What Is IP Targeting? (A Non-Technical Explanation)

What is IP targeting adverting? We like to say its like digital direct mail, in that you can send digital ads to specific physical addresses.

The ads themselves are just like the banner ads that you see on many websites. They come in different sizes to accommodate different screen sizes. But unlike pay per click advertisements that are based on keywords or demographic data, IP targeted ads are displayed only to specific households or locations.

IP Targeting works by taking your list of physical addresses – which can be your existing customers, previous clients or prospects – and matching that list to specific IP addresses. An IP address is tied to a specific router at a specific location where internet traffic flows.

From there, your ads appear on all devices at that location – home computers, tablets, cell phones – any device that someone uses to surf the web. This is done by tapping into the power of large online advertising networks, so your ads appear on news sites, email portals and other popular sites across the web.

Because you can advertise to specific addresses, you can show ads to people in specific homes or even office buildings. You reduce wasteful ad spend because you’re showing your ads only to an exact audience. This is true, personalized one-to-one marketing.

This type of effective advertising leads to a higher ROI.

Unlike remarketing or retargeting, where you try  to reach people who previously visited your website, IP targeting lets you show ads to people who may have never visited your website. It’s direct and efficient.

What types of businesses does IP targeting lend itself to?

IP targeting for local business

300×250 pixel sample targeting ad.

Any business looking to reach previous customers can benefit from IP targeting. Local businesses can use IP targeting as a way to attract new clients and customers. They can also reach out to existing customers to send reminders or to offer new products or services.

IP targeting can also be used for content marketing campaigns. For example, a store that sells items in different regions could use IP targeting to determine which regions their website visitors are coming from and then tailor their marketing accordingly.

Local businesses that can benefit from IP marketing strategies include:

The first few businesses listed are great candidates for new mover targeting, as new homeowners tend to seek out these types of services. Reaching these new homeowners early can help cement a long-term customer relationship.

How can IP targeting help your business?

160x600 sample banner ad

160×600 sample IP targeting ad

The biggest advantage to IP targeting is it’s accuracy, in that you can display to devices at specific physical addresses. Cost is another factor, too. Because of its accuracy, IP targeting costs a fraction of print, radio, or television advertising. Your ad campaign is targeted, rather than displayed to large audiences. This reduces the waste of your advertising dollars.

By segmenting your ad campaigns, you can create more personalized ads for your audience. You can also track engagement rates and conversions to track how well your ads are performing. Over time, you can make adjustments to improve your results.

Specific types of businesses can benefit in different ways. For example:

  • HVAC companies can remind customers to make annual maintenance appointments
  • Real estate agencies can use new customer lists and target their neighbors with “digital mailers”.
  • Law firms can use Venue Replay to capture people’s device IDs at events and map the devices back to household addresses for future messaging.
  • Insurance agencies can target current or lapsed clients.
  • Fuel delivery companies can reach out to new movers who need their services.
  • Restaurants can geotarget local neighborhoods to promote themselves.
  • Auto dealerships can advertise to existing lease customers or those that require service or lists of people who may be interested in a new vehicle.
  • Small businesses can target audiences to acquire new leads.
  • Politicians can show ads to targeted voters.
  • Any many more creative ways!

In addition, IP targeting should be a part of any email or direct mail campaign. Digital ads reinforces your other messaging and helps improve your overall branding.

IP targeting sounds like a good fit for my business. How do I start?

Sample IP Targeting Ad

Most businesses start with an address list of previous clients or leads that they would like to reach out to. If you have an address list, you can send it to us and we can run it through the system for a matchback analysis. We can typically match 70-90% or more of physical addresses to IP addresses. Once we have matched addresses, we can begin serving your display or video banner ads to them using the IP address of the home or office building.

You may have a geographic location that you would like to reach. Let us know what town, city or zip code(s) you’d like to reach, and we can give you a number of potential targets. We can also perform this check to determine how many new movers are in a particular area for targeting.

Once you have your target numbers, then it’s a matter of determining how many ad impressions you want to have displayed. The pricing is calculated on a CPM or cost per thousand impressions. DaleyPWS does not charge any setup fees, plus we offer a discount CPM for larger ad campaigns.

We can design your ad creatives, or we can send the specs for you to create them yourself. We try to match your website and other advertising materials for consistency. Once we create a set of ads, we send them to you for approval.

The most popular display ad sizes are:

  • 300×250 (pixels)
  • 728×90 (pixels)
  • 320×50 (pixels)
  • 160×600 (pixels)
  • 300×50 (pixels)

Video ads are also an option, but they do carry a higher CPM cost.

Any local business can improve their digital advertising and get a better return on their ad spend. IP targeting provides advertisers with a new method to directly reach out. Even small mom-and-pop shops can promote their business on the most direct level, allowing them to get an advantage over their competitors.

So, how can IP Targeting help your business? We can help you find out.

Interested in an IP targeting campaign? Get a free cost estimate below and contact us to find out how we can help improve your online marketing.

 


 

IP Targeting Cost Estimator

 

IP Targeting Cost Estimator

Fill out the form for a price quote and target information.