Nationwide or local: how to decide where your ad should appear

You do not need to pay for readers you can never sell to. Here is how to think about geography when you advertise in digital news media.

The most common mistake in advertising is not the wrong message. It is the right message to the wrong people. Geography is the simplest way to avoid it.

Start with where you actually do business

Draw up your real catchment area. Where do your current customers live? How far is someone prepared to travel, or how far do you deliver? That area is your first campaign.

In digital news media, reach can be controlled from the whole country down to individual municipalities. You only pay for the areas where you do business.

When nationwide is right

• You sell online and deliver everywhere.
• You are building a brand that should be known across the country.
• Your audience is narrow and spread out, so each municipality on its own is too small.

When local is right

• You have a shop, a clinic or an office that the customer visits.
• You want to test an offer in one area before going wider.
• You are opening in a new town and want to be seen right there.

The trap: too narrow

It is possible to narrow things down so hard that the campaign has nothing to work with. If the area is too small or the budget too low, there is rarely enough data to see what works and adjust accordingly.

It is better to start with a couple of municipalities too many than one too few, and tighten up when you see where it pays off.