Geotargeting with OpenX
OpenX provides professional quality geotargeting thanks to a partnership with MaxMind.
By default, OpenX ships with the free MaxMind GeoLite Country database so you can immediately start targeting ads based on the location of your website visitors. MaxMind provides a range other open source and commercial geotargeting databases which you can use with OpenX depending on your geotargeting needs.
Why use geotargeting?
Targeting ads based on the the location of your website visitors can lead to higher click through rates by allowing you target advertising on those most likely to respond. Similarly, many advertisers only want to display their campaigns to people in a single country. Geotargeting allows you to deliver these types of campaign.
How does it work?
Geotargeting databases can be used to identify the geographic location of your website visitors based on their IP address. Typically the location is estimated to a country level but databases exist which can identify state, city, postcode, area codes or simply the latitude and longitude of your visitors at varying levels of accuracy. Based on this information, OpenX can decide which banner must be displayed.
How do I enable Geotargeting options in OpenX?
A free country database is provided in OpenX from MaxMind. If you need a more accurate database, or want a database with more information, you can buy one from MaxMind website. For information on enabling the database, please see: this FAQ entry
How can I decide which banner must be shown in which country?
The GeoTargeting feature is based on the already existing Delivery Limitations. After you have told OpenX the location of the GeoTargeting database, 
two new Delivery Limitations will become available to you: Country and Continent. For every banner in your inventory you will able to add limitations in which the banner will be shown. You can show your banner in only one specific country, or show your banner in all countries, except one. Of course you can also select multiple countries in which your banner must be shown.
Which database do I need?
OpenX currently supports multiple types of geotargeting databases from MaxMind. Almost all of the databases supported by OpenX allow you to target based on continent and country. Many will be able to find the US or CA state, and some will provide further details, such as city, area and DMA codes (US only), and regions for non US states. There are also specialized databases that do not provide geographic information, but can be used to target banners to different ISPs or organizations owning the IP address, or limit banner delivery by connection speed (dial-up, broadband or corporate).
Geographic databases
| MaxMind GeoIP databases: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Region | City | |
| Continent targeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Country targeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| US/CA state targeting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Region (world) targeting | No | No | Yes |
| City targeting | No | No | Yes |
| Postal code targeting | No | No | Yes |
| DMA code targeting | No | No | Yes |
| Area code targeting | No | No | Yes |
| Organization/ISP targeting | No | No | No |
| Netspeed targeting | No | No | No |
| Single database | $50 | $150 | $370 |
| Monthly updates subscription | $12 | $36 | $90 |
 Buy | Buy | Buy | |
Geographic and specialized databases
| MaxMind GeoIP databases: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMA Code | Area Code | Organization | ISP | NetSpeed | |
| Continent targeting | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Country targeting | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| US/CA state targeting | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Region (world) targeting | No | No | No | No | No |
| City targeting | No | No | No | No | No |
| Postal code targeting | No | No | No | No | No |
| DMA code targeting | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Area code targeting | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Organization/ISP targeting | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Netspeed targeting | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Single database | $270 | $300 | $15 | $15 | $370 |
| Monthly updates subscription | $66 | $72 | $3 | $3 | $90 |
| Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | |
Try it out for free! Download the free try-out version of the GeoIP database created by MaxMind. The package includes instructions on how to install the database and has a fully functional database!
The only difference between the regular database from MaxMind and the try-out version is the accuracy.
The try-out version is derived from APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE WHOIS databases. The Country Edition of the database which can be bought for only $50 has much greater accuracy because MaxMind uses a number of Internet mapping tools to identify and correct IP addresses where the end-user location does not match the ISP location on the WHOIS record.
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