This page is updated every two months with current best practices for Google Ads location targeting. The difference between Presence and Presence or interest targeting quietly decides how much budget leaks to people outside your service area, yet it is one of the most overlooked settings in Google Ads. Each update draws on our own experience plus authoritative industry sources and verified real-time research. Bookmark this page and check back for the latest location targeting best practices. Each update includes worked examples with the arithmetic shown.
Last updated: 6 August 2026
In This Guide
- Executive Summary
- Benchmarks & Numbers at a Glance
- Presence vs Presence or Interest
- Choosing by Business Type
- Radius vs Specific Locations
- Location Exclusions
- Geographic Bid Adjustments
- Location Reporting
- Avoiding Out-of-Area Spend
- Local & Multi-Location Strategy
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- What Changed Recently
- References
1. Executive Summary
Google Ads location targeting is one of the highest-leverage levers available to a local or regional advertiser, yet it is also one of the most commonly misconfigured. The five principles below govern every decision in this guide.
- Principle 1 — Default to Presence, not Presence or interest. Google’s UI sets Presence or interest as the default, but for any business that serves people where they physically are — trades, professional services, retail, healthcare — switching to Presence is the single highest-impact location setting change available.[10][6]
- Principle 2 — Exclusions are not optional. Even with Presence selected, fringe suburbs, adjacent states, and non-service postcodes will consume budget unless you actively exclude them. Vendor data suggests 15–40% of spend can originate outside the intended area without active exclusions.[60]
- Principle 3 — Radius and specific locations serve different purposes. Radius targeting suits businesses centred on a physical address; named locations (suburbs, postcodes, cities) suit businesses whose service area follows administrative boundaries or who need clean market-level reporting.[1][2]
- Principle 4 — Bid adjustments require data before they require action. Apply geographic bid adjustments only once a location has accumulated at least 30 conversions; adjusting on fewer conversions introduces noise rather than signal.[21]
- Principle 5 — Separate markets into separate campaigns. Combining geographically distinct markets into one campaign obscures performance differences, conflates budgets, and prevents tailored messaging. One campaign (or campaign group) per location or territory is the cleanest structure for multi-location advertisers.[2][14]
2. Benchmarks and Numbers at a Glance
| Metric | Typical range or threshold | Applies when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended starting radius for local businesses (metric) | 5–10 km | Vendor claim; storefront or single-site service business targeting nearby demand | [2] |
| Recommended starting radius for local businesses (imperial) | 3–10 miles | Vendor claim; equivalent guidance for markets using imperial units | [9] |
| Default radius shown in Google Ads UI walkthrough | 20 miles (~32 km) | Vendor claim; the pre-populated default when adding a radius target in the UI — often too broad for tight local campaigns | [13] |
| Estimated out-of-area spend share under Presence or interest without exclusions | 15–40% of total spend | Vendor claim; local or service-area campaigns that have not applied Presence setting or location exclusions | [60] |
| Minimum conversions per location before applying a bid adjustment | 30 conversions | Vendor claim; applies per individual targeted location before adjusting bids up or down | [21] |
| Bid adjustment threshold — increase bids | CPA or ROAS at least 20% better than campaign average | Vendor claim; location has ≥30 conversions and outperforms the campaign average by 20% or more | [21] |
| Bid adjustment threshold — decrease bids | CPA or ROAS at least 20% worse than campaign average | Vendor claim; location has ≥30 conversions and underperforms the campaign average by 20% or more | [21] |
| Maximum allowable location bid adjustment | +900% / −90% | Google platform limit; applies to manual CPC and some Smart Bidding override scenarios | [5] |
| Minimum radius accepted by Google Ads | 1 km (or 1 mile) | Google platform limit; smaller radii are not supported in the UI or API | [5] |
| Deprecated API value — positive geo target (no longer settable) | SEARCH_INTEREST | Google API change; triggers an error if set via API, UI, or Editor for Search, Display, Performance Max, Shopping, and Hotel campaigns | [6][4] |
| Deprecated API value — negative geo target (no longer settable) | PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST (as an exclusion) | Google API change; the default negative geo target type is now PRESENCE for all affected campaign types | [6][4] |
| Reporting lag for location data in Google Ads | Up to 3 days | Google platform behaviour; geographic reports may not reflect the last 48–72 hours of data accurately | [10] |
3. Presence vs Presence or Interest and the Default
When you add a location target in Google Ads, the platform applies an advanced location option that determines which users within (or connected to) that geography will see your ads. As of August 2026, Google’s UI defaults to Presence or interest — meaning ads can reach people who are physically in your targeted area, regularly visit it, or have simply shown online interest in it.[10] For most local and service-area advertisers, this default is the wrong choice.
