As competition grows in the digital advertising market, advertisers are continually looking for ways to increase targeting effectiveness and campaign performance. One advanced strategy that has emerged is geo-behavioural layering, which combines geographic information with behavioural data to be able to target advertising in a more relevant and effective manner.
Figuring out Geo-Behavioral Layering
Geo-behavioural layering is the combination of two different types of data:
Geolocation Data: This indicates where a user is or has recently been based on GPS signals, IP addresses, Wi-Fi networks, and mobile device data.
Behavioural Data: This represents aspects of user behaviour, including browsing, app usage, purchases made online, and search intentions.
By combining geolocation and behavioural data, marketers can reach audiences who are not only physically close to a location but also displaying behaviours strongly indicating an interest to engage or convert.
How It Works
An advertising company collects data from mobile devices, websites, and apps that collect location data and track user behaviours. This data is processed in a way where individuals are anonymous and people are grouped so they form a user profile showing both location patterns and trends of behaviour.
As an example, an advertising company promoting a fitness brand may target individuals that go to gyms and have recently searched for equipment. If one of those users later enters a specific geographic region around a fitness brand retail location, the mobile device may serve up an ad with a limited-time offer.
The two-way user targeting provided in this example allows the advertising company to provide an ad that is appropriately relevant and specific to the user, delivering the highest level of engagement for a mobile-device ad.
The Usability Across Sectors
Geo-behavioural layering is applicable across multiple industries:
Retail: Brands can present promotions to consumers who have engaged with similar products in the past and are currently near a store
Hospitality: Hotels can target users who have actively searched destinations and are currently near an airport.
Food and Beverage: Restaurants can target users who have frequent food or beverage takeaway plans and are near a location.
This level of measurement allows advertisers to connect their messages to user interests and real-world behaviour, resulting in higher conversion rates.
Benefits of the Approach
The main benefit of geo-behavioural layering is improved targeting accuracy. By narrowing in on users that have both the right geographic location and the right behavioural signal, the campaign becomes more efficient and effective.
Additional benefits include:
Better Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The more relevant the ad, the better the performance in terms of engagement and conversions.
Better Personalisation: Ads are served to the right users based on their individual context, which will ultimately make them more effective.
Better Campaign Optimisation: The ability to optimise campaigns in as little as hours based on location and behavioural data means that options for optimisation aren’t limited to a single produce report. Lots of opportunity to get better results for the campaign.
Challenges
While geo-behavioural layering allows advertisers to reach us in new and relevant ways, this opportunity is not without its challenges. First, data privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and others around the globe require user consent for the collection of personal data.
Advertisers must consider the effects of informing their audience while also keeping up with laws and regulations by making data usage transparently clear. Also, geolocation data and behavioural data can be general information, so the accuracy of targeting based on that geolocation data and behavioural data may differ. The best way to lower the accuracy risk is to partner with an upstanding, reliable data marketplace.
Conclusion
Geo-behavioural layering is a considerable advancement in the digital advertising world. This creates a unique opportunity for brands to express messages that are provided directly in context and grounded in behaviour. By relying on both location information and behavioral information, advertising can be a multifaceted, informed, relevant, timely communication to customers.
