• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 3, 2011

Quova, a Neustar service supporting geolocation targeting, released a data module Friday dubbed User Type. It lets marketers identify whether a consumer logs on to the Internet from a business or home connection.

The technology aims to help further characterize the location of an Internet user, such as did the person log on through a connection in a hotel, a university or through public Wi-Fi in a Starbucks.

Having the ability to identify the point of connection provides actionable information for ad networks and marketers to target ads, according to Evelyn Dixon, Quova director of product management. Today, most geotargeting occurs using geographic data and customizing the content based on the area and demographics. Quova has extended the ability to identify and pull in data by user type, which provides not only geographic location but also information about the location type from where the person connects. Through this data, marketers can infer intent and interest.

The IP address provides an industry code for four user types: Home, Organization Type, ISIC, and NAICS. For example, the home field lets you know whether the person connects from a residential location. Dixon said it's important information, because browsing and purchasing patterns are tightly connected to location.

Quova is making a conscious effort to provide data that doesn't have personally identifiable information. "Even if we have access to hyper-local information, we don't introduce that information into the data set," she said. "All we can tell you is the geographical location, the neighborhood and vicinity, along with the type of business or if it's a residence from which the person logs on to the Internet."