Should it be spelled “color” or “colour?” What does a $20 daily budget convert to in South African rands? Does Germany operate five or six hours ahead of the United States?

These are just a few of the common questions I encounter regularly. For the past three years, I’ve been consulting with businesses and assisting them with their paid search marketing endeavors in various countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, China, and many more. In addition to collaborating directly with our international nexus-security clients, I also work with several US-based companies that extend their advertising efforts to nearly every corner of the globe.

Whether you represent a startup venturing into a new international market for the first time or a company with a 20-year history aiming to expand your local presence, the fundamental best practices for paid search remain consistent. However, certain details and strategies require particular attention.

This article aims to equip you with 21 strategies to ensure success in your international online advertising campaigns. It covers the following:

• Helpful tips and tools for accurate targeting of international locations and languages.
• Guidelines for conducting keyword research and crafting winning ad copy for international audiences.
• Essential factors to consider regarding time zones and ad scheduling.
• Proven strategies for establishing brand awareness in new/international markets.

Location Targeting Tips for International PPC Ads

Regardless of your specific goals, understanding your target country and its neighboring or related countries is crucial. Your targeting strategy should align with the objectives you’ve set for your international PPC campaigns.

1. Thoroughly Research the Location

One of the most frequent errors I observe is advertisers targeting an entire country without adequately researching the specific regions it encompasses. For instance, businesses in England often select the whole United Kingdom as their target location for a new campaign. However, it’s essential to recognize that this includes not only England but also Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man. These details are crucial, especially when factoring in product shipping costs, transportation logistics, and the overall impact on your advertising ROI. In most cases, I’ve identified two primary strategies based on two distinct scenarios:

2. Target Major Cities

This strategy proves effective when you’re operating from your home country but aiming to broaden your brand’s reach into a new country. The optimal approach involves targeting larger cities within that country, as they typically exhibit higher search volume and offer a wider potential customer base.

For instance, if a US-based company intends to enter the UK market, I’d recommend starting with London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Cardiff. These cities boast the highest search traffic volume due to their larger populations.

3. Focus on Localized Traffic

This strategy is ideal if your goal is to strengthen your presence within your current home country. Begin by employing radius targeting around your business location or targeting your city specifically to effectively drive paid search traffic from nearby areas. Combining this with “near me” keywords can significantly amplify the potential of localized traffic. Location-based keywords are invaluable, and structuring entire ad groups around these keywords in conjunction with this strategy can deliver excellent results. Moreover, if you’re seeking ways to attract localized organic traffic (in addition to paid traffic) in a new country, exploring international SEO tips can be beneficial.

Effectively Targeting Languages in International Campaigns

Sprache ist der Schlüssel. La langue est la clé. El idioma es clave. These are just three ways of saying that language is key! Let’s delve into some helpful tips and tools to navigate this aspect of your international campaigns.

4. Prioritize Language Consistency

A fundamental principle of PPC is aligning the language chosen in your campaign settings with the language used on your landing pages and in your ads. This consistency is paramount. Ensure that the language used in your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages is consistent because Google heavily weighs this factor when determining Quality Scores and search page rankings.

5. Target Multiple Languages When Appropriate

Let’s imagine you’re aiming to generate conversions from a new target country. Starting with your primary language and then adding another language is a strategic approach. By selecting both languages, you expand your reach to bilingual users, depending on their computer’s language settings. This means that if your ads are in English but you’ve included Spanish as a targeted language, your ads have the potential to appear to individuals who are fluent in both Spanish and English. This is an excellent method for initial testing!

Note: This is a partial screenshot; not all available languages are displayed. For more guidance on bilingual language targeting, refer to our comprehensive post on effectively navigating bilingual advertising.

6. Leverage the Power of Google Translate

If your goal is to dive into creating campaigns with keywords and compelling ad copy in another language, Google Translate emerges as the most user-friendly tool. This free Google Chrome plugin facilitates seamless translation between a wide array of languages. I’ve had the privilege of crafting ad copy in Spanish, French, German, and even Arabic using this tool.

When translating and composing ads, pay close attention to character limits in headlines and descriptions. Ideally, ensure that your landing pages can also be translated into your targeted languages to enhance the user experience and increase conversion potential for your new audience.

