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How does customized targeting work?

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When you target customized areas with your AdWords campaign, your ads appear to users searching for results within a specified distance from the location you specify -- usually a circle around your business address. (We identify the user's location by determining the user's IP address and, in some cases depending on the domain and search term, the search query.)

  • First you set the center of your custom area.
  • You then set the advertising distance (the radius of the circle) in miles or kilometers.
  • The AdWords system converts a searcher's location into latitude and longitude coordinates to determine if the user is in your target region.

Example of default customized targeting region:

You can set the center of your custom area in two ways: by entering a physical address (such as the street address of your business) or by using the interactive map provided. Learn more about these options

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