In this article, we’re going to look at the concept of IP address geolocation and its importance.
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What exactly is IP geolocation?
IP geolocation is the name of the process that is used to find the location of a device based on its IP address. The IP address of a device can show its approximate location, as accurate as its city or province. However, beyond that, the specifics cannot be calculated through this process.
How exactly does an IP indicate the location of a device? An IP location lookup tool is used for this purpose. Here is a breakdown of the process:
- The public IP address is allocated to the device by an ISP. These IP addresses are registered in a publicly accessible database.
- The IP location lookup tool simply finds the ISP that has issued a particular IP and then locates the particular branch.
- The physical location of that ISP branch becomes the estimated location of the device.
Since an ISP branch is in close proximity to the device, this calculation is not very far off in most cases.
What are the uses and applications of IP geolocation?
Let’s move on to discuss why IP geolocation matters. To understand that, all we need to do is look at its uses and applications:
Personalization of ads for online users
One of the main and primary uses of IP geolocation is for ad personalization. A website could use the IP to determine the location of the visitor, and then show them the ads that they will find interesting.
This sort of targeting requires special permissions to be granted by the user.
Content localization
In the same way as ads, the content displayed on websites and online platforms can be localized depending on the location of the user. The content can be translated into the local language so that the user can understand it easily.
Many websites detect the location of the user and offer suggestions like “We see you’re accessing this site from the UK. Would you like to stay on the US version or navigate to our UK page instead?”
These suggestions work by checking the IP of the visitors and tracking their general location.
Traffic analysis
This is yet another application of IP geolocation.
By tracking the IP locations of its visitors, a website will be able to analyze the region that contributes most to its traffic. This data can help the website make adjustments to its marketing strategies by prioritizing the needs and preferences of that particular demographic.
IP restrictions
IP geolocation is also used when someone needs to restrict their website in certain regions. The incoming IP is checked, and if the region falls within the “blacklist,” the request is blocked.
This is quite a common technique used by certain government websites to deter access by people from other countries.
What factors play a role in the accuracy of IP geolocation?
One factor that can alter the accuracy of IP geolocation is VPNs. When using a VPN, a user can conceal their real IP address and access the internet through a different one. The new IP address can be from a different country or continent across the world.
Many people use VPNs to bypass location restrictions on websites. When IP geolocation is attempted on a VPN-connected device, the location of the virtual server is shown instead of the real server.
Wrapping Up
IP geolocation refers to the process of finding the location of a device using its Internet Protocol address. There are different uses and applications for IP geolocation, including ad targeting, content localization, and access restriction.