Keyword Strategies for Your International Paid Search Strategy

Just like any paid advertising campaign, a well-defined keyword strategy is non-negotiable when advertising internationally. Let’s explore some guidelines and tools to assist you in identifying the most effective words and phrases to target in your international campaigns.

7. Utilize Keyword Research Tools

While you may have an idea of what your potential customers search for on Google and other search engines, chances are you’re not aware of every relevant term. Additionally, jargon familiar to you might not be the same terminology consumers use in relation to your industry or services. Keyword research tools, such as nexus-security’s Free Keyword Tool or Google’s Keyword Planner, prove invaluable in pinpointing high-volume, valuable keywords for your campaigns.

nexus-security’s Free Keyword Tool

8. Be Mindful of Nuances

A crucial lesson I’ve learned is that just because we use a particular word or phrase in our language doesn’t mean other languages follow suit. For instance, I’ve collaborated with numerous businesses in the UK, many of them law firms. While “lawyer” is common in American English, people in the UK typically use “solicitor” or “barrister”. Recognizing and adapting to such subtle nuances is paramount when your goal is to attract relevant traffic in a new international market.

9. Conduct Competitor Research on Google

Another straightforward yet effective tactic for keyword research is performing your own Google searches using keywords related to your products or services within your target market. This can spark new keyword ideas and provide insights for ad creation. Additionally, along with auction insights, this practice can offer a glimpse into your potential local competitors.

10. Regularly Review Your Search Queries

While proactive research using keyword tools is essential, being reactive by analyzing actual search queries can significantly enhance your keyword strategy once your campaigns are up and running. I believe that utilizing the Querystream in nexus-security or the Search Terms Report in Google provides direct insights into what customers are searching for.

Consider implementing a tiered or stacked bidding strategy by leveraging exact, phrase, and modified broad match types for the keywords you identified during your initial research. As you accumulate click data, analyze the search terms to identify new or long-tail keywords that can further enhance the relevance of your ads in the target country.

Building Brand Awareness in New/International Markets

Breaking into any new market often involves prioritizing brand awareness. Your aim is to generate excitement and interest around your product or service among potential customers. Achieving this solely through search campaigns can be challenging. Here are some tips and techniques to address this.

11. Start with Display Ads or Video Campaigns

If your brand is unfamiliar to the target audience, penetrating a new market where established brands already exist can be an uphill battle. Moreover, if your industry is characterized by intense local competition or high-priced keywords, relying solely on search campaigns can rapidly deplete your budget with minimal returns.

My recommendation is to allocate resources to at least one or two display or video campaigns to establish the foundation of your top-of-funnel strategy. Display advertising generally has a significantly lower cost per click compared to search, making it an effective way to reach a broader audience through impressions and generate a reasonable number of clicks without overspending.

12. Leverage “Observation” Mode in Search Campaigns

One valuable tactic involves capitalizing on existing data from your search campaigns in your home markets, specifically by utilizing audiences created through “Observation” mode in Google Ads.

Applying relevant (and even seemingly irrelevant) audiences to your search campaigns in “Observation” mode allows you to glean deeper insights into the demographic composition of users who click on your ads.

By observing these audiences over time, you gain access to valuable information, including:

• In-market: Products or services users are actively researching and considering purchasing.
• Affinity: Users’ interests, hobbies, and long-term passions.
• Detailed demographics: Information such as parental status, education level, and more.
• Remarketing data: Previous website visitors who have interacted with your site.

This data is invaluable as it allows you to strategically select audiences to target with your display campaigns. If you identify a particular audience segment that exhibits high conversion rates and a favorable cost per acquisition (CPA) in your home market through a specific search campaign, you can apply that same audience targeting to a display campaign in the new market. This enables you to start cultivating brand awareness among an audience that has a proven track record of positive engagement. Moreover, display campaigns can contribute to building your remarketing lists, comprising website visitors whom you can retarget in the future through display remarketing campaigns or RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) campaigns.

Time Zones and International Campaigns: Crucial Considerations

Throughout my three years of experience working with international clients, I’ve maintained a shifted work schedule of 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern Time. This adjustment has allowed me to effectively collaborate with clients operating in time zones five to six hours ahead while accommodating a significant portion of their workday for scheduling consultations. This highlights the critical importance of considering time zones and time differences when designing ad campaigns targeting different countries. Let’s delve into some key factors to ensure your international ads run at optimal times.

