Targeting — geo, topic, keyword
Targeting answers the question: "who should see my ad?" Three modes. Stack them however you want — they combine on serve.
Geographic targeting
Where the visitor is.
- Nationwide. Every page on the network. Use sparingly — wasteful unless you truly serve everyone.
- Specific places. Mix and match states, cities, ZIPs. e.g. "California + Austin, TX + 78205" in one targeting set.
- Radius. Within X miles of one city or ZIP. Best for service-area businesses (plumbers, electricians, restaurants).
Topic (category) targeting
What page the visitor is browsing. Pick from the Cgmimm category taxonomy — Plumbers, Italian Restaurants, Real Estate Agents, etc. Your ad shows when someone visits a matching category page.
📝 Topic example
Keyword targeting
What the visitor searched. Comma-separated trigger words. Highest intent — the searcher just typed those exact words.
📝 Keyword example
emergency plumber, water heater repair, burst pipe. Anyone searching those terms anywhere on the network sees your ad in the search results. Match-or-die intent.Stacking modes
You can use one mode or all three. They're combined with AND logic.
- Geo: Texas + Topic: Roofers → Anyone browsing roofer pages in Texas
- Geo: Travis County + Keyword: "emergency roofer" → Tightest possible — Travis County searchers using that phrase
- Topic: Roofers + Keyword: "metal roof installation" → Anywhere in the country, anyone in those categories using those words
💡 Pro tip
For your first campaign, pick ONE mode and one set of values. If you stack all three with too many values, the auction has too few eligible impressions and your ad won't serve much. Add more targeting only if your budget is over-delivering.
⚠ Avoid
The all-too-common mistake: setting Geo to a single ZIP, Topic to one tiny category, AND keywords. Triple-narrow targeting often produces zero impressions because the intersection is too small. Pick one or two dimensions to narrow on, leave the rest broad.