What each option actually means
| Setting | Who sees your ads | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Presence or interest (UI default) | People physically in the area, regularly in the area, or who have shown online interest in the area — regardless of where they currently are | Tourism, hotels, destination retail, event venues, any offer where researching a place is a buying signal |
| Presence | People physically in the area or who regularly spend time there | Local services, trades, brick-and-mortar retail, healthcare, any business that can only fulfil inside a geographic boundary |
The practical consequence of leaving the default in place is that a plumber targeting Brisbane can show ads to someone in Melbourne who recently searched “Brisbane plumbing costs” while researching a renovation project they are managing remotely. That click costs money and will almost certainly not convert.[10][60]
The conflict in Google’s own guidance
Google’s Help Centre describes Presence or interest as the “recommended” default, while the Google Ads API documentation explicitly states that Presence is the correct setting when a product or service is only relevant to people physically in the location.[10][6] Where these sources conflict, this guide recommends the more conservative position: use Presence for all local and service-area campaigns and switch to Presence or interest only when interest in a place is genuinely part of your customer’s buying journey.
Worked example
Switching from Presence or Interest to Presence for a Local Plumbing Campaign
- Setup: A Brisbane plumbing account spending $4,500 per month. The campaign has been running for 60 days under the default Presence or interest setting targeting Greater Brisbane.
- Numbers: The geographic report shows 18% of clicks (162 of 900 total clicks at $5.00 average CPC = $810 in spend) originating from users matched on interest rather than physical presence — consistent with vendor estimates of 15–40% out-of-area spend under the default setting.[60] The account records 0 conversions from those 162 clicks over 60 days.
- Decision: Change advanced location options from Presence or interest to Presence at the campaign level in Settings → Locations → Advanced location options.
- Why: Plumbing is a fulfilment-boundary business; interest in Brisbane from a user outside Brisbane has zero conversion value, so the 15–40% interest-based reach adds cost without adding leads.[60][10]
How to change the setting
Navigate to the campaign, open Settings, scroll to Locations, then expand Advanced location options. The radio button defaults to Presence or interest; select Presence and save. This must be done at the campaign level — there is no account-wide default you can set once and inherit.[10]
Worked example
Keeping Presence or Interest for a Hunter Valley Wine Tourism Campaign
- Setup: A Hunter Valley cellar-door experience targeting Sydney residents planning weekend trips. Campaign budget is $3,000 per month. Targeting is set to the Hunter Valley region only.
- Numbers: A user in Sydney’s CBD searches “Hunter Valley wine weekend August 2026.” Under Presence alone, this user is excluded because they are physically located 200 km from the targeted region. Under Presence or interest, they are eligible. Sydney drives approximately 70% of Hunter Valley visitor volume (industry-level figure, not campaign-specific), so excluding interest-based reach would eliminate the majority of the relevant audience.
- Decision: Retain Presence or interest. No change to the advanced location option.
- Why: When researching a destination is the buying signal, Presence or interest is the correct setting because the customer’s physical location at search time is irrelevant to their intent.[6][10]
4. Choosing the Right Location Option by Business Type
The location option decision flows directly from one question: does my business require the customer to be physically present in my service area to complete a transaction? If yes, choose Presence. If the customer can be anywhere and is researching a place they intend to visit or engage with remotely, Presence or interest is appropriate.[6][10]
| Business type | Recommended setting | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Local trades (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, pest control) | Presence | Fulfilment is location-bound; interest from outside the service area has no conversion value |
| Professional services (law, accounting, dentistry, GP clinics) | Presence | Appointments are in-person; out-of-area interest clicks will not book |
| Brick-and-mortar retail | Presence | Foot traffic requires physical proximity; interest from other cities does not drive in-store visits |
| Restaurants, cafés, and hospitality | Presence | Dine-in and takeaway require proximity; exception: destination restaurants may add Presence or interest in a separate campaign |
| Hotels, resorts, and accommodation | Presence or interest | Bookings are made before travel; reaching prospective guests in their home city is commercially valuable |
| Tourism attractions and experience operators | Presence or interest | Advance planning from outside the destination is part of the purchase journey |
| E-commerce with location-based promotions | Presence or interest | Fulfilment is not location-bound; location is used as a demographic or intent signal |
| National brands with local campaigns | Presence (per market campaign) | Each market campaign should serve in-area users; aggregate national reach is handled at campaign-group level |
| Real estate (buy/sell) | Presence or interest | Interstate investors and relocating buyers research properties before physically arriving |
| Delivery services (food, pharmacy, courier) | Presence | Delivery zones are strict geographic boundaries; interest from outside the zone cannot be fulfilled |
Worked example
Selecting Presence for a Perth Dental Practice
- Setup: A Perth dental practice in Subiaco running a new-patient campaign. Monthly budget is $2,200. The campaign targets the City of Subiaco plus four adjacent suburbs: Shenton Park, Daglish, Jolimont, and West Perth.
- Numbers: The practice accepts patients within a 5 km catchment. Under Presence or interest, users in Melbourne or Sydney who searched “Subiaco dentist” while comparing dental tourism options would be eligible — a group with a realistic conversion rate of approximately 0% for in-chair appointments. At $8.00 average CPC, even 10 such clicks per week equals $80/week or $320/month in provably unconvertible spend — 14.5% of the total $2,200 budget.
- Decision: Set advanced location options to Presence. Target the five named suburbs as specific locations rather than a radius, to maintain clean postcode-level reporting.
