How-to

Local ad targeting for NZ businesses: reaching the right suburb or region

For a local business, target the area you can actually serve: a radius around your premises or a named region, not all of New Zealand. On Meta, decide whether to include people living there, recently there or travelling there. On Google, check whether you want people physically in the area or also those searching about it. Then exclude places you do not serve.

By the Moonlighters team. Last updated 13 October 2026.

Start with where customers really come from

Look at your last 20 to 50 customers and note where they live or work. That map, not a guess, sets the area. A café may draw from a few suburbs, a tradie from a whole city, and a specialist service from a region.

Meta (Facebook and Instagram)

Choose places. You can target countries, regions, cities and an area around a dropped pin with a radius.
Choose who counts as "in" the location. The options include people living in the location, people recently in it, and people travelling in it. A local service usually wants people who live there. A tourism business may want people recently in or travelling in the area.
Exclude areas you cannot serve, or where you already have a strong presence you do not need to pay for.

Google Ads

Locations: target countries, regions, cities or a radius around a point, and add excluded locations.
Location options: the default usually includes people in your target area and people who show interest in it. For a local service, consider the narrower choice of people physically in or regularly in the area. See the Google Ads checklist.
Location assets: link your business profile so your address and distance can show on ads, where available.

Platforms rename and reorganise location settings, so check the current wording in your account.

NZ-specific points

Small populations mean small audiences. A single suburb may be too few people for efficient delivery. Widen the radius or combine nearby areas, and rely on creative to do the filtering.
Use names people use. A headline with a suburb, town or region name tells people the ad is for them. Spell te reo Māori place names correctly, including macrons.
Holiday regions. Beach and ski towns swell in holiday periods, so locals and visitors need different messages.
Commuting patterns. People work in one place and live in another, so think about whether you want residents, workers or both.

Common mistakes

Whole of New Zealand for a local business. It spends budget on people who cannot use you.
A radius that is too small. The platform may struggle to deliver, and frequency climbs quickly. See creative fatigue.
Not excluding. Neighbouring regions you do not serve still show your ad.
Forgetting the landing page. Make sure it names the area and service coverage. See the landing page checklist.

Check it

Preview who the audience estimate says you will reach, and after a week look at where enquiries actually come from, then tighten or widen. Combine with the enquiry tracking guide.