Beware! These Google Ads Misconceptions May Affect Your Cross-Border E-Commerce Business

As a cross-border e-commerce company, have you ever encountered some troubling situations when running Google ads? Maybe you have invested a lot of advertising budget, but did not see the expected return, or even encountered problems such as low ad click-through rate and unsatisfactory conversion rate.

However, please do not worry, because this situation is likely because you have fallen into some common misunderstandings in the advertising field. In the fiercely competitive cross-border e-commerce market, placing Google ads is indeed a complex and challenging task. From the selection of keywords to the design of advertising content, to the allocation of budget, every link may affect the effectiveness of the advertisement.

In the following content, we will deeply analyze the common misunderstandings of cross-border e-commerce when using Google ads, and provide you with corresponding suggestions and solutions to help you use Google advertising services more effectively and improve the efficiency and competitiveness of your business.

Misunderstanding 1: Ignoring Regional Positioning

Many cross-border e-commerce companies often overlook the importance of geographic positioning when placing Google ads.

They may randomly select regions to advertise in without having a deep understanding of the geographic location of their target audience, or even setting the language correctly.

Such practices may result in wasting advertising costs on areas that are irrelevant to the target audience, thereby reducing the effectiveness of advertising. In cross-border e-commerce marketing, geographic positioning is a crucial link. Accurate geographic positioning can help you accurately display ads to potential customers and increase the click-through rate and conversion rate of ads. Therefore, when placing Google ads, it is important to fully understand the geographic location of the target audience and reasonably set the geographic positioning and language to ensure that advertising funds are maximized and improve the effectiveness and ROI of advertising.

When placing Google ads, the importance of geographic positioning cannot be ignored. In order to maximize the effectiveness of your ads, you must carefully consider geographic positioning and combine data analysis and target market research to accurately target the areas where your target audience is located.

By deeply understanding product features and market demand, we can select targeted regions for advertising, thereby improving the accuracy and effectiveness of advertising. Audiences in different regions may have different needs and preferences for products, so regional positioning based on actual conditions can better attract potential customers and increase the click-through rate and conversion rate of advertising.

In summary, geographic positioning is a crucial part of Google advertising. By accurately selecting the delivery area and combining product characteristics and market demand, you can make your ads more effectively reach the target audience and bring greater success to your cross-border e-commerce business.

This case is typical and illustrates the importance of location and language settings. Suppose an advertiser wants to run an ad in Poland, but has not set the location and language.

The main language in Poland is Polish. Therefore, if the language and copy of the advertisements in Poland are both in English, the effect of the advertisements can be imagined: the advertising cost is spent, but the expected effect cannot be achieved. In this case, the advertisements will not attract potential customers in Poland because they are more accustomed to using their native language.

This case once again emphasizes that when placing cross-border e-commerce advertisements, it is necessary to set them reasonably according to the geographical location and language preferences of the target audience. Only in this way can the advertisements truly reach the target audience and achieve the expected advertising effect.

Mistake 2: Ignoring localized content

When placing Google ads, some cross-border e-commerce companies may directly translate the original promotional materials into English, but ignore the target audience's demand for localized content.

Such advertisements often fail to resonate with the target audience because they do not take into account the target audience's language habits, cultural background and regional characteristics.

In cross-border e-commerce advertising, localized content is crucial because it can better resonate with the target audience and increase their attention and trust in the advertising.

Therefore, ignoring localized content may affect the click-through rate and conversion rate of ads, resulting in poor advertising results. To improve the effectiveness of advertising, it is important to consider the regional culture and language characteristics of the target audience and provide them with localized advertising content.

When placing Google ads, it is important to fully consider the language and cultural background of the target audience and localize the content.

You can hire local translators or professional agencies to translate the advertising content into the language used by the target audience. Doing so will not only ensure that the advertisement accurately conveys the information, but also better resonate with the audience and increase the attractiveness and persuasiveness of the advertisement.

