Definition

Serving different content or ads based on where someone is located, from country-level down to 'currently standing in your competitor's parking lot.' It's location-based marketing that's only slightly creepy.

Example Usage

Our geotargeting campaign serves umbrella ads only when it's raining in the user's current location.

Origin

Enabled by GPS and IP address technology in digital advertising in the early 2000s

Fun Fact

Some retailers use geotargeting so aggressively they can serve you a coupon when you're within 100 feet of their store entrance.

Source: Location-based marketing and mobile advertising resources

Related Terms

Intermediate

CPM

Cost Per Mille, meaning cost per thousand impressions, because apparently saying per thousand wasn't pretentious enough so they used Latin. You pay for a thousand eyeballs to theoretically see your ad while actually staring at their phone during a meeting.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Intermediate

owned media

Marketing channels you control directly, like your website, blog, or email list, as opposed to rented space on platforms that could change their algorithms tomorrow. It's the digital equivalent of owning versus renting, with similar arguments about long-term value.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Beginner

skyscraper ad

A tall, narrow display ad format typically 160x600 pixels that dominates page sidebars. Named optimistically for architectural achievements rather than the user annoyance they cause.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Advanced

roadblock

Buying all available ad placements across a platform or time period to dominate visibility and prevent competitor messaging. Subtle as a highway billboard collision.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Beginner

Clickbait

Headlines designed to be so irresistibly intriguing that you click before your brain can stop you. "You won't believe what happened next" is the marketing equivalent of dangling a laser pointer in front of a cat, and we all fall for it every single time.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Intermediate

contextual advertising

Placing ads based on the content of the page rather than user tracking, showing car ads on automotive sites instead of following users around. It's the old-fashioned targeting approach that's suddenly new again as privacy regulations tighten.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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