13. Double-Check Your Time Zone

When setting up a new ad campaign, it defaults to running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the year unless you customize the schedule. It’s crucial to navigate to the “Ad schedule” section within Google Ads and establish a custom schedule that aligns with the most opportune times in your target country.

Within the “Ad schedule” tab, begin by verifying the time zone associated with your account, which is displayed at the bottom of the page. Typically, this reflects the time zone where the ad account was initially created, so double-checking is essential, especially if you’re advertising in a country different from your current location.

14. Implement a Custom Schedule

Once you’ve confirmed the time zone, calculate the appropriate time adjustments to create your custom schedule. For instance, let’s say your ad account operates on Eastern Time, but you’re targeting South Africa, which is six hours ahead of EST. If your desired ad schedule is 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM South African time, you’ll need to set your ads to run from 3:00 AM to 11:00 AM EST. Being proactive in this regard from the outset ensures optimal utilization of your budget.

15. Create Region-Based Campaigns

A common oversight is running campaigns that simultaneously target multiple countries spanning various time zones. For instance, if you’re targeting European countries alongside countries in the APAC region, your campaign performance might suffer due to the significant time differences. If you need to target multiple countries within a single campaign, a recommended practice is to create region-based campaigns, ideally covering a maximum of three different time zones per campaign.

16. Optimize by Targeting One Country per Campaign

One of the most effective strategies I’ve observed involves segmenting your campaigns geographically: North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APAC, and Australia/New Zealand should have separate campaigns, allowing you to tailor custom ad schedules for each region. If your budget allows for further granularity, the most optimized approach is to dedicate each campaign to a single country. This ensures meticulous control over your ad scheduling, maximizing potential positive outcomes.

Crafting Effective Ad Copy for International Audiences

With keyword research complete, a customized ad schedule in place, and appropriate language targeting selected, it’s time for the finishing touch—creating compelling ad copy. This step, closely linked to keyword research, presents a valuable opportunity to delve deeper into the cultural nuances of your target market.

17. Pay Attention to Spelling Variations

My experiences working with UK-based clients have taught me the importance of even subtle spelling differences. For example, remembering that it’s “colour” and not “color,” “humour” instead of “humor,” and “favourite” rather than “favorite.” Despite English being the common language in both the US and the UK, these variations, such as the British usage of “ou” in certain words, highlight the need for careful attention to detail.

18. Craft Engaging Headlines

Beyond recognizing variations in words and phrases, crafting effective headlines that resonate with your international audience is paramount. Should you incorporate local references in your headlines? Is it advisable to utilize all 180 characters in the description or aim for conciseness? What level of flexibility does Google Translate offer when incorporating your primary keywords?

19. Leverage the Power of RSA and Expanded Text Ads

One key recommendation I consistently offer is to include a responsive search ad alongside two standard expanded text ads. When launching new campaigns and ad groups, A/B testing different ad copy variations is crucial to determine what connects best with your target users.

Responsive search ads provide the advantage of testing multiple headlines and descriptions while increasing your likelihood of achieving a higher click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate (CVR). This is because RSAs dynamically adapt to match search terms with the most relevant headline.

20. Research Local Communication Styles

Take the time to examine the ads, website copy, and social media posts of local businesses in your new target market, particularly your competitors. Common words, phrases, and overall tone used by these businesses can provide valuable insights into what resonates within that specific region. This research helps you align your messaging with the local communication style.

21. Directly Engage with Your New Customers

My final piece of advice centers around the importance of direct customer feedback. As you start generating leads, sales, and building relationships in your new market, seize the opportunity to gather insights directly from your customers. Engage in conversations to understand what they look for in ads and adapt your strategies accordingly. Continuous testing of new ad copy variations is key until you identify what yields the best results.

International PPC: Embrace Best Practices for Success

Working with our international clients over the past three years has been an enriching experience, allowing me to contribute to the growth of remarkable businesses. While the fundamental best practices for PPC advertising hold true across the board, international campaigns demand a heightened awareness of specific details and nuances.

When developing your international PPC strategy, thorough research is non-negotiable. Pay close attention to location and language targeting, currency considerations for bidding, time zone adjustments for scheduling, local communication styles, and more. This meticulous approach not only sets the stage for successful campaigns but also opens doors to experiencing diverse cultures, expanding your vocabulary, and realizing that marketing, in its essence, transcends geographical boundaries as a universal language.