Did you know search engine marketing (SEM) isn’t limited to the USA?

In fact, if done properly, you can use SEM to market to customers all over the world.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can use international SEM to promote your business, keep reading. Because in this post, we’re going to explore exactly what you can do to expand globally – all with the help of an effective international SEM strategy.

Let’s begin!

Decide on Your Approach

With search engine marketing, there are two approaches that you can take:

1. Paid search ads
2. Organic listings (SEO)

Both options work well and the one you pick is ultimately going to depend on how fast you want results, as well as how much money you have to spend.

The paid search ads option can cost a lot of money but can bring you results almost instantly.

The organic listings approach is generally a lot cheaper because you don’t pay each and every time someone clicks on your listing. However, it takes time to achieve a significant ranking in a search engine.

Focus on One Market

If you have made the decision to go international with your search engine marketing, picking which country you should focus on first can be overwhelming.

Initially, you might be tempted to market to all ‘English speaking countries.’

While in theory this can sound like a good idea, in practice it can produce abysmal results. Each country will require a nuanced approach. It generally takes a lot of adjusting before you get your marketing approach for a certain country right.

Because of this, you should initially focus on one country when starting out. If you’re not sure which country to pick, take a look at past customers. See if there is one international location in particular that has generated good results for your business.

If you don’t have any past results, identify a foreign, English speaking country. Then see if there are any existing companies, likes yours, marketing there. If these companies are doing well as a result of marketing here, then you’ll likely be able to benefit by marketing there too.

Don’t be Afraid to Experiment with Non-English Speaking Countries

A lot of non-English speaking countries represent viable opportunities, as well. Since most companies ignore these markets, you can generally get great results there, because of the low levels of competition.

Provided your business can service these regions, you should think about hiring someone who can speak the local language. Such an individual will be able to help you create content and craft paid ad campaigns that will be understood by the target audience.

Freelance websites make it easy to find people from all over the world that can speak and write in a number of languages. You just need to find someone who’s a match for your needs and you’ll be ready to deploy a marketing campaign.

International Riches?

A lot of companies avoid using SEM to market internationally, simply because they don’t know how. Hopefully, though, this post, has helped make things easier when it comes to international SEM.

Sure, International SEM can be a tough nut to crack. But if you can figure out a way to get things right, there’s no telling how successful you’ll be!

Want to learn more about Search Engine Marketing? Get in touch to see how we can help!