- Why: Dental appointments are physically attendance-dependent; the Presence setting eliminates interest-based eligibility from users who cannot attend.[6][10]
5. Radius vs Specific Locations
Google Ads offers two primary mechanisms for defining where your ads are eligible to show: a radius drawn around a point (an address, a postcode centre, or a pin), and specific named locations such as suburbs, cities, postcodes, states, or countries. Both can be used simultaneously, and the right choice depends on the shape of your service area, your reporting needs, and how you manage exclusions.[1][2]
When to use radius targeting
Radius targeting is the right tool when demand is naturally centred on a single physical point and proximity matters more than administrative boundaries. A furniture delivery service, a bakery, or a lawn care company all operate in a roughly circular zone around their base. The vendor-published starting range is 5–10 km for most local businesses in metric markets, noting that Google’s UI pre-populates 20 miles (~32 km) as a default — a figure that is almost always too broad for a tight local campaign.[2][9][13]
When to use specific locations
Specific named locations give you cleaner reporting, simpler exclusions, and clearer market boundaries. If your service area follows postcode or council boundaries — as many franchise territories, trade licence areas, and government-funded services do — targeting named locations will produce more accurate geographic reports and allow you to exclude individual postcodes without trimming a radius.[1][2]
Combining both methods
It is valid to combine radius and named-location targeting in the same campaign. A common pattern is to use a radius as the primary target and then add specific named exclusions to remove suburbs or postcodes that fall within the radius but outside the actual service area. This “draw then trim” approach is often more efficient than defining an exact market boundary with dozens of small radius circles.[8][14]
| Factor | Radius targeting | Specific locations |
|---|---|---|
| Service area shape | Circular or proximity-based | Follows administrative boundaries |
| Reporting granularity | Distance-based (with Distance report) | Suburb / postcode / city level |
| Exclusion precision | Requires named exclusions to trim edges | Simply remove individual locations |
| Multi-location management | Complex if radii overlap | Clean market-by-market control |
| Best starting point | 5–10 km for local business[2] | Postcode or suburb list matching service territory |
Worked example
Choosing a 7 km Radius for a Melbourne Bakery vs Named Suburbs for a Franchise Territory
- Setup: Two accounts are compared side by side. Account A is a Melbourne bakery in Richmond with no franchise boundary — they deliver within a natural driving radius. Account B is a franchise cleaning service whose licensed territory is defined by 12 specific postcodes in Melbourne’s south-east.
- Numbers: Account A’s delivery van covers approximately 7 km from the Richmond address before orders become unprofitable at the $15.00 flat delivery fee. A 7 km radius from the Richmond postcode centre covers ~154 km² and includes all viable delivery suburbs. Account B’s 12 postcodes cover 210 km² in an irregular shape; a single radius large enough to encompass all 12 would be ~16 km, adding ~100 km² of non-territory area and exposing the account to out-of-territory leads that the franchisee cannot legally fulfil.
- Decision: Account A uses a 7 km radius centred on the Richmond store address. Account B targets the 12 named postcodes with no radius.
- Why: Radius suits proximity-centred fulfilment; named locations suit boundary-defined territories where any overspill creates leads that cannot be served.[1][2]
Worked example
Using a Radius with Named Exclusions to Trim a Coastal Service Area
- Setup: A Gold Coast air-conditioning installer targeting the northern Gold Coast corridor. Their service runs from Coomera to Broadbeach — a roughly linear 35 km strip along the coast. A single 18 km radius centred on Southport covers most of the service area but also includes Ipswich and northern Logan, where the installer does not operate.
- Numbers: The 18 km radius covers approximately 1,018 km². The unwanted Ipswich and Logan fringe represents roughly 220 km² of that circle, or ~22% of total radius area. At a campaign CPM of $12.00, this fringe area is estimated to consume 22% × $1,800/month display budget = $396/month in non-serviceable impressions.
- Decision: Apply an 18 km radius centred on Southport, then add Ipswich City and Logan City as excluded named locations within the campaign’s location exclusions.
- Why: Named exclusions trim radius overspill more cleanly than multiple small radii, and the “draw then trim” method is the recommended approach when a service area has a non-circular shape.[8][14]
6. Location Exclusions
Location exclusions are the primary defence against wasted spend from out-of-area traffic, and they are necessary even when Presence is selected as the location option. The Presence setting reduces interest-based reach but does not eliminate edge cases: users who regularly commute through a targeted area, users whose IP address places them in a neighbouring region, and users whose device location is ambiguous can all match to your targeted geography and click your ad from outside your service area.[4][13][7]
What to exclude and when
- Non-service suburbs or postcodes within a radius: Any named area that falls inside your radius but outside your real service boundary should be excluded as a named location.[8][14]
- Adjacent states or territories: For campaigns targeting a single city or state, explicitly exclude all other states. A Sydney-only campaign should have ACT, Victoria, Queensland, and all other states added as exclusions.[7][13]
- Persistently under-converting areas: After accumulating at least 30 conversions per area, identify locations with a CPA more than 20% above your target and consider excluding or reducing bids before moving to a full exclusion.[21]
- Competitor hubs or irrelevant commercial precincts: If a neighbouring suburb consistently drives high click volume but zero conversions, exclude it regardless of proximity.[7]
How exclusions interact with the location option setting
The Presence setting and location exclusions work at different layers. The location option controls how Google interprets user intent relative to your targeted area; exclusions are a hard block on specific geographies. Use both together for maximum control. A campaign set to Presence with no exclusions is significantly tighter than the default, but adding explicit exclusions for confirmed non-service areas provides an additional layer of protection.[4][13]
Note the recent API change: PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST can no longer be set as a negative geo target type. The default exclusion type is now PRESENCE, meaning excluded locations block users who are in or regularly in that area. If you relied on the old PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST exclusion value in API integrations or scripts, update those configurations to avoid errors.[6][4]
Worked example
Excluding Adjacent Postcodes to Recover $640/Month in Wasted Spend
- Setup: A Sydney Northern Beaches electrician targeting a 10 km radius from their Dee Why base. The radius extends into the lower North Shore (including St Leonards and Artarmon), where the electrician does not operate and which is served by a separate franchisee under their licence agreement.
