Varun RameshHow to Put Technology to Use to Drive Traffic and Conversions
We all know these days it’s all about conversion rate optimization when it comes to making money online. There is no point in having thousands of visitors to your website when only a small fraction converts to sales. Companies spend a fortune bringing in traffic and have now realized that improving conversion rates is the key to making the money spent on marketing worthwhile.
There are many methods of engaging web visitors and increasing the conversion rates, however one that is hardly spoken of but is used by all the big players is ‘Geo Targeting’.
This article provides an insight into Geo Targeting, how well-known companies use it to improve their CTRs (Click Through Rates) to maximize their ROI (Return On Investment) and how easy it is for you to incorporate Geo Targeting into your own website so you too can reap the benefits!
What is Geo Targeting?
Geo Targeting in simple terms refers to targeting a visitor based on their geolocation (country, state or city). Geo Targeting involves delivering dynamic content or information that is highly related to a visitor’s location.
As the internet grows at an exponential rate there is an overload of information on the web. You only have a few seconds to convince someone that your content is worth it and there is no better way to do it than to deliver content that is applicable to their ‘locality’ as people are always ‘aware’ or ‘interested’ in what’s happening around them.
Companies Who Get It
Let’s start with the simplest example. When you visit Google.com you automatically get redirected to your country specific Google search page. For example when visiting from Australia you will get redirected to Google.com.au and it will even say Google Australia. This is called ‘Geo Redirection’ and is basically a URL redirection that is based on the visitor’s location. Google does this so the search results you receive are more relevant to your location and it is a perfect example of how a global organization utilizes Geo Targeting to deliver information relevant to you.
Image courtesy: Google
Go Pro Shop
Ecommerce websites are another great example where Geo Targeting is a must have. Let us take a look at Go Pro’s Shop from two locations, USA and Australia. You will instantly notice that the prices are in US$ and A$ for the USA and Australian versions respectively. On a global ecommerce website, it is paramount to tailor the currency and products to suit the visitor’s location as local products are more relevant and visitors are more likely to buy from a nearby store due to lower shipping costs, faster shipping, easier returns etc. .
Image courtesy: Go Pro USA
Image courtesy: Go Pro Australia
Additional Ways to Leverage Geo Targeting
Geo Targeted Promotions
Take an example of a business such as a restaurant chain that has two branches for instance a branch in New York and another in Las Vegas. Let’s say the owner of the chain wants to run a deal for the New York branch which provides a ‘Buy 1 Free 1’ offer and a deal for the Las Vegas branch that provides ‘10% Off All Kids Meals’. Wouldn’t it be great if the restaurant’s website only displays this deal relevant to the visitor’s location? Why bother cluttering the restaurant’s website with both deals as it will most certainly confuse the visitor. This is an example of a Geo Targeted ad/promotion and it simply involves delivering an image or content based on the visitor’s location. It is an excellent way to improve a website’s browsing experience and conversion rate.
Geo Targeted Phone Numbers
A phone number right on the top of a website is a great ‘call to action’ symbol for a business. However what happens if you run a business that operates in multiple cities with each branch having a unique phone number? Most definitely you would have placed the numbers in the website’s footer or another page altogether, as displaying all the phone numbers on the top of a website is not efficient utilization of real-estate. This is where Geo Targeting can come into play and display the most relevant phone number to the visitor helping to boost call through rates.
Benefits of Geo Targeting
Geo Targeting is one of the best methods for delivering relevant content to a visitor. Relevant content is the key in catching a visitor’s attention and improving engagement. People are naturally drawn to news, stories and deals that are happening around them. By Geo Targeting your website’s content, the visitor feels comfortable and familiar with the content displayed. This will not only enhance the visitor’s browsing experience but it will increase trust, separating you from your competitors.
How to Geo Target Your Website?
Geo Targeting is severely underutilized, especially by small businesses. Either because they can’t afford to employ techy web designers or they are simply unaware of ‘Geo Targeting’ and it’s benefits.
Geo Targeting itself is complex. First off, to obtain a visitor’s location accurately you will need an IP to location database (eg. Maxmind and Digital Element). These databases don’t come cheap and can cost several thousands a year to install, purchase and maintain. You will then need to employ an expensive web designer to write a code to extract the IP address of the visitor, pass it into the database to obtain their location and then code IF/THEN logic to display the relevant content based on their location.
There a numerous marketing automation suites (eg. Adobe Test&Target and Qualtrics Site Intercept) out there that can deliver smart content to visitors based on a number of factors. However these are full blown suites that ‘can do everything’ with an extortionate price tag. So what can businesses owners who aren’t tech-savvy and just interested something as simple as dynamically changing a phone number based on location use? The answer is Geolify.
Geolify is a simple to use and a dedicated Geo Targeting tool which today is actively used in over 400 websites and growing. Geolify allows you to accurately determine visitor location and initiate Geo Targeted URL redirects as well as deliver dynamic Geo Targeted content. No coding skills are required and in less than 10 minutes you can create and deploy a simple Geo Targeting campaign for your website.
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