This week’s PPCChat session was hosted by Natalie Barreda and the discussion was about targeting other languages, domestic campaigns, staying up-to-date with global and regional trends, localizing PPC campaigns and more.
Here is the screencap of the discussion that took place.
Q1: When targeting the US, do you target other languages? Why/why not? Do you see success with these tactics or is the traffic minimal? How do you make this tactic successful?
Not usually – generally running campaigns for brands targeting English speakers. – @timothyjjensen
Depending on the industry, targeting All Languages can mean the difference between incremental traffic for multi-lingual speakers or irrelevant traffic. – @_GilHong
Yes. In many of my campaigns a spanish language is necessary. and in Canada, French is very important. – @JuliaVyse
I ran a TOEFL school campaign – for them, absolutely ran English phrases on non-English Google. In addition, for clients who use “Se Habla Espanol” as a USP, we’ve tested running English keywords on spanish language campaigns to some success. – @ferkungamaboobo
Yes. I often run Spanglish campaigns! Especially when targeting the southwest. Same for Canada with frenglish campaigns. – @HeatherCooan
Always done all languages for increased performance. – @duanebrown
Q2: This is something I’ve thought a lot about, does anyone have a strategy for targeting Latinx people in the US? While the overall size of the pie is small in comparison to English speakers, 40M Americans speak Spanish. I know a few folks have mentioned supporting this
Like any translated campaign, staying on top of basic things like ad copy testing and SQR is important! Having a native speaker product expert or translation service that goes in-depth with transcreation is important. – @_GilHong
Separate out the campaign by language. Hire or find an actual pro in the language. Don’t use Google translate. Use dialects/slang matching certain regions if applicable. – @MilwaukeePPC
I struggle with this too. It’s not just about language settings per se, it’s about understanding conversations, interests, preferences and knowing what the conversation is in the first place. – @JuliaVyse
Add “Spanish” language Device targeting to you English campaigns targeting English Keywords. Then monitor search queries for odd terms and performance. Many will search in English from a Spanish lang device such as their phone. – @Realicity
Build language specific campaigns. – @duanebrown
Q3: So talking through how important localization is, how do you localize your campaigns? (If you have them, please feel free to share any great localization partners here)
We typically work with any translators or vendors that our clients are already working with to translate content. That way we leverage any product knowledge/context they already have. In order to keep things organized we utilize our own translation templates. – @_GilHong
I like to use neighbourhoods to start. Rather than saying ‘in your city’ try out names of neighbourhoods. It’s a real estate trick that really helps! Then expand with issues from those areas.- @JuliaVyse
Get creative and strategic with your Geo-Targeting and Local Keyword Targeting Combinations. – @Realicity
Work with native speakers to understand context and local markets. – @duanebrown
Q4: So when you’re targeting the Americas, its easy to expand to LATAM or CA – but if you’re looking to expand a client who has a globally available product further, how do you prioritize what markets to expand to?
Easier when client has established sales team in other countries. If not, we look at conversion volume with geography reports to find quick wins. – @MilwaukeePPC
Don’t trust keyword planner alone to prioritize countries! Dig in and ask tough questions to your clients on LTV’s by county and then prioritize by search volume.- @_GilHong
I’ve generally started with other English-speaking markets like UK & AU, then prioritize additional languages based on market size & potential revenue impact. – @taylorchatt
Reach out to reps for market volume estimates. They can help you prioritize where you’ll spend enough to read results. – @okhannahko
A lot of that is driven by the client, who likely knows where they want to expand already. Having said that, I can make recommendations based on international traffic to their site. People will tell you if they want a product. – @JuliaVyse
I follow the money. I get their revenue info and start where they have the largest market-share or in an area they want to grow.If they don’t have rev numbers then I start with GA. Where’s the traffic coming from? Is there evidence of traction? – @HeatherCooan
2 things we prioritize: 1. Volume – Is there enough volume to support the target to move on it now or later? 2. Ease to Execute – If we have content in English and can launch quicker with fewer resources needed then it gets a higher priority. – @Realicity
We look at other channels to see where growth is. Usually UK, Australia & NZ, Germany and Netherlands are places with strong online buyers based on different verticals I have worked in from SaaS, B2B and ecom and retail. For one ecom retail client in the UK, we wont on forums and found out where people were requesting the product with built in demand, which was Australia. We pitched opening that as our next market for paid & the GTM strategy for the company to open a retail store. – @duanebrown
Q5: How do you stay up to date with global economic trends and regional economic trends that could possibly impact your campaign performance?
