Location Insertion in Google AdWords

One Google AdWords feature that seems to have slipped under the radar almost entirely is the recently introduced "location insertion" function. So much so, in fact, that it is tricky to find detailed information about it unless you know where to look. The top results for the query AdWords location insertion, for example, are dominated by information about keyword insertion:

What is AdWords location insertion?

Not to be confused with keyword insertion or location extensions, location insertion allows advertisers to automatically insert business information into an ad through the use of special parameters that are included in ad text (similar to the way that keyword insertion operates). In order to be eligible for location insertion, you would need to have set up location extensions for your business address/addresses.

There are different parameters to use depending on whether or not you want to insert the city, postcode, or telephone number from your location extension into the ad. The parameters to use in each case are below:

• City: {lb.city:default}
• Postal code: {lb.postalCode:default}
• Phone number: {lb.telephone:default}

Bear in mind that the location of your business will need to be relevant to the user’s search query in order for the parameter to be used, otherwise, your default text ad will show.

Google’s location insertion feature could be a useful time-saving tool for advertisers who don’t have the time to segment location keywords into separate adgroups with targeted ads. However, Google does not provide impression data relating to the parameters (nor do they for keyword insertion impressions) so you will not know how often your parameters are being activated and whether or not they are working as you intended. However, you could add location insertion parameters to your destination URL to measure clicks and conversions through Google Analytics.

If you would like more detailed information about location insertion, and some examples of location insertion in use, have a look at the bottom of this Help Centre article covering setting up location extensions or feel free to get in touch with us here at SilverDisc!