If you’re launching a SEO campaign in a new market, it’s best to avoid keyword translation. Here’s why international keyword research is a far better strategy.

When you’re paying per click – or optimizing your website – it’s important to target the right keywords. Every digital marketer knows the importance of keyword research in building SEO campaigns in their domestic markets. But when it comes to international, that strategic thought process is often skipped over. They translate their existing keywords and hope for the best. This approach may create a list of keywords, but it’s not necessarily going to be effective.

Here’s why.
THE LIMITATIONS OF KEYWORD TRANSLATION
Brands with tight budgets often opt for keyword translation instead of investing in keyword research. This strategy might save time and budget in the short term, but will ultimately lead to poor performance and higher costs.

Let’s say you’re targeting the keyword “loyalty card” in the United States. The keyword has high search volume and you’re ranking well.

Now you want to penetrate the German market, so you translate “loyalty card” into German and get “Treuekarte.” (Treue = loyalty. Karte = card.)

While this in itself is not inaccurate, keyword translation only gives you a target language keyword for each equivalent source and holds no indication of search volume. For example, “Treuekarte” only receives an average of 260 searches per month on Google. Because pure keyword translation rarely involves using tools like Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends, you won’t know if your translations have search volume.

International keyword research conducted by in-country experts delivers much better results. For the above example, “Bonuskarte” (bonus card) is a far more relevant search term, receiving 1,000 average monthly searches, while “Kundenkarte” (customer card) receives 2,900 and is the clear winner.

Although all three terms have the same meaning in German, a literal translation of “loyalty card” would only reach the smallest pool of searchers.

UNDERSTAND SEARCH INTENT
Determining search intent is crucial for SEO. But a simple keyword list won’t help you understand why your customers are searching for loyalty cards.

If your target keywords are too broad, they can quickly drain your budget with useless clicks. A 2016 audit of 2,000 Google Ads accounts found that on average, 9% of a company’s keywords were responsible for all of their conversions. The same holds true for SEO – if your keywords are too broad, your website may show up, but it is likely to be irrelevant to the wrong people. In both cases, improving your keyword quality can have a significant impact on your search campaign success.

While this may seem like a basic concept, it’s a potential weakness for clients and companies that want to go international. That’s why international keyword research – conducted by a local market expert – is so important. Without it, your brand may be missing the most popular and relevant keywords.

REGION AND LANGUAGE
French is the official language of 29 countries, Arabic of 27 countries, and Spanish of 21 countries. People in these countries may speak the same language, but search trends and terminology differ greatly across these markets. That’s why a generic keyword translation into French won’t be effective.

To be effective, your keyword research needs to reflect local search preferences. For example, “car insurance” is rarely searched for in the UK or Australia. But it’s common in the US and Canada. Conversely, “motor insurance” is popular in the UK and Australia but not in the other two countries. Even though all searches are in English, the most relevant keywords differ by region.

Local keyword research allows you to gain more specific insights, so you can get relevant results for each target market.

SEARCH ENGINE TRENDS
Google controls about 90% of the global search market. But local search engines dominate in some specific countries. For example, Baidu holds 70% of the Chinese market and Yandex holds 54% of the Russian market. A general approach to global search is unlikely to bring results-your keyword research needs to meet the requirements of the popular search engines in each target market.

Search is also moving beyond traditional search engines. In 2018, 54% of US product searches started on Amazon, compared to 46% on Google. Of course, you’ll want to advertise where your customers are. This means SEO and paid advertising on marketplaces and social media platforms are likely to increase-and they will require a different strategy.

FINALLY
Simply translating keywords won’t get you the international search results you’re trying to achieve. Translated keywords could end up costing you more in the long run – in the form of weaker competition, wasted clicks, and lost conversions. Instead, ensure your global search strategy includes international keyword research. To maximize results on a budget, work with local experts, in-market or global search partners to capture the most relevant keywords for your target market, on your preferred channels.