Google Ads for local businesses: how to show ads only in your city

A dental clinic in Bogotá launches its first Google Ads campaign. After a month it checks the report: a good share of the clicks came from people in other cities, and some from other countries. None of them were going to travel for a cleaning.

The budget was not wasted because of the ad, but because of where it was shown. For a local business, location targeting is the setting that saves the most money, and many accounts leave it at the default.

How does Google Ads target by location?

At three levels: country, city or region, and radius around a point. According to the official Google Ads help:

Level	When to use it	Example
Country	You sell nationwide	An online store shipping across Colombia
City or region	You serve only certain areas	A service in Bogotá and Medellín
Radius (minimum 1 km)	Your customer must come to your location	A clinic, a restaurant, a repair shop

Presence or Presence or interest?

This is the most overlooked decision. Google Ads offers two options:

1. Presence: shows ads only to people physically in the chosen locations.
2. Presence or interest: also includes people who have shown interest in those locations.

According to Google, travel, real estate and education advertisers who used Presence or interest saw a 5% increase in conversions from their search campaigns. It makes sense: someone in Miami may be looking for an apartment in Medellín.

Common mistake: leaving Presence or interest on for a business that only serves in person. For the Bogotá clinic, someone in another city who “showed interest” in Bogotá is rarely a real patient. If your service requires physical presence, choose Presence.

How exact is the location?

It is not perfect. Google warns that targeting relies on a number of signals and that accuracy is not 100% guaranteed in every case. That is why it is worth reviewing the campaign's locations report and excluding areas that spend without converting.

How do I set up a local campaign step by step?

1. Define your real service area: how far you go or how far your customer will come.
2. Choose the level: city for wide-area services, radius for businesses with a location.
3. Choose Presence if your customer must be in the area.
4. Exclude locations that do not work for you.
5. Measure key events, not clicks: set up key events in GA4 to know how many clicks end in contact.
6. Review the locations report every month and adjust.

If your business serves two countries (for example, Colombia and the Hispanic market in the United States), create separate campaigns by location: different budget, language and messages for each.

What complements a local campaign?

A well-managed Google Business Profile. Ads buy visibility while you pay; the profile builds it organically. Read how to show up on Google Maps. And to know whether the campaign pays off, measure ROAS and cost per lead.

In short

In Google Ads, where the ad shows matters as much as what it says. Target by city or by radius, choose Presence if your customer must be in the area and review the locations report every month. That way the Bogotá clinic only pays for clicks from people who can actually come. We set it up in our Meta and Google Ads service.