• by Shawn Schwegman , Columnist, June 28, 2018

JPMorgan Chase was running ads on more than 400,000 websites when it learned that less than 3% of those sites were leading to any activity beyond an impression. Chase reduced that to just 5,000 websites, but still saw the same results. This is because Chase was missing one critical step — determining which sites were the most relevant for its brand.

As businesses started transitioning money from traditional to digital, they put less emphasis on where the ads were placed and focused on audience-based targeting. But companies are beginning to realize that location still matters in the online world. 

Even online, location matters

When billboards were a primary source of targeted marketing, the location of the sign was of utmost importance. This same mentality needs to transition to digital ads. For example, do you ever see a banner ad and wonder “why here?” or “this isn’t relevant to the site at all.” CEOs are wasting money and destroying brand credibility by delivering thoughts like these to consumers. Imagine if you searched for “dogs” and a bunch of pictures of fish came up. You would think Google is broken. Targeted display advertising shouldn’t be any different. 

Funnel it right

Marketers have to change the way they’re thinking about funnel stages for display. Most think that display is top-of-funnel awareness, but the reality is that if you are targeting using both location-based and audience-based criteria, display can be a powerful channel for anywhere in the funnel, from awareness to consideration to conversion. Marketers can design their advertisement location to funnel the top, the middle, and then bottom. Sites that are converting your advertisements into sales should be immediately moved to a top priority. However, a problem is that most sites are outside marketers’ scope of view. 

So, let’s fix that problem

Delivering a positive ROI is undoubtedly one the most important things for businesses, so marketers must master not only who they are targeting, but also where they target them. This goes beyond their intended audience demographic. It’s learning about where they shop online, what they are buying and how to reach them. Knowing the customer and these qualities will boost revenue. 

Marketers who understand the importance of location will be ahead of competitors. Start by utilizing audience insights and an AI-based customer acquisition platform. This will help you acquire customers to better understand the “network effect” and better spend your money. 

Cut unnecessary spending and save your company marketing dollars by having a fluid plan of where your advertisements are being placed. In order to be a savvy marketer, it is important to leverage new technologies and AI to help gather the right data to reach high-quality consumers. They will provide you with details about the consumer like where they shop, and when they are ready to engage on a brand or make purchases. So stop wasting your budget on ads that aren’t converting into sales. Start growing market share and drive quality traffic to your advertisements.