What Is Geofencing In Programmatic Advertising, And Is It Included In My Client's Campaign?

Geofencing in programmatic advertising is location-based targeting. Advertisers create a virtual perimeter (also called a radius or fence) around a specific geographic area — for example, a county, a store, an event venue, a ZIP code, or even a competitor’s location — and serve ads to users who enter or have recently entered that area with their mobile device. The ads then appear on the websites or social platforms they visit.

How It Works

1. A digital “fence” is drawn around a location using GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, or mobile cell data.

2. When someone with location services enabled enters that area, their device ID is captured (anonymously).

3. Ads are then served to them in real time or later, across apps, mobile, display, video, audio, or social media.

Geographic Accuracy

While we set precise geographic targets for campaigns, occasionally impressions might register slightly outside this zone due to factors like users on mobile devices near a border, IP address inaccuracies, or VPN use. This is usually a very small percentage.

Fees And CPM

Standard geographic targeting doesn't typically incur additional platform fees beyond the standard media cost, though highly layered targeting (like adding specific location data segments or creating a radius under 3 miles) can influence the CPM.