Managing Google Ads Budgets Across Different Geographic Locations

To manage Google Ads budgets effectively across different geographic locations, the best practice is to use a single Google Ads account with separate campaigns for each location. This allows precise control over location targeting and budget allocation at the campaign level, ensuring that each location’s ads reach the right audience without overlap or internal competition.

Key strategies include:

• Separate Campaigns per Location: Since location targeting is set at the campaign level, creating distinct campaigns for each geographic area lets you tailor bids, budgets, and ads specifically for that location. This avoids mixing locations within one campaign, which can cause targeting confusion and inefficient budget use.

• Location Exclusions: Use location exclusions to prevent ads from showing in areas where your business does not operate or where you want to avoid spending budget. This helps focus your ad spend on relevant audiences and reduces wasted impressions.

• Budget Allocation: Decide whether to allocate budgets individually per location or pool budgets regionally based on business goals and proximity of locations. Individual budgets give granular control, while pooled budgets can optimize spend across overlapping areas but require careful monitoring to avoid cannibalization.

• Avoid Internal Competition: When locations are close, ensure campaigns are structured to minimize bidding against each other, which can drive up costs. This can be managed by careful geographic targeting and bid adjustments.

• Use MCC for Large Scale: For businesses with many locations or complex structures, using Google’s My Client Center (MCC) to manage multiple accounts under one umbrella can provide centralized oversight while allowing local autonomy.

• Continuous Optimization: Regularly review performance data by location to adjust bids, budgets, and exclusions. Testing different location settings and refining targeting improves return on ad spend (ROAS) over time.

In summary, managing Google Ads budgets across multiple geographic locations is most efficient when you structure campaigns by location within a single account, use exclusions strategically, allocate budgets thoughtfully, and continuously optimize based on performance data. This approach maximizes relevance, controls costs, and improves overall campaign effectiveness.