If you’re a flooring retailer trying to reach customers within your service area, you’ve probably wondered whether AdRoll geofencing can help you target shoppers by location. It’s a fair question, geofencing lets you serve ads to people based on where they are or where they’ve been, which sounds perfect for driving local foot traffic to your showroom.
Here’s the short answer: AdRoll offers location-based targeting options, but it’s not true geofencing in the way most advertisers expect. The platform uses geographic filters at the country, state, and metro level rather than precise radius-based or polygon targeting around specific addresses.
This guide breaks down exactly what AdRoll can and can’t do with location targeting, how to configure what’s available, and when you might need a more specialized solution. At IFDA, we work exclusively with flooring dealers using AI-powered programmatic advertising, so we know firsthand where platforms like AdRoll fall short for retailers who need to reach buyers in a defined market area. Let’s get into the details so you can make an informed decision for your advertising strategy.
What geofencing means in advertising
Geofencing is a location-based advertising technology that lets you create virtual boundaries around specific physical locations. When someone enters or exits that defined area with their smartphone or tablet, the system triggers an action like serving them a targeted ad, sending a push notification, or collecting data about their visit. Think of it as drawing an invisible fence around your store, a competitor’s location, or an event venue.
For flooring retailers, geofencing would theoretically let you target homeowners who visit home improvement stores, walk through neighborhood streets where you want to expand, or attend home shows in your market. The technology uses GPS coordinates, WiFi signals, cellular data, or RFID to determine when a device crosses into your defined zone. You set the radius (typically anywhere from 100 feet to several miles), and the platform watches for devices that enter that space.
True geofencing operates at the street address level, not just at the city or metro area level, which is what separates it from broader geographic targeting.
How precise geofencing differs from basic location targeting
The key difference comes down to geographic precision and trigger mechanics. Basic location targeting (sometimes called geotargeting) simply filters your ad audience by large areas like states, cities, or metro regions. You’re telling the platform "show my ads to people in Phoenix" without any ability to narrow down to specific neighborhoods or street addresses.
Real geofencing uses latitude and longitude coordinates to create custom shapes around exact locations. You can fence off a single building, a parking lot, or a three-block radius around your competitor’s showroom. The platform then serves ads to people who physically enter those zones, building a list of device IDs that visited that location. This matters when you compare platforms like AdRoll geofencing capabilities to true programmatic geofencing services designed for hyperlocal retail campaigns.
Does AdRoll support geofencing or just geotargeting
AdRoll does not offer true geofencing capabilities. The platform provides basic geotargeting, which means you can filter your ad audiences by broad geographic areas like countries, states, metro regions, and designated market areas (DMAs). You cannot draw custom radius-based fences around specific addresses or create polygon shapes around neighborhoods, which is what actual geofencing technology delivers.
This distinction matters if you run a flooring business with a defined service territory. When you set up AdRoll geofencing campaigns (or what they call location targeting), you’re essentially telling the platform to show ads to users in Chicago or Phoenix, not to people within five miles of your showroom on Main Street. The platform uses IP address detection and general location signals rather than precise GPS coordinates or device location tracking.
What AdRoll’s location filters actually cover
AdRoll lets you include or exclude geographic areas at four levels of granularity: country, state/province, metro area (DMA), and postal code. You select these from dropdown menus during campaign setup, and the platform serves ads to users whose IP addresses or general location data place them in those regions. For a flooring dealer in suburban Dallas, this means you can target the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA but you cannot isolate specific ZIP codes where your ideal customers live.
If you need to reach homeowners within a precise 10-mile radius of your store or fence off competitor locations, AdRoll’s built-in targeting won’t deliver that level of precision.
How AdRoll location targeting works
AdRoll location targeting operates through IP address mapping and basic device location signals rather than real-time GPS tracking. When someone views content online, their device transmits location data through their internet connection. AdRoll’s system matches that IP address to a geographic database that associates ranges of IP addresses with specific countries, states, metro areas, and sometimes postal codes. If that detected location falls within your selected targeting zones, the platform includes that user in your ad audience.
