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Do’s & Don’ts for PPC across APAC
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PPC (or pay-per-click) is an advertising model which drives traffic to a website. When an advert is clicked, and only when the advert is clicked, the advertiser pays the publisher a fee. The most common forms of PPC are those on search engines and social media platforms which will both be explored in this article. We will also examine what is effective and not so effective when targeting specific markets across APAC. So, let us begin with search engines across APAC. For a beginner’s guide to PPC in Japan, please read our article here.
The most important part of creating an effective PPC strategy across APAC is to focus your attention on the channels that people use the most in each country. The more effective channels for PPC in one nation may not be as effective in another. Therefore, in the following part of this article, we will highlight the most popular search engine PPC channels in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and The Philippines as examples. Then we will highlight some of the things to avoid when carrying out an impactful strategy across the region.
Search engine PPC is divided into two categories: search ads and display ads (for example the google ad network).
While Google is still the most dominant search engine in Japan, the market share looks a little different from the other countries on this list. As of September 2021, the search engine market share in Japan is split 75% for Google, 20% for Yahoo! Japan, and 4% for Bing. However, like Bing, Yahoo! Japan’s search algorithm is similar to Google’s so you do not need to learn two different SEO strategies in order to succeed on either platform. If you would like to learn more about PPC in Japan, please read our article on it here or a client case study here.
As of August 2021, Google takes 94% of the market share in Taiwan. Yahoo! and Bing trail behind with 4.75% and 1.17% of the share respectively. Baidu also has a small piece of the pie, with 0.02% of the market share.
While Google is still the most popular search engine in South Korea, with over 70% of the market share as of October 2021, Naver comes in second with over 15% of the market share. Both Bing and Daum have just under 2% of the market share.
The market share across India, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines has quite a bit of crossover.
In India, Google takes up 98.8% of the market share, followed by Bing with 0.88% and Yahoo! with 0.24%. It’s a similar story in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Google has over 97% of the market share in Indonesia, over 98% in Thailand, and over 95% in the Philippines. Both Yahoo! and Bing have less than 1% of the market share in Indonesia and Thailand. They do a bit better in the Philippines, where Bing has 2.74% and Yahoo! has 1.66% of the market share.
So far we have looked at what to do when creating a PPC strategy across APAC. But what about what not to do? The following are 5 things to avoid when creating an effective PPC strategy.
Those who have not done their research may end up running PPC campaigns on Google alone. If this is the case, you are missing opportunities. As our look into the search engine market share across the region shows, there are other PPC channels to focus on as well. CTRs and CPC will vary depending on where you are across APAC.
Quite often we receive enquiries from companies who wish to start advertising across APAC immediately but have not considered localisation. English is not the main language across the region. With that in mind, people using your English landing page may be hesitant to learn more, let alone make a purchase. In order to win the interest and trust of each nation’s audience, your landing pages (not only your PPC ads) must also be in the local language.
We all use them because they are conveniently accessible, but they often do not work perfectly across languages.
As translation tools do not work perfectly, we always recommend getting translations done by a human – preferably a native language copywriter with SEO knowledge who can transcreate (translate with culture and context in mind).
In conclusion, when creating a content strategy for APAC, it is essential to transcreate every aspect with each local market in mind. We mention the importance of localising every element of your marketing and to not forget the power of research in understanding the differences between nations and their people.
As always, you have the option to hire a digital marketing agency to carry out the above steps and beyond for you. At DMFA, our team of bilingual digital marketing experts can ensure your content strategy will be effective in APAC. We can also provide consultation and ensure the quality of content as native speakers while offering support in English. Contact us to learn more about our online marketing services.
