International PPC – 10 ways to sell like a pro

Ten top tips for managing your international PPC

1. Separate your international and domestic campaigns
2. Pick the countries where you will have the most impact
3. Choose the right ad for your needs
4. Consider your targeting
5. Research relevant local keywords
6. Use relevant imagery and other assets
7. Consider seasonality and holidays
8. Create targeted landing pages
9. Monitor and refine your ads

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an easy way to raise brand awareness and get to the top of the search engine results.

And the great thing is, as it’s universal, you can target prospective customers wherever they are in the world.

As an eCommerce agency specialising in PPC ad campaigns, we know our stuff when it comes to international PPC.

So find your passport, dig out your flipflops, and join us as we embark on a grand tour of how to sell to customers no matter where they are.

Want to know more about global eCommerce? Check out this article!

Why is international PPC so important?

With dropshipping, improved logistics, and global payment gateways, it’s easier than ever to sell to people in other countries.

According to Santander, 28% of UK companies now expect more than half of their revenue to come from international markets.

When you’re selling internationally, there are lots of marketing channels you can take advantage of to not only make customers aware of you, but also nurture them until they’re ready to buy. However, here’s why it can pay off to use PPC to appeal to a global audience:

• You can easily raise brand awareness. When you’re a new brand in a new country, it can take time to make prospective customers not only aware of you, but to trust you enough to buy from your store. Specific PPC ad types like Google Display Ads and social media advertising are fantastic for getting in front of people
• You can promote your business quickly. While search engine optimisation (SEO) has a lot of advantages, it can take time to work, especially in a new country. PPC starts working straight away, meaning you can get in front of customers as soon as possible
• You can target customers with precision. All PPC platforms come with detailed targeting options. This means you can show ads to customers based on their location, as well as their age, job, life stage, as well as their hobbies and interests

1. Separate your international and domestic campaigns

While it may seem easier to manage your international and domestic campaigns by placing them together, we recommend setting up separate campaigns for each language and country you operate in.

This allows you to set specific budgets for each country, as well as tailored bidding strategies. For example, you may find that manual bidding works best for your UK audience, but automated bidding drives better results in other countries.

Bonus tip: If creating a separate campaign for each country is too much to begin with, start with regions. For example, DACH – Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

2. Pick the countries where you will have the most impact

Research is key when setting up an international PPC campaign. It’s essential to look at your existing data and determine which countries you should run ads in.

Consider the following:

• Your website analytics data – which countries are your visitors coming from?
• Your sales data – which countries are buying your products?
• Your customer enquiries – are you getting messages from people in other countries who want to buy from you?
• Your social media and email marketing data – where are your followers from and which countries are most likely to engage with your content?

If you’re still not sure, Google Market Finder can help. Enter your eCommerce store URL, answer a few questions, and Google Market Finder will recommend the optimal markets to get started in.

Bonus tip: Some PPC platforms restrict the sale of some products in certain countries or only allow them if you meet specific requirements. For example in Google Ads, ads for online pharmacies are banned outright in Poland.

3. Choose the right ad for your needs

Once you’ve determined which countries you want to advertise in, you need to choose a platform.

The great thing about PPC is that there are lots of different platforms to choose from, including:

• Google Ads
• Microsoft Advertising (which serves AOL, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo)
• Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest
• Marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy
• Forums like Quora and Reddit

Think about your target audience and which platforms they are most likely to use. Also consider the countries you want to target, as certain platforms may be more popular than others.

For example, while Yahoo only holds 1.5% of the market share in the UK, it holds 9.8% in Japan.

When you’ve chosen a platform, you need to think about which types of campaigns you want to use. Platforms offer a variety of ad types so you can appeal to customers wherever they are in the sales funnel. You can also use a mix of ad types to achieve the results you need.

For example, in Google Ads you can use:

Bonus tip: One thing to bear in mind about Google Ads is that you may be charged a jurisdiction-specific surcharge (JST) when you serve ads in specific locations. For example, the JST in Turkey is 7%.

4. Consider your targeting

Platforms like Google and Facebook collect a lot of data about users. You can use this information to create highly targeted ad campaigns that appeal to the right people, increasing the chance of conversion.

When you’re targeting international customers, the two key areas you will need to focus on are language and location.

Language ensures your ad is served to people who speak a specific language. Your PPC platform will determine this through people’s device and browser settings, as well as additional information like posts they’ve created or commented on.

Location ensures your ad shows to people in a particular country, area, or region. You can specify a certain area, or advise that you want to advertise to people within a specific radius. Most platforms will also let you exclude certain areas, meaning your ads won’t show to people there.

As well as language and location, you can use other factors to target prospective international shoppers. For example, you can target them by age, gender, interests, and whether they have engaged with your brand before.

On platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can even target people who follow your competitors’ accounts!

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to set up time zones as part of your targeting. You can use these to make sure your PPC ads appear in front of the right people at the right time.

5. Research relevant local keywords

Keywords won’t be relevant to all types of PPC platforms and campaigns. However, if you’re running search engine ads, it’s vital to choose the right ones.

