1. Lessons Learned from Launching
PPC Campaigns in Europe, Asia &
Latin America
International Search Summit @ SMX
Advanced 2014
Manager, Customer Acquisition
@MarcBitanga
Marc Bitanga

2. Marc Bitanga
Manager, Customer Acquisition
@MarcBitanga
Speaker
• Launched international PPC campaigns
for Hootsuite & Ritchie Bros.
Auctioneers
• International SEO for EA Sports FIFA
websites.
• International SEO for Suite101.com
(German, French, Spanish websites)

3. Top Brands Trust Hootsuite

4. 175+COUNTRIES
15 LANGUAGES
90+ SOCIAL NETWORKS &
INTEGRATIONS747 OF FORTUNE
1000 COMPANIES
9+ MILLION USERS
1200+ ENTERPRISE
CUSTOMERS

7. Lessons Learned Going Global

8. Who’s Going to Manage
Your Campaigns? Your 5
Resourcing Options

9. Five International PPC Resourcing Options
In-House:
Machine
Language
In-House:
Outsourced
Translations
Agency: “Big
Agency
Model”
Agency:
Centralized
In-House:
Fully Staffed
Not
Recommended
Limited
Potential
Costly &
Requires Active
Management
Great Option The Dream

10. Pros
• Quick initial go-to-market
Cons
• Doesn’t factor cultural nuances
• A lot can be lost in translation
• Doesn’t help with ad copy localization
• Good luck performing keyword cleaning for
negatives
#1 – In-House: Machine Language Translations

11. Pros
• Better than using machine translations
Cons
• Translations not localization
• Translators aren’t marketers
• Difficult to coordinate ad copy localization
(character counts)
• Good luck performing keyword cleaning for
negatives
#2 – In-House: Outsourced Translation of Keyword Research & Ad Copy

12. Pros
• Agency can help identify opportunities
• Improves scalability
• More accurate localization; including cultural
nuances
Cons
• Hard to find an agency that will take your
business; slim profit margins
• Requires a solid account director
• Prone to communication issues
• Some big agencies aren’t PPC experts
#3 – Agency Support: “Big Agency” Hub & Spoke Model
Account
Director
Spanish
Office
Italian
Office
German
Office
Dutch
Office
French
Office

13. Pros
• More accurate localization; including
cultural nuances
• Agency can help identify opportunities
• Improved knowledge sharing &
responsiveness
• Less costly
Cons
• Niche expertise; experts in PPC, but may
not be experts in other media
• Very few agencies support this model
#4 – Agency Support: Centralized Model
Single
Agency, One
Office
Spanish
Specialist
Italian
Specialist
German
Specialist
Dutch
Specialist
French
Specialist

14. Pros
• You know your product the best
• More accurate localization
• Improved knowledge sharing
• Less costly
Cons
• Difficult to recruit
• Minor cons…
#5 – In-House: Fully Staffed
In-House
Team
Spanish
Specialist
Italian
Specialist
German
Specialist
Dutch
Specialist
French
Specialist

15. Language & Culture: Things We
Learned

16. • Spanish is 2nd most spoken
non-English language in US
• Spanish can cover Spain &
most of Latin America
• Many Asia-Pacific countries
have English as a second
language
Spanish & English Can Cover a Lot of Ground
Source: Pew Research

17. • 98.5% of residents are
Japanese origin; little cultural
diversity
• Unique cultural perspective
• Localize with a native speaker;
not just someone who learned
Japanese
Japan is Unique: Low Immigration + Unique Culture
Source: Game Industry

18. • Baidu searchers in China
search through all the search
results and read descriptions
• Could be because they trust
Google results over Baidu
• Potentially impacts SEM ad
copy; it matters
Baidu Searchers Behave Differently
Source: SEL

19. US English vs. UK English
• In some regions such as Hong
Kong & Australia, UK English is
acceptable
• In other countries such as the
Philippines they prefer US
English
Don’t Assume US English is the Norm Globally

20. • In some countries many
English speaking
expatriates are in senior,
decision-making roles
• Create campaigns with
expats in mind for
countries like Hong Kong,
Philippines, Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand
Don’t Forget About Expats in Asia-Pacific!

21. Not just bilingual; a mix of English & their local language in the same
phrase. For example, Germany…
Some Cultures Mix English with Their Local Language
“web-based” “free”

22. Digital Marketing: Things We
Learned

23. Keywords Should Change. But Campaign Structure &
Strategy Shouldn’t.

24. • English-only campaigns
targeting multiple nations
= incremental conversions
• Target multiple countries
per language
Target Multiple Countries with Languages, Even English
English
Target: Europe
Spanish
Target: Spain
French
Target:
France,
Belgium,
Switzerland
German
Target:
Germany,
Belgium,
Switzerland,
Austria

25. • Google Search & Facebook
have high penetration in
many nations; very
dominant ad networks
• Very few “secret” local-only
ad platforms
• Japan, China & Russia are
exceptions
Google AdWords & Facebook PPC Dominate Many Nations
Source: We Are Social
Facebook: 50% Penetration in W. Europe
Google: 93% European Market Share
Source: FairSearch.org

26. • In Latin America we found
most users clicked on our
logo rather than the CTA!
• Replicating your US landing
pages globally is a good
first step
• But you’ll need to pivot
quickly to succeed
Landing Pages: Be Prepared to Pivot Quickly
Spanish Landing Page Heat Map
?

27. Parting Tips…

28. +tools +plus
One of our former Italian PPC specialists bid on these keywords.
Agency Onboarding: They Need to Know Your Products

29. First 3-months are very telling when
working with an international agency.
Either your agency will “get it” or they
won’t.
• Ensure flexible “out” clauses in your
contracts
• Build in performance criteria bonuses
in compensation
Agencies: Performance & Flexibility in Contracts

30. • Get used to off-hour emails &
communications to keep things going
• Either early morning hours or staying
later to support your agency/teams
• Use project communication tools like
Basecamp to consolidate
communications & files
Forget 9 to 5 Hours: What it’s Like to go Global

31. Thank You!
Marc Bitanga
@MarcBitanga