Location-Based Marketing Benchmark Report: How Digital Marketers Use Location Data in Advertising
August 21, 2020 by
Location-based marketing is a rapidly evolving practice. Investment in geotargeted ads is growing at 40 percent, making it one of the fastest growing areas of digital marketing. 
There’s good reason. Location-based audiences are among the most high-intent a marketer can advertise to. This makes location-based marketing highly compelling to professionals in B2C marketing, digital marketing, social media advertising, mobile marketing, direct response advertising, shopper marketing — and the agencies and brands that rely on and deliver these services.
Nearly 90 percent of digital marketers use location data in campaigns. While that may sound surprisingly high, even more surprising is that no authoritative report benchmarking location-based marketing metrics and best practices has been published — until now.
The Location-based Marketing Benchmark Report — the first of its kind — provides an authoritative view into how digital marketers use location data and run location-based marketing at agencies and brands across the United States. It covers more than ten key areas of location-based marketing and advertising.
Report Highlights
Average CPM for Location-based Audiences
When marketers purchase location-based audiences for geotargeted campaigns, CPM costs can be slightly higher than what marketers see with the Google Display Network, because the audience is higher intent and further into their decision process. That said, the average CPM for location-based audiences is $4.36, markedly lower than the average CPM for Facebook ads.
Average Click-Through-Rate (CTR) for Location-based Audiences
On the results front, the report reveals that location-based audiences take action on ads at an average of 7.53 percent. By comparison, the average CTR for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.90 percent. In those industries where marketers invest most heavily in geotargeting, the average CTR for general, non-geotargeted audiences is 1.59 percent in retail, 1.16 percent in beauty and 1.01 percent in fitness.
Best Performing Call-To-Action
Not all location-based marketing effectiveness results from the audience. Creative, offer and calls to action are all powerful elements in compelling shoppers. While the combinations of these elements are infinite, the report reveals the most effective CTA used in location-based marketing.
COVID-19 Impact on Location-Based Marketing
More than half of marketers surveyed have increased their investment in location-based marketing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. On top of that 16 percent of marketers have begun the practice as a direct result of the health crisis.
