Most flooring retailers know their customers live within a 20-mile radius of their store. The challenge is reaching them at the right moment, when they’re actively thinking about new floors. Facebook geofencing ads promise to solve this by targeting users based on their physical location, but the platform works differently than many advertisers expect. Understanding these limitations upfront saves you from wasted ad spend and frustration.
This guide breaks down exactly how Facebook’s location-based targeting functions, including the minimum radius restrictions that catch many local businesses off guard. You’ll learn the step-by-step setup process within Meta Ads Manager and discover which strategies actually move the needle for brick-and-mortar retailers.
At IFDA, we’ve spent 25 years helping flooring dealers cut through advertising confusion. While our AI-powered targeting goes beyond basic geofencing, understanding Facebook’s native tools gives you a solid foundation for local digital advertising. Here’s what you need to know before launching your first campaign.
What Facebook geofencing ads can and can’t do
Facebook’s location targeting lets you reach people based on where they live, work, or have recently been. The platform calls this location-based advertising, not geofencing, because the technical implementation differs significantly from true geofencing technology. You’re working with Meta’s behavioral data and user profiles rather than real-time GPS coordinates that trigger ads when someone crosses a physical boundary.
What Facebook’s location targeting actually does
The platform targets users based on their declared home address, device location history, and check-in patterns from both Facebook and Instagram. When you select a geographic area, you’re reaching people who Meta’s algorithms determine have a connection to that location. This includes residents, people who work there, and visitors who spent time in the area recently.
Your ads appear in users’ feeds when they meet your location criteria and demographic filters, regardless of where they are at that exact moment. Someone who lives in your target area sees your ad whether they’re sitting at home, commuting to work, or on vacation across the country. Facebook refreshes location data periodically, so you’re not capturing users the instant they enter your chosen radius.
Meta’s location targeting uses historical patterns and declared addresses rather than live GPS tracking, which means your ads reach people connected to a place, not necessarily present there.
The 1-mile minimum radius constraint
Facebook enforces a minimum radius of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) around any pin you drop on the map. You cannot create tighter boundaries around specific buildings, shopping centers, or competitor locations. This limitation affects flooring retailers who want to target just the three-block commercial district where their store sits or capture traffic at a nearby home improvement center.
The platform designed this minimum to protect user privacy and prevent overly intrusive targeting. While other geofencing platforms let you draw custom polygons or set 500-foot radii, Meta’s approach casts a wider net. Your 1-mile circle covers roughly 3.14 square miles, which in dense urban areas includes thousands of households and businesses.
What you can’t do with Facebook geofencing
You cannot trigger ads based on real-time location events. Facebook geofencing ads won’t send a notification when someone walks past your storefront or enters a competitor’s parking lot. The system lacks the immediate responsiveness that brick-and-mortar retailers often expect from geofencing technology.
You also cannot exclude specific addresses or create negative geofences to avoid showing ads when users visit certain locations. The platform offers broad exclusion options at the city or region level, but you’re stuck with that 1-mile minimum for both targeting and exclusions. Layering multiple small circles to cover an irregular service area quickly becomes inefficient and expensive to manage.
Step 1. Choose locations, radius, and audience intent
Before you touch Meta Ads Manager, you need to make three strategic decisions that determine whether your facebook geofencing ads reach the right people. Location selection goes beyond dropping a pin on your store address. You need to consider commute patterns, competitor proximity, and the realistic service area where your flooring installation teams operate.
Pick your target locations strategically
Start by mapping the zip codes that generate 80% of your current customers. Pull this data from your CRM or point-of-sale system, then cross-reference it with your delivery and installation radius. Most flooring retailers discover their actual customer base clusters within a 10 to 15-mile radius, even when they advertise to a broader area.
Facebook lets you target multiple locations simultaneously, which works better than a single large circle for retailers in sprawling suburban markets. Drop pins at high-traffic intersections near your store, major shopping centers in your service area, and residential neighborhoods with homes built in the last 20 years. Remember that each pin carries that 1-mile minimum radius, so you’ll cover overlapping territory.
Target multiple strategic points with overlapping 1-mile circles rather than one massive radius that includes areas you don’t actually serve.
Match audience intent to your campaign goal
Meta gives you four location-based audience options that define who sees your ads. Choose "People living in or recently in this location" for brand awareness campaigns aimed at residents. This option casts the widest net and works well when you want to build recognition across your entire service area.
Select "People living in this location" when you’re promoting specific products or limited-time sales to nearby homeowners. This filter excludes visitors and commuters, focusing your budget on residents who can actually become customers. For flooring retailers, this option typically delivers better conversion rates than the broader "recently in" setting because you’re reaching people who make purchasing decisions for their homes.
Step 2. Set up the campaign in Meta Ads Manager
Log into your Meta Ads Manager account at business.facebook.com and click the green "Create" button to start building your facebook geofencing ads campaign. The platform walks you through a series of screens where you’ll define your objective, budget, and targeting parameters. Most flooring retailers choose either the "Traffic" objective to drive website visits or "Store Traffic" if you have a verified Facebook Business location. These objectives tell Meta’s algorithm which actions to optimize for when delivering your ads.
Navigate to campaign creation and choose your objective
Click "Create" in the top left corner of Ads Manager, then select your campaign objective from the list. Choose "Traffic" if you want to send users to a landing page showcasing your flooring options or current promotions. Select "Store Traffic" if your primary goal is getting people through your showroom door, which requires you to have a verified business location on Facebook.