Keeping an international calendar for holidays is important as well as following all relevant international news for your client. I prefer using twitter, google alerts, and the news feed on my phone. Even keeping up to date on world news can be very important as well. Had a client targeting Thailand that was affected by the passing of their king. It was so big that even FB paused all ads for the mourning period. – @_GilHong
You can also add audiences to multiple campaigns from the Audience Manager tab in the new UI instead of having to go to each campaign to apply them. – @taylorchatt
It’s about news, staying in the loop of your industry, using Google Alerts and listening tools for context. Sysomos is a good one. – @JuliaVyse
Localized agency partners and international platform reps. – @HeatherCooan
News and local friends I have around the world as I have lived in 5 cities on 3 continents. Follow politics in a few markets now too.Just because something is huge news in a local market. Doesn’t mean your client needs to jump on the bandwagon. i.e. Prince Harry having his first kid one day or William having that second baby a few years ago. – @duanebrown
A part I’ll admit I could do better at. Really rely on client’s help here. Lucky to have client employees in these other countries. – @MilwaukeePPC
Q6: We’re already starting to go down this route, what is the most surprising/interesting regional behavioral or economic trend you’ve noticed while running global campaigns?
Knowing how your client is perceived compared to local competition can vary wildly. I have a client that’s in the top of their field in one country, but almost considered page 2 in another. – @_GilHong
I ran a large program for a US health insurer during the rollout of obamacare. I did it from Canada. guys…your system is….okay anyway: the searches were WIIIILD! and emotionally charged. and searchers in other countries looking for vacations here are directly swayed by news of the TSA. Oh right, in my two scenarios, the US is the international player, not the local 😉 think outside the norm! – @JuliaVyse
It’s for online payment options in Brazil to include x2 x3, so they can use small amounts of credit from multiple cards. – @HeatherCooan
It really is the subtle differences in a country or region that can make or break a campaign. Never underestimate what makes a country unique. – @duanebrown
Q7: Do you stick with only running campaigns on Google/Bing/Yahoo or do you launch in regional publishers as well? How do you learn/train folks on these new publishers?
Definitely can be difficult if ease of management for the amount of spend/value isn’t there. Certain channels like Baidu/Naver can be extremely difficult to manage out of US, but have had surprisingly good experience running on Yandex using their reps. – @_GilHong
I know that Yahoo Japan is huge in those markets and always tends to be the next expansion opportunity after making sure Google is fully built out. – @nataliebarreda
Been trying to learn more about Baidu, and when it comes to local native ads, I like to work directly with local buyers. they will know more than I do. – @JuliaVyse
We always go local when we can. I have Baidu in China and looked at Naver in South Korea for retail/ecom and SaaS brands. – @duanebrown
PPCChat Participants:
- Natalie Barreda – @nataliebarreda
- Gil Hong – @_GilHong
- Julia Vyse – @JuliaVyse
- Joe Martinez – @MilwaukeePPC
- Duane Brown – @duanebrown
- Timothy Jensen – @timothyjjensen
- Doug R. Thomas – @ferkungamaboobo
- Hannah Ko – @okhannahko
- Heather Cooan – @HeatherCooan
- Taylor Chatterton – @taylorchatt
- James Svoboda – @Realicity
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