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Why you need to be using a free IP geolocation database

Whether you own a small business or a big corporation, a free IP geolocation database can customise your site and improve user experience and encourage purchases.

If you have read our previous blog posts, you might already know what a free IP geolocation database is.

However, if you haven’t had the chance to read them, let’s dive into what a free IP geolocation database is and what it might be useful for. Before we begin, though, let’s get to know what all this confusing tech jargon means! This post is for anyone who has limited knowledge of what a free IP geolocation database is.

What is geolocation?

In tech terms, geolocation refers to the location of a computer, networking device or a piece of equipment. It is a concept used in a variety of applications to help locate the users of these devices.

More often than not, geolocation provides you with the approximate location of a device based on geographical coordinates and measurements, otherwise known as longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates.

These coordinates are identified on a map to provide a specific geographic location that’s usually a certain region, country, state or city

What is IP geolocation?

Finding the geographical coordinates of a device can be done in two ways.

You can either use the Global Positioning System, primarily known as GPS, or you can use the Internet Protocol address, otherwise known as IP address, to pinpoint a specific location.

An IP address or simply an ‘IP’ is a unique address that identifies a device on the Internet or a local network. So, when both are put together, you are left with the process of finding the geolocation of a device through the use of its IP. This is what IP geolocation is.

What is a free IP geolocation database?

If there’s a unique address to each and every computer, networking device or equipment on the internet or local network, just imagine how many IP geolocations there might be in the entire world.

To make it easy for individuals or businesses that use information such as IP geolocation, there are plenty of databases that contain this information. These databases are created and maintained by third parties.

Here at GeoTargetly, free IP geolocation databases are integrated into our geo tools. This means that you don’t have to worry about gaining access to this information separately or worry about the accuracy of the data.

What can it be used for?

An obvious use of such a database is to customise the content of a certain website or page according to the IP geolocation of the user viewing it. When these databases are used in tandem with geolocation tools, you can customise price information to local currencies, change contact details, and even customise product offerings according to certain regions.

It can also be used to influence site visitors to click-through to different pages with offers and discounts and encourage them to make purchases, dynamically alter site content according to visitor geolocation, display location-specific messages using popups or display custom CTAs through message bars that display contact information.

These databases can also be used to create a region, country, state or city-specific landing page, making it easy for you to target your messaging to specific audiences and notify them about your nearest store location.

You can even use the data from these databases to target specific content such as ads, notifications, and popups. It’s also useful for geo-blocking or redirecting a user.

Imagine you’re viewing an e-commerce website. There’s an ongoing sale there for visitors from Canada.

If you’re accessing the network from an IP geolocation in Canada, you might be redirected to that sale. Similarly, if you’re not from the targeted location, you may be blocked from the site or page entirely.

A free IP geolocation database can be useful for almost any type of business

A business need not have different store locations around the country or many physical stores in different countries to make use of an IP address geolocation database.

If you’re an owner of a business that has an online platform, you can definitely make use of the geolocation information of your customers to customise your website to provide them with a personalised experience.

4th October 2019


Chad T. - Web & Digital Media Director

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