- Numbers: The geographic report for the 90-day period ending 31 July 2026 shows the lower North Shore postcodes (2064, 2065, 2066) generating 128 clicks at $5.00 average CPC = $640 in spend across the 90-day period, with 0 conversions recorded. The campaign target CPA is $85.00. The $640 in wasted spend equals 7.5 potential lost leads at target CPA.
- Decision: Add postcodes 2064, 2065, and 2066 as excluded locations at the campaign level. Do not reduce the 10 km radius, as other areas within that radius continue to perform at $72 CPA — below the $85 target.
- Why: Named exclusions allow surgical removal of non-service postcodes without collapsing the broader radius, recovering $640/quarter that can be reallocated to the converting zone.[8][14]
7. Geographic Bid Adjustments
Geographic bid adjustments allow you to increase or decrease bids for users matched to specific locations within your targeting. They are available in manual CPC campaigns and as overrides in some Smart Bidding configurations, with a platform-enforced range of −90% to +900%.[5] Used correctly, they concentrate spend in your highest-value zones; used prematurely, they introduce noise that degrades Smart Bidding signals.
The data threshold rule
The vendor-published threshold is 30 conversions per location before applying any bid adjustment.[21] Below this threshold, the conversion rate difference between two locations is more likely to reflect statistical noise than genuine geographic performance variation. Adjusting bids on fewer than 30 conversions per area is a common and costly mistake.
The magnitude rule
Apply a bid adjustment when a location’s CPA or ROAS deviates from the campaign average by 20% or more in either direction, based on at least 30 conversions.[21] Adjustments below this threshold are unlikely to produce meaningful efficiency gains and add management overhead without commensurate return.
Bid adjustments and Smart Bidding
If you run Target CPA or Target ROAS, Google’s Smart Bidding already factors geographic performance signals into its bid decisions. Manually layering location bid adjustments on top of Smart Bidding can conflict with the algorithm’s own optimisation. The recommended approach is to allow Smart Bidding to manage geographic variation, and use bid adjustments only when you have a strategic reason to override the algorithm — such as a known high-value postcode cluster during a promotional window.[2]
Worked example
Applying a +25% Bid Adjustment to a High-Converting Inner-City Postcode
- Setup: A Melbourne conveyancing firm running a Search campaign on manual CPC across Greater Melbourne. The campaign has been live for 5 months with a $6,000/month budget and a target CPA of $120 per qualified enquiry.
- Numbers: The geographic report for the period 1 March 2026 to 31 July 2026 (153 days) shows postcode 3000 (Melbourne CBD) generating 45 conversions at a CPA of $88.00 — 26.7% below the $120 target, clearing the 20% threshold.[21] The overall campaign CPA is $119.50. Postcode 3000 has 45 conversions, clearing the 30-conversion minimum.[21] Postcode 3150 (Mulgrave) shows 32 conversions at $158 CPA — 32% above target.
- Decision: Apply a +25% location bid adjustment to postcode 3000. Apply a −20% bid adjustment to postcode 3150. No adjustments to any other postcode that has not yet reached 30 conversions.
- Why: Both postcodes exceed the 30-conversion minimum and the 20% CPA deviation threshold before any adjustment is made, satisfying both data-sufficiency rules.[21]
Worked example
Holding Off on Bid Adjustments Until the 30-Conversion Threshold Is Reached
- Setup: A Canberra landscaping account with $2,500/month budget launching a new campaign in September 2026. The campaign targets four ACT suburbs: Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong, and Woden. Target CPA is $95.
- Numbers: After 45 days (to 14 October 2026), the geographic report shows: Belconnen — 12 conversions at $88 CPA; Gungahlin — 8 conversions at $112 CPA; Tuggeranong — 6 conversions at $140 CPA; Woden — 4 conversions at $78 CPA. No suburb has reached 30 conversions. The apparent CPA range ($78–$140) looks actionable, but with 4–12 conversions per area, the confidence interval is too wide to distinguish signal from noise.
- Decision: Apply zero bid adjustments. Continue running all four suburbs at equal bid weight. Schedule a bid-adjustment review for 1 December 2026 or when the first suburb reaches 30 conversions, whichever comes first.
