Are you ready to take your business to new horizons? Whether you’re expanding your retail locations to a new state or venturing into a new country with your software, entering a new geographic market requires careful planning and a solid marketing strategy. One powerful tool that can supercharge your sales generation in a new market is paid media, specifically PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising. In this blog post, we’ll dive into 7 PPC planning tips to help you effectively reach your target audience in a new geographic market. So buckle up and get ready to conquer new territories!
1. Estimate search volume
Before diving into PPC campaigns, it’s crucial to estimate the search volume in your target market. Understanding the projected search volume will help you determine realistic budgets and decide how wide a set of keywords you can include in your campaigns. Google’s and Microsoft’s Keyword Planner tools offer free solutions to estimate volume for each platform. Keep in mind that the data provided is approximate, so use it as a starting point and refine your strategy based on actual campaign data.
2. Add regional keywords
When promoting a business with a local presence, it’s essential to incorporate regional terms into your keywords. Think about city/town names, county names, state/province names, and popular references for the particular area you’re targeting. Additionally, make sure your phrase and broad match keywords pick up on queries that include local modifiers. For example, if you’re targeting Charlotte, include the keyword “furnace repair” to show for the query “Charlotte furnace repair.” Monitor your search terms for local queries and add the ones that show significant volume or have converted.
3. Customize assets
While you can draw learnings from existing markets, it’s crucial to tailor your ad copy and landing pages to the region you’re targeting. Use location insertion to show city names in ads when applicable, and include location callouts and pictures of landmarks from the region on your landing pages. Show your prospects that you’ve taken the time to identify with their area. Additionally, consider creating offers specifically for the new market, such as a free gift for the first 1,000 customers who visit your brick-and-mortar locations.
4. Check conversion tracking and tagging
Don’t let conversion tracking slip through the cracks when launching your new marketing effort. Accurate conversion data is crucial for reporting on performance and allowing ad platforms to learn. Ensure that you’re tracking results properly when pushing traffic to new landing pages from new ad campaigns. Configure new conversion tracking or carry over existing pixels to these pages. Don’t forget to properly tag URLs with UTM parameters that are unique to these campaigns. Incorporate any necessary custom parameters to sync up with your CRM or automation platform. And if you’re offering a coupon code for the new market, consider using a separate parameter for that.
5. Find local competitors
Competitor bidding can be a powerful way to reach potential customers who are searching for businesses similar to yours. Research local competitors popular in your target market and incorporate their names into your keywords. Test segmenting out competitor keywords into their own campaign, as they can often be pricier. Additionally, read competitor reviews to identify pain points that you can capitalize on in your ad copy. Keep an eye on your core search campaigns to identify new competitors to bid on based on search terms and conversion potential.
6. Support search with other channels
While PPC is the star of this blog post, it’s important to remember that no marketing channel operates in a bubble. Supplement your PPC efforts with branding and engagement via other channels to establish familiarity and legitimacy in the new market. Consider running YouTube campaigns, social media campaigns on platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and Google Discovery campaigns. Build audiences based on site visitors, video viewers, and engagement with social posts, and then retarget them with offer-focused messages within your search campaigns. Don’t limit yourself to one channel when expanding into a new market.
7. Set realistic expectations
Entering a new market requires setting realistic expectations, especially when it comes to cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) goals. It’s important to understand that driving conversions efficiently in a new market may take time. People in the new market will only start becoming familiar with your brand, and campaigns need time to learn and bid efficiently. Prepare to be flexible and adapt to trends as you monitor them. You may discover unexpected conversion rates or need to experiment with different tactics before finding the right messaging and channels that work best for your new market.
Start planning and conquering new markets!
Armed with these 7 PPC planning tips, it’s time to start planning your campaigns and expanding into new markets. Think about the channels, keywords, and budgets that suit your goals, and work closely with your technical team to ensure proper conversion tracking and tagging. Remember to set reasonable expectations and monitor your campaigns closely as they take off. Good luck in your new market endeavors!
We want to thank the thought leader as the source for this content and such awesome teachings on the subject, and we hope that this article can help you and your business! Here’s the link to his post: https://searchengineland.com/ppc-planning-tips-new-geographic-market-428760
