How do Search Engines Determine User Location?

Feb 20, 2006 - 2:26 pm 0 by
Filed Under Google Ads

An interesting thread developing at SEW Forums has a member asking if "we all live in Virginia." Many would assume that he must be speaking about AOL, and the fact that all of its users are seen as being in Virginia when fed "local" sponsored match ads from AdWords. However, in this case it seems that Verizon is also serving VA ads to the member, who is based in MA.

According to Danny Sullivan:

AOL knows the exact address of everyone using its system, and it could find a way to pass that info to Google if it wanted.

So if they do start doing this, when will it happen? And could/will Verizon follow suit?

Join the discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 17, 2026

Jul 17, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google 7/11 Update, Bing Penalties, Google Images, AI Overviews AI Images, Google Ads Updates, ChatGPT Ads Features & Apple Maps

Jul 17, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Making Broader Smart Bidding Updates? Google Says No.

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Maps

Did Google Maps Turn Off OpenTable Reservations?

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Renamed NotebookLM Useragent To Google-GeminiNotebook

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google StoreBot Accessibility Issues Help Document Updated

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Outdated Google Cache Causing Headaches