Name your campaign something descriptive like "Jan 2026 Geofence 15mi Radius" so you can track performance by location and time period. Set your daily budget at the campaign level, starting with $20 to $30 per day for a single location test. You can always scale up once you verify the targeting works.
Configure location targeting settings
At the ad set level, scroll to the "Locations" section and click "Edit." Remove the default country-level targeting by clicking the X next to "United States." Click "Add locations" and type your store address or the intersection you selected in Step 1. Facebook displays a map where you can see the 1-mile minimum radius around your pin.
Set your radius between 10 and 15 miles for flooring retailers, as this typically captures your realistic service area without wasting budget on distant households.
Adjust the radius slider to match your installation service area. Under "Location Types," select your audience intent choice from Step 1. Save these settings before moving to the next screen where you’ll layer demographic and interest targeting.
Step 3. Build ads that match the moment and place
Your ad creative needs to acknowledge the geographic context rather than running generic flooring promotions. Facebook geofencing ads work better when the visual and copy elements connect to the specific location you’re targeting. Someone scrolling through their feed should immediately recognize that your message speaks to their neighborhood, shopping habits, or local landmarks.
Reference local details in your ad copy
Write headlines that mention specific neighborhoods, nearby cross streets, or recognizable landmarks within your target radius. Instead of "New Hardwood Floors on Sale," try "Serving Maple Grove Homeowners Since 1998" or "Free Estimates in the Lakewood Area." Your body copy should call out local installation availability and mention same-day showroom appointments at your specific store location.
Template your ad copy around three elements: location identifier, specific offer, and action step. Here’s a working formula:
Headline: [Neighborhood/Area] + [Product/Service]
Body: [Specific benefit] + [Local proof point] + [Clear call-to-action]
Example: "Orland Park Luxury Vinyl Experts"
"See 50+ styles in stock at our showroom on 159th Street.
Book your free consultation today."
Design visuals that feel local
Your ad images should feature recognizable architectural styles common in your target area, not stock photos of generic interiors. Photograph actual installations you’ve completed in nearby homes, and include exterior shots that show familiar housing types. Ranch homes, split-levels, or modern condos each dominate different neighborhoods, so match your visuals to what people see when they look out their windows.
Use real installation photos from your service area rather than stock images, as local homeowners respond better to familiar home styles and neighborhoods.
Add your physical store address and distance in the ad text or as an overlay on the image. Meta’s location extensions automatically show distance for Store Traffic campaigns, but manually including "2.3 miles from you" creates urgency for nearby residents scrolling through their feed.
Step 4. Measure results and fix common issues
Open your Ads Manager and navigate to the Campaigns tab to review performance after your facebook geofencing ads run for at least seven days. Click into your ad set to see the breakdown by delivery, engagement, and conversion metrics. Facebook needs this initial week to gather enough data for its algorithm to optimize delivery, so resist the urge to make major changes during the first 72 hours.
Track the metrics that matter for local campaigns
Focus on three key performance indicators that tell you whether your geographic targeting connects with nearby customers. Check your cost per result first, which shows what you pay for each website click, store visit, or lead form submission. Compare this against your customer acquisition cost to determine if the campaign generates profitable returns.
Monitor your frequency score in the ad set view to ensure you’re not overwhelming the same small audience. Frequency above 3.0 within the first two weeks signals that your radius might be too narrow or your creative needs refreshing. Track geographic distribution by clicking "Breakdown" then "By Delivery" and selecting "Region" to see which specific areas within your radius drive the most engagement.
| Metric | Ideal Range | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | 1.5 to 3.0 | Above 4.0 |
| Cost Per Click | $0.50 to $2.00 | Above $3.50 |
| Click-Through Rate | 1% to 3% | Below 0.5% |
Diagnose and fix targeting problems
Expand your radius by 2 to 3 miles if your frequency climbs above 4.0 within ten days or your cost per result exceeds $3.50. Your geographic area likely contains too few users matching your demographic filters, forcing Facebook to show ads repeatedly to the same people. Add a second location pin in an adjacent neighborhood rather than inflating your existing radius beyond your actual service area.
High frequency combined with low engagement means you’ve either exhausted your local audience or your creative doesn’t resonate with the geographic area you’ve selected.
Refresh your ad creative every two to three weeks even when performance remains steady. Upload new images from recent local installations and rotate your headline copy to reference different neighborhood names within your target radius.
Next steps
You now have the complete setup process for facebook geofencing ads along with realistic expectations about the platform’s constraints. Start with a single location test at $20 to $30 per day, run it for two weeks, then expand to additional areas based on your cost per result and frequency metrics. Most flooring retailers find that three to five overlapping location pins cover their service area more effectively than one massive radius.
Facebook’s 1-mile minimum radius and lack of real-time targeting limit how precisely you can reach active flooring shoppers. While location-based ads help you focus on nearby residents, the platform can’t identify which households are actually planning renovations or researching flooring options right now. IFDA’s AI-driven targeting models solve this problem by identifying consumers at each stage of the buying journey, from planning through shopping, without the geographic restrictions that limit standard facebook geofencing ads. Learn how our technology targets active flooring buyers instead of just nearby residents.