In addition, it is also necessary to combine local cultural characteristics. Understanding the cultural background of the target audience can make the advertisement more friendly and acceptable. For example, incorporating local festivals, customs or humorous elements into the advertisement can better attract the audience's attention and increase the influence of the advertisement.

In Malaysia, the Chinese population accounts for about 23%. If you want to advertise in the region, you must not ignore these Chinese-speaking people.

When setting up ads, you need to use different creatives and copy for people who speak different languages. For Chinese audiences, you can choose Chinese copy and culturally relevant creatives to ensure that the ads are more attractive and relevant. At the same time, for audiences in other languages, you also need to customize the creatives and copy accordingly to meet their needs and preferences.

By setting up ads for different language groups and making more specific material improvements and ad settings based on the preferences of each group, ads can reach target audiences more accurately, thereby improving ad effectiveness and conversion rates.

Myth 3: Lack of target audience segmentation

Some cross-border e-commerce companies may make the mistake of treating all target audiences as a whole for advertising purposes, while ignoring the differences between different audience groups.

This practice will result in the inability to accurately customize advertising content for specific audiences, thereby reducing the click-through rate and conversion rate of ads. Different audiences may have different needs, interests, and purchasing behaviors, so it is crucial to segment each group and customize ads accordingly.

When running Google ads, it is crucial to understand the characteristics and needs of your target audience. This means segmentation and targeting are required to ensure that your ads can accurately reach potential customers.

The audience can be classified according to factors such as age, gender, hobbies, purchasing behavior, etc. In this way, the characteristics and needs of different audience groups can be understood more accurately, and exclusive advertising content and marketing strategies can be designed accordingly.

For example, for young people, you can use more fashionable and trendy advertising content to emphasize the innovativeness and personalization of the product; for middle-aged and elderly people, you can use more traditional and stable advertising content to emphasize the quality and reliability of the product.

By designing exclusive advertising content and marketing strategies for different audience groups, you can improve the targeting and appeal of ads, thereby increasing ad click-through rates and conversion rates, and achieving better advertising results and delivery benefits.

In Google Ads, you can segment and adjust the audience for your campaign through the "Audience" option in the menu bar. Click on this option and then select "Edit audience segments" to adjust the audience of your campaign as needed.

Google Ads also provides advertisers with recommendations based on “audiences based on similar ads,” which means that based on the content of your ad and the characteristics of your target audience, the system will provide some suggestions to expand your audience or adjust your audience targeting to improve the effectiveness and appeal of your ads.

With these features, you can more accurately target and adjust the audience of your ads to ensure that your ads can reach potential customers to the greatest extent possible and achieve better advertising results and delivery efficiency.

Misunderstanding 4: Ignoring the cultural differences of target countries and regions

Many cross-border e-commerce companies may ignore the cultural differences between target countries and regions when placing Google ads, resulting in advertising content that is not close enough to local culture and causing misunderstandings.

At the same time, some promotional methods or word-of-mouth marketing strategies may be effective in certain countries or regions, but may not be applicable in other places.

It is crucial to understand the cultural background and habits of the target audience, choose appropriate promotional methods or word-of-mouth marketing strategies according to local culture, market environment and consumer characteristics, and flexibly adjust and optimize advertising.

There are significant differences in the promotional methods of e-commerce platforms in the US and Chinese markets.

In China, promotional methods such as flash sales, group purchases and red envelope draws are very common because they are more in line with the shopping habits and cultural background of Chinese consumers. Chinese consumers usually like to get discounts and enjoy the fun of shopping through snapping up, group buying or participating in draws.

In the United States, discount coupons, limited-time promotions and free shipping are more common and widely welcomed by consumers. American consumers tend to decide their purchase behavior by saving costs and enjoying a convenient and fast shopping experience, so discounts, promotions and free shipping are more popular in the US market.

Mistake 5: Ignoring currency and payment methods

When placing Google ads, cross-border e-commerce companies need to consider that currencies and payment methods may differ in different countries or regions. If you don’t understand the currency system and payment habits of the target audience’s region, your ads may not be effective.