- Why: The 30-conversion minimum threshold exists precisely because small conversion counts produce CPA estimates with high variance; adjusting below this threshold risks amplifying statistical noise.[21]
8. Location Reporting: Geographic vs User Location
Google Ads provides two primary lenses for analysing geographic performance, and confusing them is one of the most common reporting errors in local campaign management. Understanding the distinction between targeted locations and matched locations — and between the geographic performance report and a custom user location report — is essential for accurate diagnosis of where your spend is actually going.[3][8]
Targeted locations vs matched locations
Targeted locations are the geographies you explicitly added to the campaign. Matched locations are where your ads actually served, which may include interest-based matches that extend beyond your targeted boundaries when Presence or interest is active.[3][8] A campaign can look correctly targeted in the targeting tab while simultaneously serving ads to users in genuinely irrelevant locations, if the matched-location data is not reviewed separately.
The three reports you need
| Report | Where to find it | What it tells you | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic performance (standard) | Campaigns → Locations tab → Geographic | Performance broken down by the locations Google matched your ads to, including both targeted and interest-matched areas | Weekly |
| User location (custom) | Reports → Report Editor → custom report with User location dimension | Physical or inferred location of the user at the time the ad served; not directly filterable in standard views as of 2026[1] | Monthly |
| Distance report | Campaigns → Location assets → Distance report | Performance segmented by how far the user was from your business address at the time of the ad serving; requires location assets to be active[8] | Monthly |
Building the User Location custom report
Because Google Ads no longer surfaces a directly filterable user-location view in the standard UI, you must build a custom report in Report Editor. Add the dimensions User location and Match location alongside your standard metrics (clicks, conversions, CPA, cost). This report reveals cases where the matched location aligns with your targeting but the user’s physical location does not — a pattern that is invisible in the standard geographic tab.[1]
Worked example
Using the User Location Custom Report to Identify $1,100 in Out-of-State Spend
- Setup: An Adelaide financial planning practice targeting South Australia, running a Search campaign with Presence or interest (not yet switched to Presence). Monthly budget $5,500, average CPC $11.00.
- Numbers: The standard geographic report shows all spend attributed to South Australia — appearing clean. A custom User Location report built in Report Editor for the 90-day period 1 May 2026 to 31 July 2026 reveals 100 clicks from users physically located in Victoria and 50 clicks from users in Queensland at the time of serving — 150 clicks × $11.00 = $1,650 in spend. Zero conversions are recorded from these 150 clicks. This represents $1,650 ÷ $16,500 total 90-day spend = 10% of budget on users who cannot attend in-person appointments in Adelaide.
- Decision: (1) Switch location option from Presence or interest to Presence. (2) Explicitly exclude Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, and ACT as campaign-level exclusions. (3) Schedule a monthly User Location custom report review on the first Monday of each month.
- Why: The standard geographic report masked the out-of-state spend by attributing clicks to the interest-matched location (South Australia) rather than the user’s physical location; only the User Location custom report exposed the true origin.[1][3]
9. Avoiding Wasted Spend from Out-of-Area Traffic
Vendor data estimates that campaigns running under Presence or interest without active exclusions can direct 15–40% of total spend to users outside the intended service area.[60] Even at the conservative 15% end, for a $5,000/month account that represents $750/month — approximately $9,000/year — in spend that generates no commercially useful traffic. Eliminating out-of-area waste is therefore one of the highest-ROI optimisation activities available to a local advertiser.
The three-layer defence
- Layer 1 — Location option: Set advanced location options to Presence for all local and service-area campaigns. This is the most impactful single change and should be the first step.[6][10]
- Layer 2 — Named exclusions: Add explicit exclusions for all states, territories, cities, and postcodes you do not serve. Do not rely on Layer 1 alone.[4][13]
- Layer 3 — Regular reporting review: Check the geographic performance report weekly and the User Location custom report monthly. Add new exclusions for any area that accumulates clicks without conversions over a 30-day window.[7][1]
Auditing for out-of-area traffic
Run the geographic performance report for the most recent 90 days and sort by cost descending. Identify any location in the report that is outside your service territory and has received more than 10 clicks with zero or near-zero conversions. Add those locations as exclusions immediately. Repeat this process monthly as part of a standard optimisation cadence.[7][13]
Worked example
Applying the Three-Layer Defence to a Darwin HVAC Account
- Setup: A Darwin HVAC installation and service business with a $3,800/month campaign budget. The business serves Darwin City, Palmerston, and Litchfield Council area only — no interstate work. The campaign has been running for 4 months under default settings (Presence or interest, no exclusions).
- Numbers: A 90-day geographic report (1 May 2026 – 31 July 2026) shows total spend of $11,400. Queensland contributes 280 clicks × $6.00 CPC = $1,680; Western Australia contributes 95 clicks × $6.00 = $570; NSW contributes 60 clicks × $6.00 = $360. Combined out-of-area spend = $2,610 = 22.9% of $11,400 — within the 15–40% vendor estimate range.[60] Conversions from these three states: 0.
- Decision: Layer 1 — change location option to Presence. Layer 2 — exclude all states and territories except Northern Territory at campaign level. Layer 3 — set a calendar reminder for the first Monday of each month to review the geographic report and add any new out-of-area locations to the exclusion list.
