International PPC Doesn’t Have To Cost You The World!

International PPC Doesn’t Have To Cost You The World!


Running International Paid marketing may seem scary, but we here at Ascensor are here to tell you it is going be okay (honest)! Have no fear and read on as we show you how you (or we) can tackle International Pay Per Click (PPC) without ending up in a linguistical nightmare…

It might sound obvious, but doing the regular stuff is key to setting yourself up for success. We say setting yourself up for a success; if you wish to be successful you’re going to need to do the regular stuff better than anyone else, something we feel we have some knowledge of already.




Triple A’s


It’s all well and good saying that, but what do you need to do to ensure you’re doing the regular stuff better than anyone else, especially when it comes down to International PPC campaigns. The answer is the triple A method; Accuracy, Awareness and Analysis. If you nail this little philosophy on your internationally targeted campaigns as well as in some respects on your none international cliental you will truly be setting yourself up for success!


Accuracy: Never Miss A Trick


Separate Your Accounts

Don’t do it. Stop. Think about what you’re about to do. You’ve got a UK account for your business on AdWords already and you’re just about to add the French and Italian branches in as Campaigns. Don’t do it. In the famous words of The Offspring; ‘You gotta keep ‘em separated!’. Okay maybe you’re not a fan of punk rock, but regardless my point still stands.

If you’re setting up for other countries always remember to set up separate Accounts. Doing this ensures you keep your data for that country separate from any of the others, since some places may vary on how they work once live. You also don’t want to have to figure out incorrect time zones since Google tend to only allow you to change this once on an account. Having to run a campaign for Australia which is attached to your UK Account will seem a whole lot less fun if you don’t do this…


Split Out Your Match Types

A tidy ad group is a happy ad group. Good practice is to sort your ad groups by match type. Splitting out your Exact match keywords from your Broad Match Modified (BMM) keywords will allow you to view search terms easier and work out which types of keywords are best suited to your current endeavours. 

Once you have done this use your Exact match keywords as your negatives (providing they don’t clash) for your BMM keywords and vice versa. Aim to try and have a 70% Exact match split when doing this to avoid your BMM keywords from attracting too many unrelated search terms (which will be harder to understand if they are in a language you aren’t familiar with).


Awareness: Always Know What’s Coming


Currency Conundrums

Money makes the world go around and funnily enough around the world not everybody uses the same money (who’d a thunk it eh?). That’s why it is important to make sure you are looking at the right currency exchange when setting up your Accounts. Scripts are available online to allow you to help keep currency conversions simple and up to date!


They Might Be In a Different Language, But Don’t Forget To Review Your Search Terms

Right that heading wasn’t nearly as snappy as I wanted it to be, but the point still remains. Check your search terms like you would any regular search account! You may be missing out on potential keywords that could unlock the potential of your campaigns. You may also realise you have plenty more negatives to add to your negative lists than you initially thought.


The Price Is Always Right… Usually

Just like you would yourself when shopping for items online, having a competitive price can make or break a potential conversion. Make sure you check the price benchmarks of your competitors and if you can’t offer similar prices, be sure to hammer home the value in the item you are selling. The more details you give about your product within its title and description the better chance you have of showing the value of your product.


Happy Holiday’s!

Not everywhere has the same holidays. It’s easy to overlook or presume, but get into the habit of checking your campaign countries holidays so you don’t potentially miss out on the opportunity to promote your wears for seasonality gains. A great tip we came across was to make a shared Google Sheet of all the holidays associated with any of your foreign campaigns!


Analysis: Read Your Data


There isn’t really much else to this. Just read your data and act accordingly based on what you get from your campaigns. Auction Insights, Search Term reports and the like are great ways to view your data and see what works for your chosen campaign and what doesn’t.


Final Food For Thought…


At this stage, you should feel much more comfortable working with the international side of your paid marketing. Providing you do your research, check your ad copy regularly and view your modifiers both device and location related, whilst partaking in some healthy experimentation to see what works best, you’ll be well on your way to success!


If International or Domestic PPC is still giving your head a spin, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Ascensor!


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