One mistake we see eCommerce businesses frequently make is taking their existing keywords and translating them for an international audience. The problem with this is that these translated keywords may not necessarily have the same search volumes and conversion rates.

It’s best to do independent keyword research so you can identify relevant keywords which resonate with potential customers.

One of the best tools for PPC keyword research is Google Keyword Planner, which is free if you have a Google Ads account. You can search for keywords in English, define a language and/or country, and it will recommend potential keywords alongside how much you can expect to bid.

You can also use other keyword research tools – just make sure you run searches for your targeted country rather than the UK.

If you’re able to, get someone who speaks your target country’s language to help you with your keyword research. They’ll be able to advise if your chosen keywords are accurate and viable, and suggest alternative keywords, like slang terms, that you may not be aware of.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget negative keywords – these are keywords which will prevent your ad from being shown, meaning you’re less likely to get irrelevant clicks.

6. Get your ad copy transcreated

Some platforms (for example, Meta) offer automatic language translation, which uses AI to translate your English ad copy into multiple languages. However, we don’t recommend using this for two reasons.

Firstly, AI isn’t always accurate and can get wording wrong, especially if you’re translating a less common language. Secondly, AI translates content word-for-word. This means your copy can lose its meaning and come across as emotionless and bland.

A better approach for creating ad copy is transcreation. This is when you adapt your copy to a new target audience while still keeping the same message, style, and tone. This means you can emotionally connect to your international audience and compel them to convert.

Bonus tip: Even English-speaking countries like Australia, the US, and Singapore can benefit from transcreation. These countries have different cultural nuances and references, which can make the difference between people clicking on your advert and ignoring it.

7. Use relevant imagery and other assets

Ensuring your ad copy connects with an international audience is just the tip of the iceberg. You also need to make sure any images, videos, and other assets you use in your ads are relevant to them too.

It’s vital to understand the culture, values, and norms of your audience and avoid anything they may see as offensive, irrelevant, or confusing.

For example, in the 1970s, Pampers launched in Japan using the same ads they used in the US – a stork delivering nappies to parents. However, this confused Japanese parents as the legend of the stork doesn’t exist in Japan; babies are delivered by peaches floating on the river. This led to a sales slump that took Pampers over a decade to recover from.

Even using certain colours can cause issues. While green is seen as a positive colour promoting health and luck in Western countries, it’s associated with death in South America.

Bonus tip: Your pricing may need to change too depending on which country you want to target. For example, ‘charm’ pricing, where a price ends with an odd number like a nine or a seven, is popular in Western countries. However, prices ending with an eight are popular in Asia as this number is seen as lucky.

8. Consider seasonality and holidays

When creating Google Ads for your eCommerce customers in the UK, you need to take specific seasonal events into account. For example, you may need to revise your keywords and adjust your bids in the run-up to Black Friday.

Your international audiences may not celebrate the same events as your UK audience, or may even celebrate them at different times of the year.

For example, for countries in the Southern hemisphere, like Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa and South America, winter takes place during our summer. This can have an impact on the products you promote.

While the US celebrates Easter, it’s not a bank holiday like it is in the UK. However, the US does take time off work on 4 July for Independence Day.

If you’re stuck for inspiration, many PPC ad platforms have ad libraries you can use to see your competitors’ ads during seasonal events. Check out TikTok, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, and Google Ads.

Bonus tip: Google’s Keyword Planner forecast allows you to see how your keywords will perform in your different locations throughout the year, allowing you to plan ahead.

9. Create targeted landing pages

Your international PPC efforts don’t end when someone clicks on your ad. You need to ensure your landing page (the page your ad takes prospective customers to) is relevant, easy to use, and persuasive.

Customisation is key – you need a page that’s consistent with your ad, but localised to your international audience, providing them with all the information they need.

For example, here’s the Adidas brand page on Zalando’s UK site:

And the same page on the Italian version of the site:

Not only is the page in Italian, but it also showcases different products, as well as different influencers.

Bonus tip: A highly targeted landing page doesn’t just lead to more conversions from your international customers – it can help lower your cost per click too!

10. Monitor and refine your ads

PPC ads need regular monitoring to make sure they are still relevant, accurate, and cost-effective. Even if you use automated bidding models, it’s important to check in often to make sure your ads still deliver the right results.

You also need to keep track of your international audiences. See which products they’re buying on your site, which trends are influencing what they search for, and most importantly, how your competitors are using PPC in your country of choice.

Xigen: Your eCommerce agency dedicated to international sales

PPC advertising can be a fantastic way of making international audiences aware of your business, but there’s more to the process than just repurposing your domestic ad campaigns.

You need to check that your keywords, ad, copy, imagery, and landing pages appeal to your intended customers.

Let us leave you with one final tip – make sure your PPC ads, whether on Google Ads, Facebook, or TikTok, align with your other international marketing channels too. Consistency not only builds brand awareness but helps boost trust in your business.

As an award-winning eCommerce agency, we’re dedicated to helping companies sell online, not only in the UK, but in other countries.

We’ll crunch the numbers to see where you should be selling, set up your eCommerce site to accept international payments, and transcreate your ads so they encourage your customers to click and convert.

Contact us today and take the first step towards becoming a global selling sensation!