# Read Google Ads performance by geography

> Tier: recipe. Operating recipe: real tool sequence, core rules, known traps.

Geographic performance via GAQL, compared to what the campaigns claim to target.

**Intent.** Where the money works: performance by location against the targeting's intent.

## When to use

- Multi-region accounts, quarterly.
- Before geo bid adjustments or exclusions.

## When not to use

- Small accounts where geo cuts leave no readable volume per cell.

## Sources

Required: Google Ads

## Preconditions

- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.

## Inputs

- `window`: Analysis window. Default: last 30 days.

## Procedure

1. Run the geographic view query over the window. — tools: `google_ads_run_gaql`
2. Compare spend share vs conversion share by location.

## Decision rules

- **When** A location takes spend share far above its conversion share, at volume → **conclude** Bid-down or exclusion candidate, sized by the gap.
- **When** 'Presence or interest' targeting shows spend outside the intended market → **conclude** The setting, not the market, is the finding: recommend presence-only where intent requires it.

## Evidence requirements

- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.

## Human approval boundary

- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.

## Failure modes

- Location of interest vs location of presence split the same user differently across reports.

## Output

- **Readout**: The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- **Flags**: What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.