We are continuing the “Targeting and Trust” series of blog posts this month, dedicated to why IP-based geolocation data is well positioned to deliver both the accurate targeting digital marketers need for improved response rates and the trust consumers crave in terms of personalized promotions without intrusion.
The third installment of our five-part blog series examines how IP geolocation technology helps digital marketers overcome many of the challenges they face every day. In Part One of our series, we referenced a series of challenges that digital marketers are now facing in the marketplace—many a direct byproduct of the pandemic.
Here we’ll look in more detail at each of these challenges and explore how IP-based geolocation offers a solution.
Low Response Rates
It’s open knowledge that click-through rates (CTRs) are low—and are getting lower. The first internet banner had a 10-percent CTR. Today, the rate is around 0.05 percent. Geo-targeting reverses this trend by offering relevant content, which generates a much better response. Real use cases show CTRs as much as tripling with the use of IP-geolocation data.
Falling Inventory Prices
Just as CTRs have fallen, so, too, have inventory prices. Again, geotargeted ads buck that trend. Typically, advertising delivered through geotargeting commands a 30- to 40-percent premium over non-targeted ads.
Cookies
Placing a cookie on a user’s browser lets a brand follow that user around the web. Abuse of the cookie is the original “creepy” ad-tech innovation. And, it is the big casualty of the new era of data privacy. Even Google is phasing it out.
Brands and advertisers need an alternative that supports personalization, but avoids intrusion. Many are experimenting with fingerprinting. However, some believe this technique to be as invasive as the cookie.
The removal of cookies should breathe new life into the IP address, which is ubiquitous and instant. An IP address can provide location and other user insights in real time—without yielding any personal information.
Privacy
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly active in speaking up when it comes to the use and protection of their personal information. The result? We’re seeing a rise in the utilization of tools such as ad blockers and virtual private networks (VPNs). Today, respect for privacy is such a consumer hot button that Apple is basing campaigns around it.
Consumers might reject creepy tracking methods, but they still respond best to personalized advertising, promotions and messages. Geotargeting offers marketers a privacy-sensitive solution they can be confident in to provide valuable insights into online traffic. Moreover, premium IP data can detect proxy, VPN and Tor traffic.
For marketers, in particular, the inclusion of proxy information in their data arsenals works to improve efficiency and performance of content and message through: 1) Avoiding wasted impressions; 2) Fighting click fraud; and 3) Enhancing attribution and analytics. Research suggests that 28 percent of website traffic has shown strong “non-human signals.” Where there’s non-human traffic, there’s certainly the potential for ad fraud.
Click Fraud
And speaking of ad fraud…the key to detecting it is to know more about who (or what) the ”clicker” is. Why is this important? Because the fraudster is usually trying to assume the identity of a legitimate consumer. Obviously, fraudsters use all manner of techniques to hide their identities—and to steal others.
IP-based geolocation gives brands a tool for spotting these scams by:
- Revealing traffic surges from areas outside a campaign’s target zone;
- Filtering out clicks from regions where services aren’t available;
- Flagging account access from unusual or high-fraud areas;
- Showing where traffic is coming from, such as proxies, which might indicate fraud;
- And so much more.
Companies can then use this type of insight to reduce click fraud.
We live in the age of tailored, targeted, programmatic advertising that delivers relevant, timely messaging to consumers. The relevance of that messaging is dependent on good data. Much of the simple IP-based data that has previously been available to digital marketers has been inconsistent and inaccurate. By deploying more innovative, industry-leading IP geolocation data, digital marketers can overcome a myriad of challenges they face today through the use of more robust and reliable location-based advertising strategies.
In Part Four of this series, we’ll compare the realities and limits of IP geolocation data.