Google Adds Location Targeting Controls to Demand Gen Campaigns: What Advertisers Should Do

Google Ads has rolled out new location targeting controls for Demand Gen campaigns, giving advertisers a choice between “Presence or interest” and “Presence only.” This update, reported by Anu Adegbola at Search Engine Land, clarifies how Demand Gen identifies users by geography and removes common workarounds advertisers previously used to prevent unwanted geographic reach. As Adegbola notes, “With proper location targeting now built in, Demand Gen campaigns are easier to set up, easier to control, and less likely to waste budget outside intended geographies.” (Search Engine Land).

What changed and why it matters

The update introduces two explicit settings when configuring Demand Gen campaigns: Presence only (ads served only to users physically located in the targeted area) and Presence or interest (ads served to users physically present or who have expressed interest in the location). Previously, Demand Gen’s broader targeting often resulted in impressions from users whose interest in a location didn’t equate to physical presence, a phenomenon known as geo-leakage. That required manual location exclusions or complex campaign structures to maintain geographic fidelity.

By making presence-based targeting native to Demand Gen, Google reduces setup friction and improves the accuracy of geographic reporting. For performance-driven advertisers, that translates into clearer measurement and potentially more effective budget allocation.

How to choose between Presence only and Presence or interest

Choosing the right option depends on your campaign objectives:

• Presence only: Best for businesses dependent on local activity—retailers, restaurants, event promoters, and any campaign seeking to drive foot traffic or region-specific conversions. This ensures ads reach people actually present in the location.
• Presence or interest: Suited to awareness-focused campaigns, travel and tourism advertisers, and brands that want to reach people researching or planning a visit to a location. This broader targeting suits campaigns aimed at building consideration.

Examples

A local coffee chain running a promotion for its downtown store should use Presence only to focus on nearby patrons. A hotel group promoting a city as a destination might choose Presence or interest to reach people researching travel plans who are not yet in the city.

Measurement and performance implications

These settings change how you interpret metrics. With Presence or interest, impressions and clicks may come from users outside your target geography who nonetheless show interest—this can inflate reach while not necessarily improving local conversions. Presence only generally yields cleaner data for local performance metrics, making it easier to assess the incremental impact of Demand Gen on visits, store sales, or region-specific leads.

To fully benefit from the new options, align conversion tracking and attribution to your location strategy. Use store visit conversions (where available), offline sales data, or location-based events to validate that ads served under Presence only are driving the intended outcomes. SEOteric can help implement advanced measurement setups if you need to enrich your tracking beyond basic conversions—see SEOteric for services in analytics and measurement.

Actionable testing and optimization steps

Follow a structured approach to evaluate which setting works for your business:

1. Duplicate the campaign and run an A/B test comparing Presence only to Presence or interest for a minimum of 2–4 weeks to collect statistically meaningful data.
2. Ensure consistent creative and audience settings between variants so location setting is the primary variable.
3. Track both top-of-funnel engagement (views, clicks) and downstream signals (conversions, store visits, assisted conversions) to understand quality differences.
4. Adjust bids and budgets based on high-value geographies identified under Presence only to avoid wasting spend on lower-performing regions.
5. Use location exclusions sparingly; where necessary, combine them with presence settings to lock down delivery to precise markets.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Don’t assume more reach equals better performance. If your objective is local conversions, broader interest-based reach can dilute results and increase CPA. Monitor cross-channel attribution and consider using data-driven attribution models to better understand the role of Demand Gen in the customer journey.

Also be mindful of reporting lags for store visit conversions and ensure that your attribution windows and lookback windows align with business buying cycles. Small businesses should prioritize clean, presence-based targeting before experimenting with broader interest settings.

Next steps for advertisers

Start by auditing active Demand Gen campaigns and identify candidates for testing. For local-focused goals, flip relevant campaigns to Presence only and monitor performance versus historical baselines. For awareness or market-entry campaigns, test Presence or interest while keeping a close eye on assisted conversions and engagement quality.

If you need help setting up robust experiments, implementing advanced conversion tracking, or interpreting results, contact SEOteric. Our analytics and paid media teams can audit your Demand Gen settings, recommend measurement improvements, and run targeted tests to improve efficiency and outcomes. Visit https://www.seoteric.com to learn more or request a consultation.

Attribution: This article is based on reporting by Anu Adegbola for Search Engine Land. Read the original report here: https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-location-targeting-controls-to-demand-gen-campaigns-466435.