Quick answer: Go to Campaigns > Locations, click the blue pencil, enter your city name plus country name, and save. Use "Presence or Interest" as your targeting mode. Exclude cities where you can't serve.
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How City Targeting Works in Google Ads
City targeting puts your ads in front of users in specific geographic areas. Per Google's Ads Help Center, location targeting uses multiple signals, including user settings, device data, and on-platform behavior.
Presence vs. Presence or Interest targeting modes
Google Ads offers two location targeting modes.
Presence shows ads only to users physically located in your target city.
Presence or Interest shows ads to users in the city and users who have shown interest in it. This is the default and Google's recommended setting. Google's data shows advertisers in Travel, Real Estate, and Education saw +5% more conversions after switching from Presence to Presence or Interest.
Why city-level targeting beats national targeting
National campaigns give you reach. City targeting gives you precision. If your business only serves Austin or Barcelona, spending budget on users 500 miles away wastes money. City targeting fixes that.
Which businesses benefit most
Brick-and-mortar stores, local service providers, restaurants, and businesses running location-specific promotions get the most value. If your customers concentrate in specific cities, city targeting is worth the setup time.
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Step-by-Step. Add City Targeting to a Campaign
Navigate to the Locations section
- Sign into Google Ads.
- Select the campaign you want to edit.
- Click Locations in the left-side Campaigns menu.
Enter city and country name
Click the blue pencil icon. Start typing your city name. Per Google Ads Help Center documentation, always include the country name alongside the city. "Springfield" alone could match dozens of cities. "Springfield, United States" locks in the right one. Review the dropdown and confirm your selection before proceeding.
Save and activate your location target
Select the correct city from the results list. Click Save. Your campaign now targets users in that city.
Target multiple cities at once
Need more than one city? Check the boxes next to multiple campaigns on the Campaigns view. Click Edit and select Change locations. Google applies updated location targeting across all selected campaigns in one action.
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Best Practices for City Targeting
Always include the country name
City names repeat across countries and states. Google Ads surfaces suggestions, but always confirm the right match before saving. One wrong click sends budget to the wrong continent.
Avoid targeting very small locations
Per Google Ads documentation, all location targets must meet minimum privacy thresholds for user counts and area size. Very small city boundaries or tight radius targets can result in intermittent impressions or none at all. Radius targeting also requires a minimum of 1 km.
Choose Presence or Interest for most campaigns
Unless your offer only works for users physically on-site, Presence or Interest captures a larger, more relevant audience. It is the recommended default for Search campaigns and the better starting point for most advertisers.
Exclude cities where you don't operate
Go to Locations, switch to the Excluded tab, and add cities you cannot serve. This keeps budget focused on real opportunities and stops wasted spend before it starts.
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Available City Target Types by Geography
Which countries support city-level targeting
City-level targeting is available in many countries, but not all. Per Google Ads Help Center's location target types page, available options vary by country. Some markets only support regions, postal codes, or other administrative divisions.
Alternative location target types
When city-level targeting is not available for your market, try.
- Postal codes for neighborhood-level precision
- Regions or states for broader coverage
- Radius targeting around a specific address (minimum 1 km)
How to find available cities for your market
Search your target city in the Google Ads location setup flow and review the dropdown results. For a full list, the Google Ads API documentation lets you filter available location targets by country code.
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Faster Setup with Coinis
How Campaign Launcher simplifies location audience setup
City targeting in Google Ads works. But setting it up means jumping between Campaigns, Locations, and audience menus. Coinis Campaign Launcher puts audience setup, including location decisions, into one guided workflow. Brand Profile gives the AI context about your business so every audience choice is grounded in what you actually do and who you actually serve.
Coinis publishes directly to Meta today. TikTok and Google Ads direct publishing are on the roadmap. In the meantime, build your creatives and ad copy inside Coinis and run them in Google Ads. You get on-brand assets faster, regardless of where they run.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Presence and Presence or Interest targeting in Google Ads?
Presence targets only users physically located in your chosen city. Presence or Interest also targets users who have shown interest in that city, such as through searches or browsing behavior. Google recommends Presence or Interest for most campaigns because it reaches a larger relevant audience.
Can I target multiple cities in a single Google Ads campaign?
Yes. You can add multiple city targets to one campaign by entering them one at a time in the Locations section. You can also update location targeting across several campaigns at once by selecting them on the Campaigns view and using the Edit > Change locations option.