The Hidden Cost of Inaccurate Location Matching: Why Location Matching Matters More Than You Think

For online marketplaces, every search, listing, and match represents a revenue opportunity.

The ability to connect users with relevant, accessible options is fundamental to success. Yet many platforms rely on flawed location matching methods that erode business performance from the source.

From high customer acquisition costs with poor returns to lost conversions and abandoned searches, inaccurate location matching doesn’t just impact user experience—it directly affects marketplace revenue and growth.

In this piece, we explore the hidden costs of inaccurate location matching and why investing in real-world, time-based spatial matching is essential for both short-term wins and long-term scalability.

What is Location Matching and Why is It Broken?

There are several types of location matching including spatial matching, data alignment, contextual matching, and address matching. Here, we’ll focus on spatial matching, the process of determining how locations connect to each other.

Spatial location matching plays a critical role in any online marketplace where location is a key factor in the decision-making process, for example job boards, real estate platforms, service marketplaces, and e-commerce. But most platforms still rely on outdated location matching techniques that fail to reflect the real-world.

These outdated methods, such as geoqueries, straight-line distance calculations, and routing APIs create fundamental problems:

• Geoqueries rank results based on simple grid-based coordinates, ignoring actual routes, travel networks, and accessibility constraints.
• Straight-line distance matching assumes users can move in a direct path between two points, but road layouts, transport options, and real-world obstacles determine how accessible a location truly is.
• Routing APIs can provide travel time insights but are often too slow, costly, or limited in scale to support high-performance marketplaces.

The result? Irrelevant results, frustrated users, and lost business opportunities.

The Cost of Getting Location Matching Wrong

Every irrelevant match has a direct financial impact on online marketplaces.

When organisations do not fix location matching accuracy at the source it creates hidden costs that accumulate over time, dragging down acquisition, conversion, and monetisation potential.

High Customer Acquisition Costs Without Returns

Marketplaces spend heavily on ads, SEO, and promotions to bring users onto their platform. But if search results are irrelevant, too far away, or inaccessible, users leave without converting—wasting your acquisition budget only for you to pay to get them back.

Lost Conversions from Irrelevant or Inaccessible Matches

Users come to a marketplace expecting relevant, accessible results. If location matching is inaccurate, they are more likely to bounce, return to Google, or switch to a competitor that provides better options.

High Exit Rates as Users Abandon Misleading Search Results

If a job posting, property listing, or service appears close but is difficult to reach, users will leave. Every abandoned search represents lost engagement, lost revenue, and a poor user experience.

Reduced Monetisation Potential for Listings

If search relevance and location matching is poor, applications won’t deliver the best results. This can undermine paid listings, reducing confidence in your platform and long-term revenue streams.

On the flip side, more accurate matching can open new monetisation opportunities where you can charge more for better relevancy.

Every Irrelevant Result Represents a Lost Revenue Opportunity

The more accurate your location matching, the better your conversion rates and revenue per session. Every mismatched result is a user who doesn’t convert, an ad that doesn’t deliver, and a lost chance to monetise effectively.

The Opportunity of Time-Based Spatial Matching

Instead of static distance-based matching, marketplaces can unlock revenue growth by switching to time-based spatial matching—ensuring users get results that reflect real-world accessibility.

• Match users based on travel time, not straight-line distance
• Deliver results that reflect real-world movement across all transport modes
• Improve conversion rates by surfacing genuinely relevant options
• Reduce exit rates by increasing search accuracy and user satisfaction
• Boost monetisation by improving premium listing visibility and performance

By integrating time-based spatial matching, marketplaces drive better matches, improve user engagement, and increase overall revenue potential.

The good thing is that online marketplaces do not need to rebuild their entire search experience to fix location matching. TravelTime’s API integrates seamlessly with your existing technology to deliver accurate matches quickly without breaking the bank.

If your marketplace is losing users, struggling with conversion rates, or seeing low ROI on acquisition, it’s time to fix location matching at the source.

Chat to our team or get started with a free API key to see the impact of time-based spatial matching on your marketplace.