Preparations Before Launching International Paid Media Campaigns

Before launching an international Paid Media campaign, it is crucial to assess whether the business is truly ready to take that step. One of the most common mistakes is overlooking technical and strategic aspects, which, if not addressed in time, can result in performance issues or high costs that are difficult to rectify.

The first step is to review key elements such as local competitiveness, logistical and financial capacity, and the payment methods available in the target market. Then, it’s necessary to analyse whether we are already present in that market or if we are entering for the first time. Do we have a physical store or presence on local platforms such as Google Business Profile? If not, is it really necessary?

We should also ask ourselves if we are already receiving traffic or customers from other countries. This gives us a clue about the market’s viability before making a significant investment.

Knowing your competitors is essential: What do they offer? How do they promote themselves? This includes not only those who are already internationalised but also those who have not yet expanded, but have the potential to do so. A detailed analysis of the competition can provide valuable insights into how to position ourselves and which strategies might work best in each market.

These considerations are basic but essential to ensuring that our investment in international Paid Media is effective and profitable.

Before investing in an international paid media campaign, another key step is to ensure that the product or service truly suits the target market. How can you know if you’re ready? The key lies in evaluating existing demand and the competitiveness of your offering in that specific context.

Entering a developed market with multiple competitors is a completely different challenge compared to entering an emerging market. In the former, it's about capturing existing demand; in the latter, you’re building from scratch. The complexity increases if there is no clear need that your product can immediately fulfil. You can use tools like Google Market Finder and Export Potential Map to measure whether there is really room for your offering, and then review what competitors are providing in that market.

Additionally, it’s essential to ask a tough but necessary question: If your company isn’t competitive in its local market, how do you expect it to be at an international level?

It’s not just about translating campaigns or adapting creatives. It’s an analysis of the product and its fit with the culture, purchasing power, and local preferences of the new market.

For those managing paid media campaigns, this prior analysis can make the difference between success and failure. Ensuring there is real demand before launching can save resources and time, avoiding costly mistakes.

And you, when evaluating new markets, what tools or criteria do you use?

Introduction to International Paid Media

Expanding Paid Media internationally: Why should you consider it now?

Reach is a necessity for businesses looking to scale. If you only focus on your local market (national level), you're missing out on significant opportunities in less saturated markets, where competition is lower and acquisition costs or CPC may be cheaper.

This is where many hesitate. International expansion sounds complicated: different languages, cultures, regulations… It’s easy to dismiss it. However, it’s a mistake to think that advertising internationally is more “difficult” or expensive than optimising your paid media solely for a competitive local market.

Three key factors to consider in international markets:

Cultural and linguistic adaptation: You need to translate and adapt the language of your campaigns, creatives, and landing pages to the cultural context. This increases relevance and can also reduce your acquisition costs, while maintaining brand consistency and coherence—something that is often underestimated in improving CRO. Users will feel a stronger connection when they’re spoken to in their native language.

Optimisation of the user experience (UX): I’m not just talking about the website, but also the local currency, the most common payment methods, and the preferred shipping options, all of which are crucial for achieving conversions outside your usual market. What’s the point of driving traffic from abroad if you can’t offer a smooth purchasing experience?

Less competition, more opportunities (even if it doesn’t seem like it): When we talk about less competition in international markets, many people assume I’m simply referring to the number of competitors. However, it’s more complex than that. If you already have the capability and competitiveness to lead in your local market at a national level, it’s very likely that you have the conditions to be competitive abroad.

What really makes the difference here isn’t just the number of competitors, but the fact that many businesses aren’t ready to take the leap internationally. Barriers to entry—such as infrastructure, a sufficiently good offer, cultural adaptation, and resources—limit many businesses to only operate in their local markets. In contrast, if you’ve already overcome these challenges, you have an advantage that many other competitors don’t yet have. In other words, although there may be many players in the market, the real competition might be less intense than it seems.

And of course, this is something that needs to be analysed on a case-by-case basis, but overall, the landscape suggests that businesses well-prepared for internationalisation often face fewer real competitive barriers outside their local market.

Tapping into these markets is a smart way to reduce advertising costs, generate more customers, and diversify risks.

Before you start, research which platforms dominate in that country: Bing Ads is more popular in some markets than others, and the same goes for Google. There are local platforms that dominate, such as Yandex in Russia.

In markets like Japan or Germany, where consumers are more loyal, if you have a competitive and high-quality offer, you’ll not only achieve conversions but also gain customers with higher lifetime value. And yes, we’re talking about a real competitive advantage here: not many businesses dare to cross borders, but if you’re the first to do so, and do it well, you can dominate international markets faster.

Taking advantage of these markets is a smart way to reduce advertising costs, generate more customers, and diversify risks.

How Conversion Events Drive Brand Building and Engagement in Your Paid Media Campaigns

When we talk about conversions, we often think of the user’s final action: a purchase, a subscription, or a lead. But what about those “intermediate” events that also contribute to brand building and interaction? These types of conversion events can be an excellent way to improve the measurement of your brand strategy.

Consider this: events like spending 3 minutes on the page or scrolling 50% down are signals that you’re generating interest and real user interaction with your content, not just with the ad. These micro-conversions may seem small, but they add up to something bigger: the perception of your brand and the connection you build with your audience.

Think about it. If a user takes the time to explore a project on your website or interacts with your blog, it’s a sign of something important: trust and curiosity. These are the foundations upon which a brand is built. This type of event is key to nurturing long-term relationships and encouraging interaction with your content.

How do you optimise a campaign to maximise these events?

1. Define and measure interaction points: Use data such as time on page, scroll depth, and visits to key sections of the site. You can also measure events that combine several of these interactions.

   
   

2. Apply the appropriate attribution model:

• 1-day click, 0-day view: Ideal for engagement-type conversions or customised events on your website.

• 1-day click, 1-day view: Recommended for non-commercial leads, such as free content exchanges and referrals from Google.

The goal of choosing the right attribution model is to best represent the impact and relevance of these events. A broad attribution window may generate less relevant conversions and cause the events to lose their original purpose.

Conclusion: These methods will help you better understand how your audience connects with your brand and refine your content and creative strategy to further encourage these interactions.

💡 It’s never too late to integrate these events and attribution methods into your advertising goals.

🔍 Want to delve deeper into how these events can affect your paid media strategy? Leave a comment or send me a message, and we’ll discuss it.