In today’s world, where having knowledge about the location of a user brings a lot to digital marketers, it must be known how to get it. Two of the main techniques to carry off this demand are geolocation and geolocation by IP. Before knowing the other differences between them, a few words to find what both the terms mean is necessary too.
When the location of a user is acquired, regardless of the method used in this process is called geolocation. As far as geolocation by IP is concerned, the use of the internet protocol address of a user to come by the location is called geolocation by IP (Also known as GeoIP). Although there are people who are not aware of the fact that they are not the same, it is a reality that geolocation and geolocation by IP are unalike. This article will shed light on the details that make them different from each other. Following are a few of them:
Both provide dissimilar information
As far as the information provided by geolocation and geolocation by IP is concerned, it is not the same. The use of longitude and latitude coordinates allows geolocation to deliver with local information that is individual-specific such as city and state. On the other hand, geolocation by IP does not give the above-mentioned information directly. But it does not mean that GeoIP cannot provide similar information. The combination of IP address and other details ( such as city and state) of a user by internet service providers adds more value to the data given by GeoIP.
Both of them capture data differently
Geolocation by IP functions on a web server that hosts websites which allows GeoIP to obtain data with programming. It gathers data from a single source such as a mobile tower to which a cell phone is connected. But geolocation has the option of programming and hardware to get data. GPS modules in smartphones, Wi-Fi connectivity, and cellular triangulation are a few of the sources for geolocation to collect data. Through the use of web browsers, geolocation is implemented in Javascript written in API, called geolocation API.
Geolocation is more accurate than GeoIP
Considering how important it is to know the location of a user in digital marketing, it is imperative to have the knowledge that which of them gives more accurate information. As geolocation uses multiple sources to collect data and geolocation by IP is aided by a single source, the information given by the former is more accurate.
As the dissimilarities between the two are known, it can be said that geolocation displays better results compared to geolocation by IP. And when it comes to the use of the internet protocol address to locate a user, there is much room for improvement. Similarly, the article contains significant information for businesses that rely heavily on digital marketing.
