In this article · 10 sections
- The two location options
- When to use "Presence"
- When "Presence or interest" makes sense
- City vs radius targeting
- Use exclusions
- Location bid adjustments
- A quick audit
- Example setups
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does Google recommend "Presence or interest"?
- Will "Presence" reduce my impressions?
- How accurate is Google's location detection?
- Can I target people abroad for Punjab services?
- Stop wasting ad spend
Imagine you run a salon in Jalandhar and set your Google Ads to target "Jalandhar". You might expect only people in Jalandhar to see your ads. But with Google's default setting, someone in Delhi who searches "salon in Jalandhar" — or who Google thinks is interested in Jalandhar — can also see and click them. For some businesses that's useful; for most local businesses it's wasted money.
The two location options
In campaign settings under Locations → Location options, you'll see:
| Option | Who sees your ads |
|---|---|
| Presence or interest (default, recommended by Google) | People in, regularly in, or who have shown interest in your targeted locations |
| Presence | People in or regularly in your targeted locations |
For exclusions, there's a similar choice: exclude people who are in excluded locations, or who are in or interested in them.
When to use "Presence"
- Shops, clinics, salons, gyms, restaurants — customers must physically come to you.
- Home services that only work in your area — plumbers, AC repair, pest control.
- Local taxi pickups within your city.
Using "Presence" usually reduces irrelevant clicks for these businesses. Check your Locations report (in Insights or the "Where your users were" view) to see where clicks are actually coming from.
When "Presence or interest" makes sense
- Hotels and tourism: someone in Mumbai searching "hotel near Golden Temple" is exactly your customer.
- Airport and outstation taxis: NRI families abroad often book Punjab airport pickups before they fly. See our airport taxi marketing guide.
- Wedding venues and destination services booked by families in other cities.
- Education and immigration services where parents search from elsewhere.
Even then, consider a separate campaign for out-of-area searchers with keywords that clearly mention your location ("Amritsar hotel", "Ludhiana taxi"), rather than broad keywords.
City vs radius targeting
- City or district targeting follows official boundaries — simple, but may include far-off areas or exclude nearby towns across the boundary.
- Radius targeting (e.g. 10 km around your address) fits service areas better for shops and home services.
- Multiple radii let you bid more for nearby areas and less for farther ones.
For a Ludhiana business serving Mullanpur, Doraha and Khanna, a radius or a list of specific cities may work better than "Ludhiana district".
Use exclusions
- Exclude cities you don't serve that keep appearing in location reports.
- Exclude countries if you don't take bookings from abroad — or include them deliberately if you do.
Location bid adjustments
With manual or enhanced bidding, you can raise bids in areas that convert better. With automated strategies like Maximise Conversions, Google mostly ignores manual location bid adjustments and optimises on its own — so getting the targeting and conversion tracking right is even more important.
A quick audit
- Open each campaign's location settings. Is it "Presence" or "Presence or interest"? Is that intentional?
- Check the locations report for the last 30–90 days. What share of cost comes from outside your service area?
- Check search terms for city names you don't serve.
- Make sure Performance Max campaigns follow the same logic. See Performance Max for small businesses.
Example setups
- Salon in Model Town, Ludhiana: 6–8 km radius, Presence only, ads during opening hours.
- Taxi operator in Jalandhar: one campaign for Jalandhar and nearby towns (Presence), and a second campaign targeting Canada and the UK with keywords like "Jalandhar to Delhi airport taxi".
- Hotel near the Golden Temple: all of India plus key countries with Presence or interest, using keywords that mention Amritsar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Google recommend "Presence or interest"?
It reaches more people. That's useful for travel and destination businesses, but often wasteful for purely local services.
Will "Presence" reduce my impressions?
Usually yes, but the remaining impressions are typically more relevant. Watch cost per lead rather than impressions.
How accurate is Google's location detection?
It uses signals like device location and IP. It's good but not perfect, so some out-of-area clicks will still happen.
Can I target people abroad for Punjab services?
Yes. Create a separate campaign for countries like Canada, UK or Australia with keywords naming your Punjab city.
Stop wasting ad spend
Joboo Web audits and fixes Google Ads settings. See Google Ads management, our Quality Score guide, or contact us.