- Why: At $2,610/month in recoverable wasted spend, implementing all three layers projects a 22.9% budget efficiency gain within 30 days — funds that can be reallocated to Darwin, Palmerston, and Litchfield at the existing $6.00 CPC to generate approximately 435 additional clicks per month.[60][10]
10. Local and Multi-Location Strategy
Managing Google Ads across multiple locations introduces structural complexity that, if handled poorly, creates budget bleed between sites, obscures per-location performance, and prevents tailored messaging. The foundational principle is straightforward: separate campaigns per location or territory give you the cleanest control over budget, bids, ad copy, and attribution.[2][14]
Campaign structure options
| Structure | Best for | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| One campaign per location | 2–15 locations with distinct service areas and sufficient individual budget (minimum ~$1,500/month per location to generate meaningful data) | Management overhead increases linearly with location count |
| One campaign per region (multiple locations per campaign) | Locations within the same metro area with overlapping catchments | Blurs per-location reporting; requires geographic report to disaggregate |
| Single national campaign with location assets | Brand awareness at national scale; not suitable for local lead gen | Minimal per-location budget control; geographic report required for any per-location analysis |
Managing overlapping service areas
When two locations are close enough that their service radii overlap, ads from both campaigns may serve to the same user. This is not inherently problematic if both locations can fulfil the job, but it will inflate per-location CPA because clicks are attributed to one campaign even when the lead might be handled by the other. The clean solution is to define non-overlapping territories as specific named locations and assign each territory exclusively to one campaign.[2][4]
Location-specific ad copy and landing pages
Each location campaign should use ad copy referencing the local suburb or city and direct clicks to a landing page specific to that location. Generic national landing pages consistently underperform location-specific pages for local intent queries because they fail to confirm to the user that the business actually operates in their area.[2][14]
Worked example
Structuring Three Separate Campaigns for a Three-Location Physio Clinic Group
- Setup: A physiotherapy group operating three clinics: Parramatta, Penrith, and Blacktown, NSW. Total Google Ads budget is $9,000/month, allocated equally at $3,000 per clinic. Each clinic has its own phone number, landing page, and booking system.
- Numbers: Previously, one campaign targeted Western Sydney with a combined $9,000 budget. The geographic report showed Parramatta generating 60% of conversions at $65 CPA, Penrith at $98 CPA, and Blacktown at $142 CPA — but the single-campaign structure meant Blacktown’s $142 CPA was subsidised by Parramatta’s efficiency, masking the problem for 6 months. Separating into three $3,000 campaigns makes each clinic’s true CPA visible and independently controllable. At target CPA of $90, Parramatta can scale to $4,500/month and remain under target; Penrith holds at $3,000; Blacktown’s budget can be reduced to $1,500/month while its landing page and keyword strategy are reviewed.
- Decision: Create three separate campaigns — one per clinic — with non-overlapping suburb targeting (specific named suburbs assigned exclusively to each campaign), location-specific ad copy, and individual location landing pages. Budget: Parramatta $4,500, Penrith $3,000, Blacktown $1,500.
- Why: Separate campaigns expose per-location CPA and allow budget reallocation toward the most efficient clinic — a decision that is structurally impossible in a single consolidated campaign.[2][14]
11. Common Mistakes to Avoid
The following errors appear repeatedly across local Google Ads accounts and collectively represent some of the most recoverable sources of wasted spend in the platform.
- Leaving the default location option as Presence or interest. This is the single most common mistake. Every new campaign defaults to Presence or interest; for local businesses, this means you are almost certainly paying for out-of-area traffic from day one. Check this setting in every campaign on initial setup and after any campaign duplication.[10][60]
- Not adding any location exclusions. Targeting a city does not automatically exclude everything outside that city. States, territories, and countries not targeted can still generate impressions under interest-based matching if Presence or interest is active. Add explicit exclusions for all out-of-scope geographies.[4][13]
- Using the UI’s 20-mile (~32 km) default radius without reviewing it. The pre-populated default radius in the Google Ads UI is 20 miles — far larger than the 5–10 km starting range recommended for most local businesses. Always manually set the radius to match your actual service area.[13][2]
- Applying geographic bid adjustments without sufficient conversion data. Adjusting bids based on fewer than 30 conversions per location introduces statistical noise and can cause Smart Bidding to over-correct in the wrong direction.[21]
- Relying solely on the standard geographic report without building a User Location custom report. The standard geographic tab shows matched locations, which can include interest-based matches that obscure true user origin. A custom User Location report is required for an accurate picture of where your traffic is physically coming from.[1][3]
- Overlapping radii across multiple location campaigns without a de-duplication plan. When two campaigns have overlapping geographies, clicks and conversions become difficult to attribute and both campaigns may bid against each other in the same auction, driving up CPCs without adding reach.[2][4]
- Using a single national campaign for businesses that need local control. National campaigns obscure local performance variation and prevent tailored budgets, bids, and messaging by location. Local lead gen almost always performs better with geographically separated campaign structures.[2][14]
- Failing to recheck location settings after campaign duplication or bulk edits. Duplicating a campaign in Google Ads or Google Ads Editor can reset location options to the default. Always verify the advanced location option setting after any duplication or bulk change.[1][4]
- Confusing targeted locations with matched locations in reporting. Seeing your targeted city in the geographic report does not mean all spend went to users physically in that city. Targeted and matched location columns are distinct; treat them as separate data sources.[3][8]
- Using the deprecated SEARCH_INTEREST or PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST values in API integrations. As of the most recent Google Ads API update, setting positive_geo_target_type to SEARCH_INTEREST or negative_geo_target_type to PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST will trigger an error. Update any scripts, API calls, or third-party tools that set these values.[6][4]
Worked example
Catching a Duplicated Campaign That Reset to Presence or Interest
- Setup: An account manager for a Brisbane tree lopping business duplicates a high-performing Search campaign in October 2026 to create a new campaign for spring storm season promotions (October–December 2026). The original campaign was correctly set to Presence. The duplicate inherits the ad groups, keywords, and bids — but the advanced location option resets to the UI default of Presence or interest.
