How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Stop Google Ads targeting a town with the same name in another state
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes
Open each campaign's Locations setting and read every target's full name, state included. Many towns share a name with places in other states or countries, so the one picked from the list can be the wrong one. Remove any same-name town from the wrong state, add the right town by typing its state, and confirm in Matched locations.
Before you start
- Access that can edit campaigns in the Google Ads account.
- The towns you serve, each written with its state, such as Springfield, Illinois or Portland, Maine, to compare each campaign against.
- The place the stray clicks or calls came from, if you know it: a caller's area code, or a town typed into a form.
Find the wrong place in the Matched locations report
Start with the report, because a same-name town in another state shows up there as its own row.
- In Google Ads, click Campaigns, then Insights & reports, then When and where your ads showed.
- Click the Matched locations tab and set the date range to the last 30 days.
- Read down the locations for any state or country you do not serve. A dental office in Portland, Maine that sees rows from Portland, Oregon has found its problem.
Google says these locations can be people's physical locations or locations they showed interest in. A stray place that is on your target list, or inside a county, region or radius that is, is a wrong target. One that is outside every target most likely came in through interest, which is a different setting (see the drop-down below).
Read every target's full name
If the stray place sits on your own target list, the target is the cause: remove it, along with any exclusion or radius that points at the wrong town.
- Click Locations in the Campaigns menu, click the blue pencil icon, click Select a campaign and click the campaign's name.
- Read every targeted location to the end of its name, state and country included, zip codes and counties too. Google's bulk instructions say to add the state to a zip code as well as to a city.
- Remove any target in a state you do not serve.
- Read the Excluded locations list the same way. An exclusion on Springfield, Missouri does nothing for a law firm that meant to keep out Springfield, Illinois.
- If you target a radius, check the map: the center should sit in your own town, not a same-name town elsewhere.
Add the right town back
Type the state with the town's name, so the search returns the place you mean.
- In the location search box, type the town and its state, such as Springfield, Illinois. Google's own example: an advertiser selling to Paris, Texas does not want Paris, France.
- Pick the result that names the right state.
- For a long list, click Advanced search, then tick Add locations in bulk. Put one place per line with its state, such as 94103, California, and restrict the results to one country.
- Click Search and read the review panel before you add anything. If a line matched a place you do not serve, click Target next to each right one instead of Target All.
- Click Save, then repeat for every campaign.
Check it worked
Reopen Locations on each campaign: every line should name a state you serve, and every exclusion should name the place you meant to keep out.
After a week or two, open Matched locations with a date range that starts the day after you saved. Rows from the wrong-state town should stop growing. Google says its location targeting is a best effort and not 100% accurate, so a few may still appear; a steady stream from a place you no longer target points to interest matching (see the drop-down below).
The wrong town is not on the target list, but it still shows in the report
Then it most likely matched through interest, which reaches people outside your targets who searched for or showed interest in your area. Controlling that is the job of the campaign's Location options, which the service-area how-to below covers step by step.
An exclusion also works. Google says there is no need to exclude a place you never targeted, except when the campaign also reaches people by interest, and that an exclusion takes priority when a place is both included and excluded. Exclude the wrong town by its full name, state included.
Fixing the same mistake in several campaigns at once
Go to Campaigns in the Campaigns menu, click the Settings tab, and tick the campaigns. Open the Edit drop-down and choose Change locations. Choose whether to replace the existing locations, add to them, or replace them with another campaign's list, type the right towns with their states, click Preview to see what changes, then Apply.