Wondering how to locate an IP address for free?
Find out how geolocation based on IP and the types of information you can get.
You will also find several free online tools to allow you to locate an IP address easily.
What is an IP address?
Let's start with a few basic elements. A IP address is a unique identifier for each computer or phone connected to the Internet. A standard IP address has several figures, separated by points.
Thanks to IP addresses, electronic devices can connect and share data between them. Even if each computer or device connected to the Internet has its own IP address (“local IP addresses”), the latter are rarely accessible to the outside world.
The bulk of the work is done through routers. The routers connect to individual computers, then connect to the Internet using their own IP address, also called “external IP addresses”.
The external IP address is provided by the user's internet service provider is that which is actually used when browsing a website or any other action on the Internet.
If you do not want to be geolocated thanks to your IP address, you can use a VPN.
What is IP-based geolocation?
IP -based geolocation is a way to locate a computer or mobile device connected to the Internet.
To start, everything you need is the IP address of your target, which you can get using a simple PHP script, and a geolocation search tool. The geolocation tool then questions public databases to determine the contact details and registration information for the requested IP address.
Thanks to an online tool, you can follow an IP address and go up close to the exact place where a person is, if they communicate with you via the Internet … and if you want to know where it is really. We will see that there are several reasons for wanting to access this information.
If you can recover its IP address, you will be able to know the location of the device, a few kilometers away. In fact, you will get the following information:
- Country
- Region
- City
- Postal code
- Longitude and latitude
Some sites go so far as to point a “pine” on a map, with a radius inside which is the desired device.
Sites to locate an IP address for free
Do you need evidence? Let's see where you are, in real time, at present. The tools listed below allow you all to geolocate you. Some of them also test another IP address than yours.
Maxmind
Ipstack
IPlocation
Geolocalise-IP
My public IP
Trace My IP
Find ip
How does it work?
IP addresses are distributed by theIana (a department ofIcann), which allocates them to a regional internet register. The regional registers then allocate these addresses to our Internet service providers (Free, Orange, Bouygues Telecom, etc.).
All addresses thus distributed are stored inside huge databases. These are these databases that are questioned by the tools mentioned above and which allow you to know the region in which an IP address has been allocated.
If you have tested several, you will probably have noticed that the above tools have a variable precision: this is due to the fact that they do not all question the same database.
What is the use of the geolocation of an IP address?
There are many uses of geolocation based on IP. Here are some common examples.
Presentation a different content to certain users
IP -based geolocation can be used to enhance a different product with users depending on where they are.
For example, users of a place close to a yoga teacher can obtain a physical service, while other users (connected to a more distant place that would prevent them from attending a course) can be offered a book or online course.
Cause a feeling of proximity
Geolocation can display the name of a precise city or region in the title of a web page, in order to give an impression of proximity, and to better capture the attention of the user.
Translate the site directly in the language of the user
You can take advantage of IP geolocation to disseminate content -based content. Many very large websites have this function, it is not only reserved for rich and can be implemented quite easily.
Of the Freelance developers Registered on Codeur.com can help you set it up on your site. Describe your project on the platform To receive their quote for free.
Set up features on your site thanks to the visitors' IP
You want to better understand your main target, maybe you are looking to create personas to improve your marketing? You can use the location of your visitors to find out if you touch one country more than another, an urban audience or not, etc!
Customer knowledge, personalization of offers, choice of automatic languages, selection of closest stores … The commercial possibilities offered by the geolocation of visitors to your site are numerous.
Post your project for free on Codeur.com To use this knowledge and develop features that will allow you to boost your sales quickly.