The International Search Summit New York will soon be upon and marketers from across the US and beyond will be coming together to talk about the latest developments, tactics and tips for international search marketing and hear from expert practitioners in the field.
One such practitioner is Laetitia Kieffer, a truly international and multilingual search marketer, who currently leads the global paid search strategy for Mediacom in New York. She will, unsurprisingly, be talking about international paid search best practices, as well as the impact of Google’s Product Listing Ad’s for global SEM’s.
Ahead of the event, she’s answered a few questions on International PPC, giving us an insight into what she’ll dig deeper into at the event.
Laetitia, What is the biggest challenge you face when managing international PPC campaigns?
Ensuring all local teams are following best practices in terms of execution and processes. With teams located in various markets and of course across various timezones, a strong and open relationship is a must to guarantee constant communication and appropriate governance between global and local teams. The day never ends, and questions can come at any time of the day (and night!).
What makes a successful international paid search campaign?
Talent, tools and a framework. You need the most amazing and qualified team to drive innovation locally with global guidance on overarching strategy. A strong and local link with engines will allow for better reactivity on new features, new betas and new innovation to drive your international search campaign further. Having a tool to facilitate global reporting is a tremendous asset to any global paid search program, giving the ability to identify local trends and know where to focus your attention. And finally, having the right processes in place to make execution, reporting and coordination, as easy as possible.
Which countries are the most complex or challenging to work in? And which search engines?
US for its fast pace and the fact that you never know what Google will throw at you next (EC, anyone?). China has always been different, with Baidu editorial review being slow and not always as reactive as you would like it to when launching an urgent campaign. Japan never ceases to amaze me: what works everywhere else does not always work in Japan, there are different expectations in terms of landing page content (more/heavy text Vs light/visual content), layout, etc, to capture the Japanese audience that makes working with this market extremely interesting and certainly a constant learning experience.
What impact is mobile having in global campaigns? How do search marketers need to adapt to capitalise on the mobile opportunity?
Similar to websites, mobile sites need to be localized to appeal to a local audience. With the latest enhancements in mobile marketing (geo-targeting, mobile preferred ads, geo-fencing, etc), having in-depth knowledge in local mobile behavior will only help delivering the best mobile campaign. Showrooming is the latest buzz word but a real behavioral trend that requires strategizing and a close working relationship between manufacturers and retailers to provide the best user experience, in store or out of store on the go to maximize return.
Finally, why attend the International Search Summit?
It’s always great to meet fellow international SEMers and talk global search!
The International Search Summit will be in New York on Monday September 30 as part of SMX East. Other sessions include international content marketing, global ranking factors, geo-targeting and deep dives into China, India and Russia! Check out the agenda – there is still time to join us there!
Gemma Houghton
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