Localizing searches

[kg84]

If you were to target a few states instead of the entire U.S. do you save money on the clicks or is it about the same?

[AussieWebmaster]

only if you add the state name in front of the word.... you just get to pay the usualy CPC but only get traffic from the areas specified... if the ad is aimed to them then CTR may increase and lower CPC that way

[shaneekirk]

I don't think that it's really that much cheaper if you have a good landing page and CTR. The main reason that I would target locally is if you have a brick and mortar store that people are going to actually go to (like a furniture store, car dealership, etc.).

I have seen a few cases where the very broad keywords are less expensive when you target locally, but then there isn't much traffic for the click throughs...

[kg84]

That's what I figured. Thanks for the info!

[Discovery]

shaneekirk is spot on.

If its a physical location selling or providing services only at that location; the Butcher the Baker the Dentist then local targeting with local KW modifiers and generic terms is the way to go. However you may want to create at least 1 campaign with corresponding adgroups to capture any consumers who are on travel and are seeking services for when they return. In this example the geo is all of the US, however your keyword sets use Geo specific terms.

IE:
KW Non Geo campaign: Dentist, Carlsbad. CA
KW Local campaign: Dentist, Dentist 90121

Note:
Internet access will soon be common on airplanes.
Many folks have Internet access in their RV and or use a mobile device for surfing the web while travelling. All of which may result in the visitor appearing as out of the target geo for local campaigns.

Discovery

[michelle car]

Originally Posted by kg84

If you were to target a few states instead of the entire U.S. do you save money on the clicks or is it about the same?

There are 2 answers to this:

1)Yes you might save money in terms of overall total if you are targeting certain regions as opposed to the whole US because your click volume would be lower, especially on generic terms like "pens".

2)I do believe CPCs are can sometimes be cheaper by going local, I've witnessed this through running a major national campaign, and local spot markets for the same product but through different regional retailers. This however, may not be the case in markets where competition is extremely high, in my case this happened to be Southern CA.