Andy Ashley, international marketing director at Digital Element, looks at what sets some IP geolocation vendors apart from others

A quick internet search on the term ‘IP geolocation’ is enough to reveal that there are no shortage of platforms and suppliers that can help you determine the location of a device IP address. Many of these solutions are quick and inexpensive, so where’s the catch? Most of these systems use data that is publicly available or scraped from internet registries. In both cases, the sources are infrequently updated, have patchy global coverage, and have a strong tendency towards inaccuracy. So, they may be cheap, but they are of very little value to anyone who is serious about IP geolocation. Since 1999, Digital Element have invested heavily in our NetAcuity platform. Its coverage is global, it is refreshed on a weekly basis, and it is accurate to a confidence factor of 99.99 per cent at a country level.

On top of all this, it not only returns accurate IP location information, but additional data, such as the mobile device, ISP and the carrier. These data points are invaluable to advertisers wishing to target users with the most relevant content and offers. Yet despite its sophistication, NetAcuity can be deployed on a server in less than 20 minutes and integrated into your own systems for you to manage in-house. Perhaps that’s why it is the IP geolocation tool of choice for some of the world’s best-known and most-trusted brands, and why it is the only IP solution in the world that has been accredited by the Media Rating Council, the independent arbiter of media accuracy.

NetAcuity provides IP geolocation solutions for a global client base, including some of the world’s leading mobile companies and some of world’s largest brands, such as Apple, InMobi, CNN, TAPAD, eBay, SuperSonic Ads, BBC, Webtrends, Teads.tv, Microsoft, Webtrekk, Weborama and many others.

The solution is bundled in three ways to meet the unique needs of our clients and each option varies in terms of data accuracy, granularity, technical integration and service level. Our original NetAcuity solution is the traditional industry standard in geographic targeting. NetAcuity Edge builds on this with the addition of global ZIP and postcode-level targeting, derived from user-supplied data, sourced from our commercial partners. NetAcuity Pulse adds a whole new dimension to IP geotargeting.

It builds on the NetAcuity Edge solution by incorporating data from mobile devices, billions of real-time data signals and wi-fi connection points. NetAcuity Pulse expands the global coverage and reach for postcode level targeting within cities and neighbourhoods, offering more seen IPs at a hyperlocal level than any other supplier. The solution also enhances the targeting of mobile and connected traffic, providing unrivalled IP targeting precision. Later in 2020, we will add to these solutions with the launch of a point of interest database to overlay against our IP data.

“We found Digital Element’s IP geolocation technology to be the most accurate in the market. We use it to locate bid requests right down to postcode level, vastly extending the reach of our mobile geotargeting capabilities” François Deschénes, director of product development at Adbrain

This is the third in a series of articles from Digital Element. The first looked at IP geolocation in a connected world, and the second at IP geolocation use cases.

Digital Element and Mobile Marketing collaborated to develop a whitepaper that outlines the rise of the mobile internet and shows how marketers, advertisers, and ad tech companies can utilise IP geolocation to create more meaningful content and advertising.