- Numbers: The new campaign runs for 14 days before the error is identified in a weekly settings audit. In those 14 days, the campaign spends $840 (daily budget $60/day × 14 days). The geographic report shows 17% of clicks (approximately 29 clicks × $5.50 CPC = $159.50) originating from interest-matched locations outside Queensland — consistent with the 15–40% out-of-area estimate.[60] All 29 out-of-area clicks record 0 conversions.
- Decision: Immediately change the duplicated campaign’s advanced location option to Presence. Add all non-Queensland states and territories as excluded locations. Implement a post-duplication checklist that includes location option verification as step 1.
- Why: Campaign duplication silently resets the advanced location option to the platform default; a written post-duplication checklist is the only reliable safeguard against this recurring error.[1][4]
12. What Changed Recently (Last 30 Days)
The most significant confirmed change to Google Ads location targeting in the period leading up to August 2026 is a deprecation affecting the Google Ads API, the Google Ads UI, and Google Ads Editor simultaneously. This is a practical configuration change, not documentation cleanup: attempting to use the retired values will generate an error notification rather than silently failing.[6][4]
Deprecated geo target type values
- SEARCH_INTEREST can no longer be set as a positive geo target type. This value previously allowed targeting users who had shown interest in a location via search behaviour as a distinct signal from physical presence. It is now retired across Search, Display, Performance Max, Shopping, and Hotel campaigns. The new default positive geo target type is PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST.[6][4]
- PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST can no longer be set as a negative geo target type. Exclusions now use PRESENCE as the default, meaning excluded locations block users who are in or regularly in the excluded area. If your account or a connected API integration was setting PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST as an exclusion type, that configuration will now return an error.[6][4]
What this means in practice
For advertisers managing campaigns manually through the UI, the functional behaviour of the two available location options — Presence and Presence or interest — is unchanged. The deprecation primarily affects:
- Developers and agencies using the Google Ads API directly to set or bulk-update location targeting parameters.
- Account managers using Google Ads Editor scripts or automated rules that reference geo target type values by name.
- Third-party bid management and account management platforms that pass geo target type values through the API.
If you manage campaigns programmatically or use a third-party platform, audit any location-targeting configurations that explicitly set geo target type values before your next bulk campaign update. An undetected error on a SEARCH_INTEREST or PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST exclusion value could cause a campaign-level location setting to fail silently or revert to an unintended default.[6][4]
No new features confirmed in the last 30 days
A thorough review of Google Ads release notes, the Google Ads API developer blog, and Google’s Help Centre update history did not surface any brand-new location-targeting features announced in the 30 days prior to August 2026. The deprecation above represents the most recent substantive change. Practitioners should monitor the Google Ads API location targeting changelog and Google Ads Help Centre for further updates, particularly as Performance Max continues to evolve its location signal handling.[6][4]
Worked example
Auditing an API Integration After the SEARCH_INTEREST Deprecation
- Setup: A digital agency managing 22 local service-business accounts through a custom Google Ads API integration. The integration was built in early 2025 and sets positive_geo_target_type to SEARCH_INTEREST for all local Search campaigns as a legacy configuration from a previous targeting strategy.
- Numbers: The agency runs approximately 65 active Search campaigns across the 22 accounts. Each campaign has a location targeting object set via the API. Post-deprecation, each API call that attempts to set SEARCH_INTEREST on a positive geo target will return an error. If undetected across all 65 campaigns, any bulk campaign update — including routine bid changes or budget adjustments sent through the same API call — risks failing for all 65 campaigns simultaneously, potentially pausing or misconfiguring live campaigns until the error is resolved. Average daily spend per campaign is $200; 65 campaigns × $200 × even 1 day of misconfiguration = $13,000 in potentially disrupted spend.
- Decision: Immediately audit the API integration codebase. Replace all instances of positive_geo_target_type = SEARCH_INTEREST with positive_geo_target_type = PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST (the new default). Replace all instances of negative_geo_target_type = PRESENCE_OR_INTEREST with negative_geo_target_type = PRESENCE. Test against a single low-budget campaign before deploying the updated API calls to all 65 campaigns. Complete audit and deployment by 15 August 2026.