Some countries or regions prefer to use local currency for purchases rather than foreign or other currencies.

In addition, payment methods may also vary from region to region. Some regions may prefer credit card payments, while others prefer to use third-party payment platforms such as PayPal.

Therefore, cross-border e-commerce needs to improve the effectiveness of advertising. This will better attract the target audience, avoid wasting advertising costs, and thus improve marketing efficiency and ROI.

The price of the advertisement should be clear and obvious to the audience, and multiple payment methods that are in line with their payment habits should be provided. It is crucial to ensure that the payment options provided on the website can be used without obstacles, because if users encounter problems during the payment process, it may lead to the loss of purchase intention. Therefore, in addition to indicating the price, different payment options may need to be provided for target audiences in different regions, such as credit card payment, PayPal, Alipay, etc. In this way, the payment habits of different users can be better catered to, and the convenience and conversion rate of purchase can be improved.

Myth 6: Not considering international logistics and customs regulations

Failing to consider international logistics and customs regulations can be a key mistake for cross-border e-commerce businesses when placing Google ads.

International logistics and customs regulations have a significant impact on product delivery and customs clearance. If cross-border e-commerce companies do not fully consider these regulations, it may result in products not being delivered in time or not being able to pass customs smoothly, which in turn affects the customer's shopping experience. Even worse, it may lead to negative customer reviews and refund requests, which will affect the merchant's reputation and profits.

Update product shipping information in a timely manner, provide accurate delivery time and tracking services to improve customer satisfaction and trust, and avoid negative reviews and refunds due to logistics issues.

Before placing advertisements, cross-border e-commerce companies should fully understand the logistics and customs regulations of the target country or region to ensure that the products can reach customers smoothly. Only in this way can they improve sales performance and customer reputation.

Mistake 7: Ignoring market competition in the target country or region

Before preparing to launch Google ads, cross-border e-commerce companies must conduct detailed market research and gain an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape and market trends in the target country or region.

This market research work is crucial and can help develop more precise advertising strategies.

Through market research, cross-border e-commerce can grasp key information such as the target market's competitive landscape, major competitors, consumer preferences, shopping habits, and market development trends . This information is crucial for positioning products, planning advertising content and marketing strategies, and helps improve the effectiveness and returns of advertising.

It is crucial to conduct market research before advertising . Through market research, cross-border e-commerce can select more targeted advertising keywords based on the survey results, determine appropriate advertising positioning and timing, develop more attractive advertising content, and adjust product pricing and promotion strategies, etc., so as to more effectively attract target audiences and improve advertising effects and sales performance.

The chart shows a comparison of traffic sources of several clothing brands on social media. By studying the main traffic sources of competitors on social media, brands can gain a deeper understanding of the preferences of consumers in the target market and develop more practical advertising strategies to improve advertising effectiveness.

↓↓↓

Shenzhen Topology is committed to providing cross-border e-commerce sellers with the knowledge and skills needed for independent station transformation. Since providing Facebook operation training in 2017, we have held more than 100 Facebook, Google, and independent station related trainings in nearly 4 years, providing more than 3,000 trainees with professional independent station and advertising skills, knowledge and management related training. As early as during the Spring Festival this year, we have been considering the market and policies of independent stations this year, and thus determined our positioning and direction on independent stations this year; how to improve the course effect and make the course content more in line with the new market needs; how to provide the most professional and suitable independent station content to course students so that students can apply what they have learned.

Therefore: We decided to upgrade the "Intermediate Class of Integrated Marketing" again!

In April 2024, we will meet you with a brand new intermediate class in integrated marketing!

The newly upgraded intermediate class still maintains the content features of the three core modules of Facebook+Google+Shopify, and increases the proportion of advertising operations and delivery skills, in order to help students improve their multi-channel advertising delivery capabilities and independent website operation capabilities to the greatest extent, and systematically establish a cross-border marketing knowledge system.