What is the default location option in Google Ads?

Presence or interest. Google calls it the default and recommended option.

Does Presence or interest waste money?

It can for local businesses, because it includes people who only showed interest in your area. Check spend by user location.

Will switching to Presence lower my impressions?

Google says most campaigns see fewer impressions. Judge it on conversions and cost per conversion, not impressions.

Should you use "Presence or interest" or "Presence" in Google Ads?

By Tom Claydon, Co-founder, Nudge · Updated 22 Oct 2026

Use "Presence" if you can only serve people in your area, such as a local trade or clinic. Keep "Presence or interest", Google's default, if people elsewhere can buy from you, such as travel or national services. The default also reaches people who have only shown interest in your location, so a local business can pay for clicks from far away.

What is the difference?

Option	Who sees your ads	Google's wording
Presence or interest (default)	People in or regularly in your area, and people who have shown interest in it	"This default and recommended option"
Presence	People in or regularly in your area	"show your ads to people who are likely to be located, or regularly located"

Google says people "can show interest through terms used in their searches", and that location of interest "isn't restricted to a person's country".

When should you switch to Presence?

Switch when someone outside your area cannot become a customer:

Local services: trades, clinics, salons, local shops.
Delivery or service areas with a hard edge.
Anything where a lead from the wrong place is wasted money.

Keep the default when people plan from elsewhere: travel, property, education, or services you deliver nationally.

Google warns: "Most campaigns will notice a decrease in impressions when switching away from the default targeting option." That is expected. The question is whether those lost impressions were ever customers.

How do you check if it's costing you?

Open the campaign's location report and look at where people actually were (user location), not only what you targeted.
Add up spend and conversions from outside your target area.
If that spend converts poorly, switch the campaign to Presence.

With Google Ads connected to Claude, ask: "Which campaigns use Presence or interest, and how much spend and how many conversions came from outside the target area in the last 30 days?"

Where do you change it?

Open the campaign, go to Settings, and expand Locations. The targeting options sit below the list of targeted places.

What about excluded locations?

Exclusions now use Presence only. Google says that by default "you'll exclude people likely to be located in your excluded locations", and also that "People who are located outside these areas may still receive your ads." Google also removed the option to exclude by interest.

How accurate is location targeting?

Google says location "is typically based on the Internet Protocol (IP) address", with device signals where available, and that "100% accuracy is not guaranteed in every situation." Expect some spend from just outside your area even with Presence.

Questions

What is the default location option in Google Ads?: Presence or interest. Google calls it the default and recommended option.
Does Presence or interest waste money?: It can for local businesses, because it includes people who only showed interest in your area. Check spend by user location.
Will switching to Presence lower my impressions?: Google says most campaigns see fewer impressions. Judge it on conversions and cost per conversion, not impressions.

Sources

All read on 22 October 2026, Google Ads Help:

About advanced location options: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722038
About targeting geographic locations: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453995
Target ads to geographic locations: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722043