- Why: Google has confirmed the deprecated values trigger error notifications rather than silent failures, meaning any bulk API operation that includes a location targeting update will fail on the first deprecated value encountered, potentially blocking all other changes in the same API batch.[6][4]
References
- [1] https://clickyowl.com/google-ads-location-targeting/ clickyowl.com
- [2] https://growthmindedmarketing.com/blog/google-ads-location-targeting/ growthmindedmarketing.com
- [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uE6_StknyI www.youtube.com
- [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6dckwDJ7Mw www.youtube.com
- [5] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722043?hl=en support.google.com
- [6] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting developers.google.com
- [7] https://geotargetly.com/blog/adwords-geotargeting-strategies-to-boost-your-conversion-rate geotargetly.com
- [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFjtOvpQ3rU www.youtube.com
- [9] https://discovermybusiness.co/geofencing-google-ads-in-2026/ discovermybusiness.co
- [10] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722038?hl=en support.google.com
- [11] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2404184?hl=en support.google.com
- [12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbCCXR_qwWQ www.youtube.com
- [13] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPE-M0EvDsg www.youtube.com
- [14] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE3QwFsKZOw www.youtube.com
- [15] https://www.aidigital.com/blog/geotargeted-advertising www.aidigital.com
- [16] https://searchengineland.com/modern-targeting-strategy-google-ads-smx-next-465927 searchengineland.com
- [17] https://support.google.com/google-ads/thread/413560562/google-ads-best-practices-for-2026?… support.google.com
- [18] https://improvado.io/blog/geotargeting-advertising improvado.io
- [19] https://directiveconsulting.com/blog/the-b2b-marketers-guide-to-google-ads-best-practices-… directiveconsulting.com
- [20] https://www.reddit.com/r/googleads/comments/1pdhpd8/what_are_your_google_ad_tips_for_2026/ www.reddit.com
- [21] https://benly.ai/learn/google-ads/google-ads-location-targeting benly.ai
- [22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQeGIIRjyc www.youtube.com
- [23] https://localpage.uk/blog/master-google-ads-location-targeting-the-ultimate-guide-for-2026 localpage.uk
- [24] https://adbrains.ai/resources/radius-targeting-advertising-around-a-location-or-store-in-g… adbrains.ai
- [25] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywzemFbR2JM www.youtube.com
- [26] https://www.get-ryze.ai/blog/google-ads-location-targeting-not-working-fix www.get-ryze.ai
- [27] https://coinis.com/how-to/radius-targeting-google-ads coinis.com
- [28] https://adpulse.app/blog/ppc-strategy/mastering-google-ads-location-targeting-for-local-bu… adpulse.app
- [29] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e49NzlaORY4 www.youtube.com
- [30] https://dashthis.com/blog/google-ads-best-practices/ dashthis.com
- [31] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2iPW0CxFc www.youtube.com
- [32] https://leadsbridge.com/blog/google-ads-best-practices/ leadsbridge.com
- [33] https://searchengineland.com/whats-changed-in-google-ads-locations-reporting-and-why-you-n… searchengineland.com
- [34] https://www.groas.com/post/google-ads-multi-location-businesses-2026-account-structure-geo… www.groas.com
- [35] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453994?hl=en support.google.com
- [36] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7492954?hl=en support.google.com
- [37] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9773001?hl=en support.google.com
- [38] https://support.google.com/google-ads/thread/413560562 support.google.com
- [39] https://twominutereports.com/blog/google-ads-best-practices twominutereports.com
- [40] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blasonde_google-ads-2026-complete-guide-for-advertisers-act… www.linkedin.com
- [41] https://www.reddit.com/r/googleads/comments/1qaoh5u/what_is_best_practice/ www.reddit.com
- [42] http://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/ ads-developers.googleblog.com
- [43] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2454137?hl=en support.google.com
- [44] https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/30502?hl=en support.google.com
- [45] https://www.jonnyswiftppc.com/blog/how-to-find-change-history-in-google-ads www.jonnyswiftppc.com
- [46] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting?hl=vi developers.google.com
- [47] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/query/date-ranges developers.google.com
- [48] https://searchengineland.com/google-is-expanding-when-it-shows-ads-to-people-in-targeted-l… searchengineland.com
- [49] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/data/geotargets developers.google.com
- [50] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6317?hl=en support.google.com
- [51] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting?hl=pt-br developers.google.com
- [52] https://www.paidmediapros.com/blog/google-ads-change-history/ www.paidmediapros.com
- [53] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting?hl=it developers.google.com
- [54] https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/17qopuf/beware_google_ads_new_location_targeting_set… www.reddit.com
- [55] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW-SMAjHJLo www.youtube.com
- [56] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcPMFzMKLjE www.youtube.com
- [57] https://www.facebook.com/groups/nbctribe/posts/801807838226285/ www.facebook.com
- [58] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9376662?hl=en support.google.com
- [59] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting?hl=hi developers.google.com
- [60] https://piggybankseo.com/google-ads-location-targeting-fix/ piggybankseo.com
- [61] https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/targeting/location-targeting?hl=de developers.google.com
- [62] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcUf9Cem4_M www.youtube.com
- [63] https://www.reddit.com/r/googleads/comments/1hzkkss/getting_clicks_from_people_outside_of_… www.reddit.com
- [64] https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2021/07/07/google-ads-geotargeting www.wordstream.com
- [65] https://support.google.com/google-ads/thread/444782577/last-time-i-placed-my-ad-my-campaig… support.google.com
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