Timing is everything in business. If you could knock on a potential customer’s door with the right offer at the right time, you’d be golden. Well, dear reader, you don’t have to ‘imagine’ any longer.
IP targeting gives you the power to do this. Your audience won’t know how you’ve done it, but they’ll be happy that you did.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: most marketing is unsuccessful. The common approach is to put something out there and hope that it works. The problem with this approach is that you’re mostly relying on hope.
You need something more predicable.
What is IP Targeting?
IP targeting is the process of delivering highly targeted ads, at the right time, so you can target the exact audience you want to work with.
The process starts by collecting an ip address via wifi or gps. It then begins matching ip addresses to the exact location of the device that is connected to the internet. Business data, such as company names, device ids and details of the internet service provider are then revealed.
Once you’ve got this data, you can then start the process of targeting prospects, or even existing customers. Serving advertisements directly to the people you want to reach lets you filter out the those you… don’t want to reach.
It’s like magic, my friend. Magic.
The Fundamentals of IP Targeting
Decoding IP Address: The Backbone of Internet Communication
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique numerical code. For someone to go online and visit websites, they’ll have this string of numbers assigned to their device.
A public IP address can be something like your household ip. It’s a set of numbers assigned to an internet connection by internet service providers. Not everyone has direct access to it, but they can ask to join it. This is a public wifi network.
A private IP address is assigned to your device. It’s used within a private computer network so you can safely connect to other devices. This is a security measure because private ip addresses can’t be directly accessed from the internet.
The Role of IP Based Targeting in Modern B2B Marketing
The top B2B marketers want to invest in something which delivers digital advertisements with laser-focused targeting. Because IP address data zeroes in on numbers associated to your device, it lets the advertiser setup hyper-targeted marketing campaigns.
IP targeting lets you serve campaigns directly to an audience, making it seem almost personalized. Remember, with ads, it’s all about ‘relevance’.
IP Targeting Versus Geofencing: Understanding the Distinctions
The Concept and Application of Geofencing Technology in B2B Digital Marketing
Geofencing is a little different to IP targeting. You can do things like send ads to mobile phones in specific zip codes, which is great for location-based targeting.
It’s a broader form of targeting, like saying hello to everyone in a specific area who’s wearing a t-shirt.
The Main Difference between IP Targeting and Geofencing
IP based targeting is more specific. You can target households or businesses directly using their IP addresses.
That would be like saying hello to a group of people in an area who are wearing blue t-shirts. It’s a more specific group than those wearing t-shirts.
IP Tracking or Geofencing for B2B Digital Marketing?
Simply put, IP targeting improves what geofencing does. It’s more precise and focuses on only reaching potential customers who would probably be interested in what you’re selling.
Geofencing gives you targeting, but it’s not as specific. Good, but not great.
The Comparative Advantage of B2B IP Tracking Over Cookie-Based Methods
Other methods, like cookie-based targeting, use web browsing history for ad targeting. In theory, that seems effective.
Recently though, certain ad networks introduced regulations which made this a lot harder for advertisers (yes Facebook, I’m talking about you). B2B marketers were left in the dark when this happened. Most of them waived their fists in anger.
The smart ones though, decided to rely on IP targeting. Instead of identifying a user based on their browsing history, IP targeting helped them reach their audiences by accessing ip data.
The entire situation revealed one of the hidden benefits of IP targeting: cookies can be deleted or blocked, but an IP address is unlikely to change.
The Strategic Application of IP Address Targeting
Elevating B2B Visibility through IP Targeted Advertising
In the modern era, attention is a powerful currency. When the right people know about you, it’s definitely a good sign.
Delivering digital ads are great way to reach target audiences, but everyone’s trying to sell you something. A great way to stand out is by serving personalized ads using ip intelligence.
IP Targeting based on Geolocation
One way of reaching them is to filter by geographic locations through ip targeted ads. This is particularly useful if you want to target businesses with a physical location.
