Location-based marketing is an integral part of our advertising services, particularly for small businesses and franchises. We often get questions about geotargeting vs geofencing. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they aren’t the same thing.

Geotargeting refers to delivering ads to people that meet specific targeting criteria and are inside a defined radius. The key difference with geotargeting is that it hones in on specific consumer criteria, such as demographics, behaviors, interests, and a person’s location. Geotargeting can also exclude specific locations. This targeting tends to work better for larger geographical audiences because ads can be more specifically defined by demographics and keywords. This is the standard targeting strategy implemented on all CyberMark social media and Google ads.

Geofencing refers to drawing a virtual barrier around a location using GPS or radio frequency identification (RFID). Setting up a virtual zone allows marketers to isolate triggers that apply when a user’s mobile device enters or exits that specific area. Triggers may include the sending of a text message, an email alert, or an app notification.  Geofencing is only available through certain software providers and is not offered by CyberMark at this time.