Poor quality data and mis-targeted location impressions mean that almost two-thirds of what is spent on location targeting is wasted, according Location Sciences.

The location intelligence firm conducted an analysis of 500m digital location targeted impressions delivered in the UK and US from January to June 2019 and found that 65 per cent of spend was wasted. For every $100,000 spent on targeted location advertising, $29,000 was delivering impressions outside of the targeted area, while $36,000 may have been wasted due to a lack of quality location signals.

“While some location data suppliers are doing an excellent job – in our analysis 40 per cent of suppliers showed nearly 100 per cent accuracy in location and 35 per cent near 100 per cent accuracy in signal quality – there is still a large percentage of suppliers who are significantly underperforming,” said Mark Slade, Location Sciences CEO. “For location to be used effectively in digital advertising, brands should ensure that they understand exactly what they have purchased and how this is being deployed. This will help to drive significant improvements in accuracy and campaign performance.”

Location Sciences also found that 36 per cent of the top GPS-enabled apps were found to display location fraud, while a 40 per cent increase in location signal quality and 10 per cent increase in accuracy could be achieved with more data transparency.