be mapped to the visitor’s ISP location, which might not be the same as the visitor’s actual location. Some mobile geo-location issues can be solved using the Geolocation API.

The following table shows the accuracy of IP-based geographical information from DigitalEnvoy for wired or WiFi Internet connections. DigitalEnvoy provides the most accurate data in the industry. Global accuracy is more than 99.9 percent at the country level and is up to 97 percent accurate at a city level. Accuracy information does not apply to cell tower-based networks.

Use geo-targeting in profile scripts

You can use geo information for profile scripts.

For example, use:

• profile.geolocation.country
• profile.geolocation.state
• profile.geolocation.city
• profile.geolocation.zip
• profile.geolocation.dma
• profile.geolocation.domainName
• profile.geolocation.ispName
• profile.geolocation.connectionSpeed
• profile.geolocation.mobileCarrier

So, you can write a target expression called “From North America” with the following code:

return profile.geolocation.country == 'united states' || profile.geolocation.country == 'canada' || profile.geolocation.country == 'mexico';

Use geo-targeting values as tokens

You can use profile.geolocation values directly as tokens in offers, plugins, and so forth.

For example, use:

• ${profile.geolocation.country}
• ${profile.geolocation.state}
• ${profile.geolocation.city}
• ${profile.geolocation.zip}
• ${profile.geolocation.dma}
• ${profile.geolocation.domainName}
• ${profile.geolocation.ispName}
• ${profile.geolocation.connectionSpeed}
• ${profile.geolocation.mobileCarrier}
• ${profile.geolocation.latitude}
• ${profile.geolocation.longitude}

Geo-targeting FAQ

The following questions are frequently asked about geo-targeting:

How do I specify latitude and longitude?

How does geo-targeting work for mobile devices?

How does geo feature handle visitors from AOL?

What location granularity does geo-targeting provide?

How can I test my activities as if I’m a user coming from a different location?

How are territories, such as Puerto Rico and Hong Kong, mapped into the geo-targeting structure?

Does Target capture (and store) information such as Zip Code when activity is targeted with geo-location targeting capabilities?

Training video: Creating Audiences

This video includes information about using audience categories.

• Create audiences
• Define audience categories