The rush is on. Marketers have seen the value in understanding where website visitors are located and personalizing content, such as special offers, pricing or news. Website visitors enjoy a more relevant experience when they receive personalized content—one that speaks to “me.” They return the favor with higher click-thru rates and—ultimately—conversions.

If you’re shopping for a solution to help you reach these goals, here are four reasons IP geolocation should be at the top of your list. Gleaning high-value business intelligence from IP addresses, geolocation technology delivers BIG where the alternatives fall short.

Personalize web content with or without cookies

With IP geolocation, you can tailor your storefront based on the visitor’s country, region or city, and other factors like time of day, current weather or venue (airports, hotels, etc.). While cookies do allow you to customize content, they can present problems. First-party cookies, for example, require you to collect information on the first visit—and asking for information right off the bat can turn off potential buyers. Third-party cookies, meanwhile, collect geolocation and other valuable data, but they are getting a bad reputation due to privacy concerns. Because of concerns related to cookies and privacy, many people use browser tools to block cookies aimed and preventing outside organizations from gaining personal and behavioral data. IP geolocation allows you to customize content for privacy-sensitive users.

Content Localization based on browser settings

Examining the user preferences in the browser can give you basic localization information such as language and time zone. Knowing the time of day visitors are reaching you online, and presenting your content in their preferred language, will ensure a basic level of engagement. Using browser settings is easy, but it does not provide the full impact of localized content that considers regional aspects of language and geography. Improve your message even further by considering variations in dialect and slang. Adjust your focus by knowing whether they are within a coastal, mountain or metropolitan community. IP geolocation provides the capability for more granular, targeted localization.

Locate visitors without the opt-in hassles of GPS apps

In the mobile space, GPS-enabled applications can find the precise location of smartphone users in relation to nearby businesses. Sounds good, especially if you’re marketing a local restaurant or store. But here’s the rub: these location services are usually opt-in. Users must first decide to let you find them. Again, privacy-minded consumers often say, “no thanks,” greatly shrinking your target audience and deflating your campaign. IP geolocation offers a privacy friendly alternative to GPS.

One IP Geo solution that works across all media and environments

Every device that connects to the Internet gets an IP address. Given an IP address, Neustar IP Intelligence can locate the user, many times all the way down to the postal code, without additional software or user intervention, and while respecting user privacy preferences. For more than 10 years we have maintained a database of all routable IP addresses throughout the world. Using IP geolocation, you can manage your customer experience using one technique that works across all user media and environments.

Remember: you only get one first impression. It’s important to make the most of it instead of risking the loss of a business opportunity.

IP geolocation, it’s the smart way to customize content and show you know your audience. Want more details? Learn more here.