Smart Targeting Rules

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WB Ad Manager gives you precise control over who sees each ad and when. Target visitors by page, device type, user role, geographic location, time of day, and day of week — all configured directly on the ad editor. Show the right ad to the right person at the right time, and watch your click-through rates climb.

How to Access Targeting Settings

  1. Open any ad in WB Ad Manager -> Ads
  2. Scroll down to find the targeting panels below the ad content
  3. Configure each targeting section as needed
  4. Click Publish or Update to save

Display Rules — Controlling Which Pages Show the Ad

Display rules let you include or exclude specific pages, categories, or post types.

Display rules settings for controlling which pages show the ad

Show on All Pages (with Exclusions)

This is the default behavior. The ad appears everywhere on your site except for pages you exclude.

You can exclude:
– Specific posts or pages by title
– Entire categories or tags
– Page types: front page, blog page, archive pages, 404 page

Example: Show an ad network banner everywhere except your checkout page and contact page.

Show on Specific Pages Only

The ad only appears on the pages you select.

You can target:
– Post types (posts, pages, or custom post types)
– Specific posts or pages
– Categories or tags
– Page types: front page, blog page, archives

Example: Show a sidebar ad only on blog posts in the “Reviews” category.

Device Targeting

Show or hide an ad based on the visitor’s device type.

Device targeting options for desktop, tablet, and mobile

Device What It Includes
Desktop Computers and laptops
Tablet iPads and Android tablets
Mobile Smartphones

Select one device, multiple devices, or leave all checked to show the ad on every device.

Example: Show a mobile-specific app download banner only on smartphones, while showing a wider desktop banner to computer users.

User Targeting

Control whether the ad shows based on whether the visitor is logged in.

Option Who Sees the Ad
All Users Everyone — logged in and logged out
Logged In Only Registered members only
Logged Out Only Visitors who are not signed in

Examples:
– Show a membership upgrade offer only to logged-in subscribers
– Show a “Sign Up Free” ad only to logged-out visitors
– Show Google AdSense to logged-out visitors while showing internal promotions to members

Targeting by User Role

When you select Logged In Only, you can refine further by user role.

  • Administrator
  • Editor
  • Author
  • Contributor
  • Subscriber
  • Any custom roles your site uses

Example: Show a premium upgrade prompt only to users with the Subscriber role.

Scheduling

Scheduling options for date range, day of week, and time of day targeting

Date Range

Set a start date, end date, or both to control when an ad is active.

Field What It Does
Start Date The ad will not show before this date
End Date The ad will stop showing after this date

Leave either field empty for no restriction on that end.

Day of Week

Restrict the ad to specific days. Check the days you want the ad to appear. Leave all checked for every day.

Example: Run a “Weekend Deal” ad only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Time of Day

Show the ad only during specific hours, based on your WordPress timezone setting.

Field Example
Start Time 9:00 AM
End Time 5:00 PM

Example: Promote a lunch special from 11 AM to 2 PM only.

Geo Targeting

Show or hide ads based on the visitor’s country, determined by their IP address.

Geo targeting settings with country selection and targeting mode options

Level Accuracy
Country 95-99% accurate

Geo targeting operates at the country level.

How to Set Up Geo Targeting

  1. Edit the ad
  2. Scroll down to the Geo Targeting metabox
  3. Check Enable geo targeting for this ad
  4. Choose a targeting mode:
  5. Show only in selected countries — the ad appears only for visitors in the countries you pick
  6. Show everywhere except selected countries — the ad is hidden from visitors in the countries you pick
  7. Use the country dropdown to search and select countries
  8. Optionally check Show ad to visitors with unknown location (for visitors behind VPNs or with unresolvable IPs)
  9. Save the ad

Note: Visitors using a VPN may appear to be in a different country. The “show unknown” option lets you decide whether to display the ad when the visitor’s location cannot be determined.

Example: Show an ad only to visitors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Frequency Capping

Limit how many times the same visitor sees a specific ad within a session.

Setting What It Does
Per Session (_wbam_session_limit) Maximum number of times a visitor sees this ad within the cookie window (24 hours)

Set the session limit on each ad’s editor screen. Leave it empty or set to 0 for unlimited views.

How It Works

Frequency capping uses a dual-layer tracking mechanism:

  1. Cookie tracking (primary): A wbam_ad_views cookie stores a JSON object mapping each ad ID to its view count. The cookie expires after 24 hours.
  2. Server-side transient fallback: For visitors who have cookies disabled, an IP-based transient (hashed with the User-Agent and a daily rotating salt) tracks views server-side. The transient also expires after 24 hours.

The system compares both counts and uses the higher value, so visitors cannot bypass limits by clearing cookies alone.

Page-Level Limit

In addition to per-ad session limits, the Maximum Ads Per Page setting in WB Ad Manager -> Settings -> General caps how many total ads can render on a single page load. Once the limit is reached, no additional ads will display on that page. Set to 0 for unlimited.

Example Targeting Setups

Holiday Sale Campaign

Scheduling:
  Start: Dec 20
  End: Dec 26

Display Rules:
  All pages except /checkout

Device:
  Desktop, Tablet, Mobile (all)

User:
  All visitors

Mobile App Promotion

Device:
  Mobile only

User:
  Logged In Only

Display Rules:
  Dashboard page only

Local Business Ad

Geo Targeting:
  Show only in: United States

Scheduling:
  Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
  Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Placements:
  Sidebar
  After paragraph 3

Troubleshooting Targeting

Ad is not showing
Work through this checklist:
1. Is the ad published (not a draft)?
2. Has the start date passed? Has the end date expired?
3. Is the current page excluded from display rules?
4. Are you viewing on the targeted device?
5. Are you logged in or out as expected by the user status setting?
6. Has the frequency cap been reached?

Ad is showing on pages where it should not
1. Review display rules — confirm the mode is not set to “All Pages” when you want restrictions
2. Verify exclusions were saved by re-opening the ad
3. Clear your caching plugin’s cache
4. Test in a private browser window to rule out cookie issues

These settings in WB Ad Manager -> Settings affect targeting:

General Tab:

Setting Description Default
Disable for Logged-in Users Hides all ads from visitors who are logged in to WordPress Off
Disable for Admins Hides all ads from administrator accounts Off

Geo Targeting Tab:

Setting Description Default
Primary Provider Which service detects IP-based location ip-api
ipinfo.io API Key Optional API key for higher accuracy and volume Empty

Available Providers:

Provider Free Requests Accuracy API Key Required
ip-api.com 45 per minute Good No
ipinfo.io 50,000 per month Excellent Yes (free tier available)

For most sites, ip-api.com works without any configuration. If you have a high-traffic site or need better regional accuracy, sign up at ipinfo.io, copy your API key from their dashboard, and paste it here.

Privacy and GDPR Tab:

Setting Description Default
Anonymize IP Addresses Store a hashed version of IP addresses instead of the raw address On
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Last updated: March 4, 2026