Why Google Ads shows your ads to people outside your area

What the location option does

When you set up a campaign, you choose locations to target, like a city, a ZIP code or a radius around your shop. But there is a second setting that many owners never see. It decides who counts as being “in” those places.

Google Ads gives you two choices for who to reach:

• Presence or interest: people in, regularly in, or who have shown interest in your targeted locations. This is the default, and Google marks it as recommended.
• Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations.

The difference is the word “interest.” With the default, Google can show your ad to someone far away who seems interested in your area. For example, a person in another state searching for a roofer in your town.

Why it can waste money

For some businesses, that out-of-area click is useless. If you are a plumber, a dentist or a dog groomer, you can only serve people who live or work nearby. A click from three states away still costs you the same.

Who should worry:

• Local service businesses that travel to customers.
• Shops and clinics that need people to walk in.
• Anyone with a small budget and a clear service area.

Who may want to keep the default:

• Hotels, tour operators and other businesses that serve visitors.
• Movers and others whose customers often search from somewhere else.
• People who buy for a family member in another city, such as gifts or senior care.

Google says most campaigns will see fewer impressions (times your ad is shown) after switching away from the default. That is expected. The question is whether the impressions you lose were ever going to become customers.

How to check your current setting

1. Go to Campaigns and click the campaign name.
2. Open Settings.
3. Expand Locations.
4. Select Location options.
5. See which option is selected.

(If you can’t find it, search for “location options” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Check each campaign. The setting is per campaign.

How to see where your clicks came from

1. Go to Campaigns.
2. Open Insights and reports.
3. Select When and where your ads showed.
4. Click the Matched locations tab.

(If you can’t find it, search for “matched locations” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Google says this view shows the places that matched your ads. That can be where people physically were, or a place they showed interest in. Look for cities, states or countries you do not serve, and check how much they cost.

A few things to know:

• Some rows may say “Unspecified.” Google says this happens when it cannot tell where someone was.
• Numbers below the country level may not add up to your campaign totals. Google says some impressions only match at the country level.
• Google also says location targeting is never 100% accurate, even with Presence.

How to switch to Presence

1. Go to Campaigns and click the campaign name.
2. Open the Settings tab.
3. Expand Locations and select Location options.
4. Choose Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations.
5. Click Save.

Repeat for each campaign that serves only a local area.

Other ways to tighten your area

• Exclude places you do not serve. In the same Locations section, you can add areas to exclude. Google says exclusions already use Presence, so they block people who are likely located there.
• Name your area in your ads. Google suggests putting the place in your ad text, like “Boston coffee shop.” People outside the area are then less likely to click.
• Check your radius. A large radius can reach towns you never drive to.

When to keep Presence or interest

If your customers often search from somewhere else, the default can bring real business. Keep it if your location numbers show out-of-area clicks turning into conversions (sales, calls or forms you count as results). If they do not, switching to Presence is a small change that keeps your budget close to home.

SpendCanary flags this when at least 10% of a campaign’s cost came from people outside the places you target.