For multi-national brands and companies with global operations, now is the time to invest in international PPC programs. Recent research from IAB Europe, PWC and ScreenDigest on the status of the EU online advertising market indicates moderate but solid growth of 6.5%. While the UK is tempered some, it’s the opportunity to make market in roads.
There was a perception that Europe was 18-24 months behind the US in adoption of search marketing. I don’t believe that’s the case as there are very strong SEM firms pushing advertisers with great results. The “gap” if there is one is probably closer to 6-9 months and closing. The opportunity exist with US firms not going into the EU with test budgets on PPC and SEO. At my previous firm we found Western Europe to offer modest PPC discounts on competitive B2B technology keywords. While many firms aren’t willing to test new markets, those that do will benefit from being first mover in a market where others are on the sideline.
Start with a reasonable test budget and follow this methodology for building an European program:
1. English is the language of business. In UK-English (i.e. catalogue vs. catalog) target the UK, Ireland, Benelux first. With success expand to Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Hold off on Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
2. Set up a new campaign in Google to test and be sure to not include the Content Network. Consider applying day-parting parameters to focus on the European business day.
3. Looks for pockets of success. Are you meeting or beating target CPA’s or ROI? These can be indicators that your daily budget should be increased. More important, these successes can show where localization might be worthwhile.
4. Localization is more than translation. If you’re finding strong success in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, consider developing German language ads and landing page copy. Localization includes use of cultural influencers such as imagery, page layout, information collection protocols, appropriate character encoding, and more. And don’t forget your offer! It should be culturally appropriate.
5. When international markets are found to be profitable and become strategic components of your program, invest in a localized website. This includes localization of all offers (i.e. white papers, demos, etc.) and if sales are face-to-face, it’s best to have representatives that speak the language.
6. International SEO is a whole other beast. We’ll tackle that one at a later date.