Whether you’re opening retail locations in a new state or selling your software in a new country, breaking into a new geographic location requires a well-thought-out marketing strategy.
Payment media can be a critical tool for generating profitable sales from new market leads.
This article offers several suggestions for tailoring your PPC efforts to a new region for your brand.
1. Estimate the search volume
Looking at predicted search volume ahead of time will help you:
Determine realistic budgets. Consider the broad set of keywords you can include in your initial campaigns if you have tight budget constraints.
Google’s and Microsoft’s respective Keyword Planner tools offer free volume estimation solutions for each platform.
Note that the data is approximate based on historical searches and may be particularly inaccurate for more niche queries.
Ultimately, you can use the data after the campaigns are launched to get an idea of the actual volume.
2. Add regional keywords
If you’re promoting a business with a local presence, think of regional terms that make sense to incorporate into your keywords. These could include:
City/Town Names County Names State/Province Names Popularly Used References for a Specific Area (ie “Capital Region”)
Also, broad match and phrase keywords should pick up queries that include local modifiers.
For example, the keyword “furnace repair” might show for the query “Charlotte’s furnace repair.”
Monitor your search terms for local queries and add those that show significant enough volume or have converted.
3. Customize assets
While you can learn from existing markets about which ad copy assets work best, you should consider where to adapt your ad copy in the region.
For example, use location embedding to show city names in your ads where appropriate.
At the bottom of your landing page, include location callouts and images of landmarks in the region you’re targeting so potential customers can see you’ve taken the time to identify with their area.
Also, consider offers you can pitch to people in the new area.
If you’ve just opened new brick and mortar locations, you may be able to offer a free gift to the first 1,000 customers who visit and mention this in your ad to promote it while supplies last.
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4. Check conversion tracking and tagging
This is an area that can be all too easily overlooked when launching a new marketing effort.
You need to make sure you get accurate conversion data early on to inform performance and give ad platforms time to learn.
If you’re driving traffic to new landing pages from new ad campaigns, make sure you’re tracking results properly.
You may need to set up new conversion tracking or ensure existing pixels are transferred to these pages.
Depending on how you’re tracking lead performance in the backend, you’ll also need to make sure your URLs are properly tagged.
UTM parameters must be unique for these campaigns. Include any custom parameters needed to sync with your CRM or automation platform.
If you are offering a coupon code for the new market, you may need a separate parameter for that as well.
5. Find local competitors
Competitive bidding can be an effective way to reach potential customers if they are looking for a company in a similar field. They are likely looking for your products/services.
Research local competitors that seem popular in your market and incorporate their names into your keywords.
Since competitor keywords can often be more expensive, try targeting these keywords in their own campaign.
As a bonus, research competitors’ best selling points and read their reviews to identify pain points to exploit.
For example, if a competitor receives frequent complaints about poor customer service, emphasize the quality of your service in your ad copy.
Your primary search campaigns will also be valuable in identifying new competitors to bid on as you review search terms.
You’ll see which competitor names appear the most and which ones are likely to convert.
6. Support search with other channels
While this article focuses primarily on paid search tactics, no marketing channel operates in a bubble.
Particularly in a new market, branding efforts through other channels can help establish familiarity and legitimacy for your business. You can build credibility before people search and recognize your brand name.
You can also create audiences based on people who visit your site or interact with videos and social posts.
You can then retarget them with offer-focused messaging and layer these audiences into your search campaigns.
Some potential options for alternative channel efforts include:
A YouTube campaign showing the launch of your product/service in the new market. Social campaigns on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and/or other networks. Upload a list of existing customers and target lookalike audiences to reach people with similar characteristics to existing buyers. A Google Discovery campaign that builds in-market audiences for products/services in your industry and custom audiences based on top converting search queries and competitor URLs.
7. Set realistic expectations
Establishing CPA/ROAS goals for a new market will inevitably be crucial to planning conversations with business stakeholders.
Especially when entering regions where people are unfamiliar with your brand, you shouldn’t expect to be able to generate conversions as efficiently as in markets where you’ve operated for years.
The team involved should know that CPAs will likely be higher (and ROAS lower) than in existing marketplaces, at least while you’re starting up.
People are just starting to become familiar with your products or services, and campaigns need to go through the learning phase to make efficient bids.
Also, be prepared to be flexible and adapt to trends as you track them.
You may find that users are converting at a higher rate than expected, and you may be able to scale your budget faster than expected.
Or you may find that responses are lower than expected and you need to experiment with a few different tactics before you find the right mix of messages and channels that works.
Start planning
With these tips in mind, it’s time to get to work planning your campaigns to enter a new market.
Consider channels, keywords, and budget. Work with your technical team to ensure conversion tracking is enabled correctly and links are properly tagged.
Finally, set reasonable performance expectations and be prepared to closely monitor campaigns as they roll out.
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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