For example, you might be a commercial real estate agent who wants to start getting local clients in a target location. Instead of targeting the entire city and burning through your ad spend, you can narrow down the audience to devices within an ip location.
This form of ip targeting based on geolocation means you can serve relevant online ads to target audiences.
IP Retargeting: Securing Lost Traffic with IP Targeting Software
So, they saw your ad, clicked on the link, went to your landing page but bounced. Wasted impressions on landing pages are annoying, but they’re common.
According to HubSpot, the average landing page conversion rate is just 5.89%.
The question then becomes, “How are we going to recapture the other 94.11% of visitors who leave our page?” Have no fear, retargeting is here.
Retargeting campaigns are a powerful way to serve highly personalized content to people who visit your landing page and bounce.
Firstly though, you have to identify them, and that’s where B2B website visitor identification comes in.
At Club Modena, we can help you identify 20-30% of the anonymous website visitors who reach your landing page but don’t convert.
We’ll search top data sources to give you numerous points of data like the company name and domain, plus the contact details of the decision makers you want to reach.
You can then upload prospect lists with various points of 3rd party data so you can retarget them on apps or websites that display ads. This is the low-hanging fruit which can ramp up your marketing efforts.
IP Targeting: Beyond the Basics
The Importance of A/B Testing in Refining IP Targeting Strategies
Successful marketers know that testing is everything. There’s always a way to improve conversion rates.
The more you test, the luckier you get. A/B testing with IP targeting campaigns is no different.
For example, you might run an ad to one audience with a man in a suit, but how do you know they’ll connect with the man in the ad?
Maybe you run a different variant, where the man is wearing a t-shirt, to the same audience. It could outperform the previous ad, simply because of how the audience views someone in a suit versus a t-shirt.
You’ll never know if you don’t test.
Measuring the Success of Your IP Targeting Efforts
If you’re going to do marketing, you’ve got to know what’s working and what’s not. Measuring the success of your campaigns is crucial, and with IP targeting, it’s no different.
These are some common metrics to consider:
- How many people viewed and/or clicked on your site?
- How many people became leads?
- If you’re only selling online:
- how many people purchased?
- If you’re booking calls:
- how many leads booked an appointment?
- how many leads showed to their appointment?
- how many people purchased on the call?
When you know the answers to the above, you can have greater confidence in your marketing.
IP Targeting and Its Legal Landscape
While IP targeting is a huge win for B2B marketers, the legal aspects can be tough to navigate. After all, if you’re using people’s IP addresses to serve them ads, you’ve got to be aware of the different privacy laws and regulations.
But there’s an important question that comes up: in the eyes of the law, is there a difference between digital marketing that involves targeting consumers instead of a company?
GDPR: Where IP Targeting Meets Strict Legislation
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is Europe’s primary legislation about data privacy. It’s an important reference point because it’s the strictest piece of privacy and security legislation in the world.
In Chapter 1, Article 4 of the regulation, ‘personal data’ is defined to include information relating to a ‘natural person’. This implies that data which only identifies a company, rather than individual customers, would fall outside the scope of the regulation and could be freely used in the course of B2B marketing.
For example, a natural person would be a univeristy student on a college campus. Colleges and universities wouldn’t be.
While laws in other parts of the world might be different, it’s worth noting the EU’s position due to their tough stance on data privacy.
Conclusion: The Transformative Impact of IP Targeting on Marketing Success
Most digital marketing professionals make an ad, then seek to find the audience. IP targeting does the opposite: it identifies ip address data (numbers assigned to your internet connection), then serves the relevant ad. It’s a form of account-based marketing.
While that’s very effective, what happens if someone visits your site and leaves? How can you reach them?
At Club Modena, we identify the anonymous companies who visit your website and instantly let you know who they are. This can boost your conversion rates by up to 300%. The service works, regardless of whether they’re on a mobile phone, a device connected to public wifi, or using a company IP.
If you’re interested in getting a 14-day free trial, book a discovery call below.