The IP-based matching system
Your campaign settings tell AdRoll which geographic areas to include or exclude. The platform then cross-references incoming ad requests against its location database. When a user in your target area visits a website within AdRoll’s advertising network, the system runs an instant check: does this IP address map to one of the selected locations? If yes, your ad enters the auction for that impression. This happens in milliseconds during the real-time bidding process.
The system relies on where the IP address is registered, not where the device physically sits at that exact moment.
Device location signals AdRoll uses
AdRoll supplements IP data with other location indicators when available. Mobile devices sometimes share GPS coordinates or WiFi positioning data through browser settings or app permissions. The platform also considers location signals from cookies and tracking pixels that identify users who previously visited your website from specific areas. These combined signals help AdRoll geofencing campaigns reach users more accurately within your selected DMAs or metro regions.
How to set up AdRoll location targeting
You access location targeting during the campaign creation process within your AdRoll dashboard. The platform surfaces geographic options in the audience targeting section, where you define who sees your ads. This setup applies to both web campaigns and retargeting audiences, though the interface combines location filters with other demographic and behavioral targeting settings. You need to configure these options before launching your campaign since AdRoll geofencing settings lock in once your ads start running.
Accessing the location settings
When you create a new campaign, AdRoll guides you through a multi-step setup wizard. The location targeting controls appear in the audience definition stage, typically the second or third step after naming your campaign. You’ll see a section labeled "Geographic Targeting" or "Locations" with dropdown menus that let you include or exclude specific areas. The interface defaults to country-level targeting, so you must actively drill down to state, metro, or postal code options if you want tighter geographic focus.
Selecting your target areas
Choose "Include" or "Exclude" for each geographic layer you want to control. You can target multiple DMAs simultaneously, which makes sense if you run flooring showrooms in several metro regions. The platform also lets you layer postal codes on top of metro selections for slightly more precision. Type location names into the search field or browse the hierarchical list of countries, states, and designated market areas.
Remember that you cannot draw custom radius boundaries or fence specific street addresses through AdRoll’s standard interface.
Common pitfalls and fixes for local campaigns
Most flooring retailers make predictable mistakes when running AdRoll geofencing campaigns, especially if they assume the platform works like specialized geofencing services. You’ll waste budget and miss qualified buyers unless you understand how AdRoll’s IP-based targeting actually performs in local markets. The biggest issues come from treating metro-level targeting like precise radius fencing, overlooking mobile device limitations, and failing to adjust your creative messaging for broader geographic reach.
Setting geographic boundaries too wide
Your first mistake happens during campaign setup when you select an entire DMA that covers 100 miles of suburban sprawl instead of your actual 20-mile service area. AdRoll doesn’t let you draw tight circles around your showroom, so you end up paying to reach homeowners who will never drive to your location. Fix this by stacking postal code filters on top of metro selections to eliminate distant ZIP codes where you don’t install. Test campaigns in your core service territory first before expanding to outlying areas.
Ignoring device location data gaps
IP addresses don’t always reflect where someone physically sits, especially when VPNs, mobile networks, or shared WiFi routes traffic through distant servers. Your ads might target someone whose IP registers in your metro area even though they live two states away. Combat this by layering retargeting audiences that confirm website visitors from your target zones, and adjust bids based on performance data showing which postal codes actually convert.
Relying solely on AdRoll geofencing without validating location data through other signals leads to wasted spend on unqualified traffic.
Next steps
You now understand that AdRoll geofencing works through basic metro-level targeting rather than precise location fencing around your flooring showroom. The platform handles broad awareness campaigns reasonably well when you want to reach an entire DMA or state, but it falls short when you need to target specific neighborhoods or service territories where your ideal customers actually live. Postal code layering helps narrow your reach somewhat, though you still cannot draw radius boundaries or fence competitor locations.
If your advertising strategy requires hyperlocal precision to reach active flooring buyers within your exact market area, you need programmatic technology built specifically for retail targeting. IFDA’s AI-driven targeting system identifies consumers at each stage of their flooring purchase journey and delivers ads based on buyer intent signals, not just general geographic filters. This approach eliminates wasted spend on distant metro residents who will never visit your store while maximizing your reach among qualified shoppers in your service territory.
