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Entering a new market offers companies growth opportunities and a larger customer base, but it also comes with costs. Is there sufficient demand in the target market? What are the entry costs? Does the product or service meet local consumer expectations? A wrong decision can result in wasted time and financial loss, writes Herta Melts, Performance Marketing Strategist at NOH Production.

Before Making Major Investments, Test the Market

Google Ads enables data-driven analysis to determine whether the target market is ready for your product or service, and what adjustments are necessary for a successful expansion.

Analyze the Market with Google Tools!

Google Trends helps analyze the most popular search terms in target countries, their seasonality, and how consumer interest changes over time.

Example: An Estonian brand wanted to expand into the German market. With Google Trends, we noticed that the offered products gain popularity in spring and before Christmas. Based on this, we tailored ad campaigns to the seasons, which helped boost sales and reduce advertising costs.

Google Keyword Planner helps find the most optimal keywords and assess their competitiveness.

Example: While analyzing market entry, we noticed high competition and cost-per-click for certain search terms. As a result, we chose a strategy focused on niche keywords that offered cheaper clicks and better conversion rates.

Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide insight into which countries show organic interest in your product and how users arrive at your site.

Create a Test Campaign!

• Define keywords and ad copy tailored to the target market.
• Test different ad formats (search ads, display ads, YouTube, Performance Max) to see which performs best in the target market.
• Keep the budget moderate and scale it based on performance.
• Adapt ad messaging to the language and cultural nuances of the target market.

Example: While expanding into the French market, it turned out that English-language ads didn’t work. By translating and adapting the campaign to the local context, we improved the CTR by 40%.

Analyze Results and Optimize

The success of Google Ads campaigns isn’t just about click numbers but also about conversions and return on investment. For optimization, focus on these metrics:

• Conversion Rate – Measure what percentage of ad clickers perform the desired action (e.g., purchase, inquiry, contact).
• Cost per Conversion – Assess how much a single customer action (e.g., purchase, inquiry, sign-up) costs.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) – Analyze how much revenue you get for every dollar spent on advertising.
• Cost per Click (CPC) – Evaluate how cost-effective your campaign is and how much it costs to attract one user to your website.
• Ad Visibility – Analyze how many people see your ad and how many of them start clicking.

Example: We optimized e-commerce campaigns by targeting users with higher purchase intent and focusing on conversion-based rather than click-based ads. As a result, we increased ROAS 2.5 times.

Long Story Short…

We’ve achieved strong growth numbers for Estonian companies in foreign markets using Google alone. It is one of the most important tools for international expansion.

But there’s another side to the coin. Every market has its own quirks, and there’s no single winning strategy—testing and data-driven optimization are the keys to success.

Author: Herta Melts, Performance Marketing Strategist at NOH Production

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