Microsoft adCenter: Making AdWords-like Location Targeting Changes

Targeting your potential customer is easy with Google AdWords. Regardless of his or her location, all you need is to build your keyword list, incorporate it with your ad copy, and set your targeting options. Unfortunately, the case is not the same with Microsoft’s adCenter. That’s why they’re redesigning their adCenter, to mirror the Google AdWords standards.

The New Microsoft adCenter Location Targeting Options

Microsoft adCenter is changing its location targeting features, aligning it with Google AdWords’ standards. With the redesigned feature, “market” was replaced with “language” and “target location.” This allows advertisers to reach people who are in the target location, or who have the intent to do business in the area. Moreover, they will receive a volume of relevant search results from their target location –– without additional work.

New options list all countries, groups of certain countries, a country, state, or city that speaks the selected language. This was designed to make the adCenter user-friendly for advertisers who were accustomed with the AdWords settings.

What this Means for the adCenter API

As for the API, Microsoft’s Community Manager Tina Keheller released a table of changes that API users should expect:

Create

• Language set by the Advertiser
• Physical Intent can be set at Target object
• Target can be set at Campaign or Adgroup level
• Publisher countries can be set but ignored; recommendation is to leave it NULL
• adCenter determines where the ad gets served based on Target

Read

• Return on Language
• Return NULL for Publisher Countries as Publisher country is ignored
• Return Targets if set (Targets created at time of migration will be returned in Read calls)
• Physical Intent can be changed

Update

• Language cannot be updated
• GeoTargets can be updated – updating geo targets will impact where ad gets delivered
• Publisher countries can be updated but no behavior will change; Advertisers should edit Targets
• Physical Intent can be changed

Delete

• Adgroups and GeoTargets can be deleted

The location targeting options are now available in the US, UK, and France and will roll out to all users in the coming months. It will be available on the adCenter desktop and adCenter API. Moreover, all existing campaigns will be moved automatically to the new settings. Thus, you have to make sure that your targeting campaign is how you want it to be. If your campaign status is “Approved Limited”, you should inform your account manager or contact support to help resolve this issue.

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