IP Address Geolocation: 4 Secrets You Didn’t Know

If you do not know what IP geolocation is, or need a refresher on the definition, here is a quick explanation: IP address geolocation is a technology that allows someone to locate another person’s general geographic area, and sometimes the type of internet connection they are communicating through, by using information gained from that person’s IP address.

Geographical information can be important to know for a receiver of communications, such as someone getting an email message; it can be even more vital for your company’s marketing department. Whether you are an expert on geolocation or this is your first experience with it, here are four secrets that you might not know about utilizing this amazing tool for marketing purposes.

1. IP Information Is Legal

Currently, the information available through user IP addresses follows EU privacy rules, which is important to most businesses. Since personally identifiable details about internet users are not revealed through IP address geolocation, users do not have to be made aware of or approve of revealing geographical information obtained through it, making IP geolocation an easy way to ethically find and understand certain consumer markets based on geography. These facts should put your mind at ease in terms of legal matters when deciding whether or not to use IP information as part of your marketing research.

2. Learn About Browser Speeds

If you have a target market online, and you aren’t sure how to adjust your online marketing content for optimal viewing within this audience’s browsers, you can actually use IP address details from these users to see how fast their browsers are. Utilizing this information, you can proactively fine-tune your content before it even goes live to make it as accessible as possible.

3. IP Address Geolocation Provides Many Details

You probably understand at this point that IP information includes the approximate location of internet users and even their browsers speeds; but what you may not know is the wealth of other locational data that IP addresses make accessible. Some of the information that can be gleaned from IP details includes the web user’s coordinates, region, browser type and ZIP code, to name a few. You can create new geo-targeted marketing plans when you have this specific information at your fingertips.

4. Geo-Targeted, Timely Marketing Campaigns

Since IP address geolocation allows marketers to hone in on their digital audience’s locations and some of their online behaviors, such as the browser speeds mentioned above, using geo-targeting through IP addresses lets businesses plan timely local marketing campaigns, such as limited-time sales at one localized franchise of a large company.

When utilized in a creative and smart way, geographical information from IP addresses can take your business’s marketing plans to new heights.

Use IP Information Wisely

While IP address geolocation is highly valuable and opens your eyes to a large amount of important data regarding your customers, the data that you have in your possession is only as useful as your marketing plan allows it to be. As larger amounts of electronic data become available to online users, it becomes even more important to understand when and how to use such data to tap into and capitalize the behaviors and needs of your prospective customers.