For many PPC managers, it’s an easy jump to begin targeting other English speaking countries in accounts. No translation help required and as long as you sell products or provide service there you’re covered, right? Well, you could be missing out on some great language optimizations that can make your new audience feel right at home.

English Can Be Weird

The English language has a high degree of difficulty because it is full of inconsistencies and words with double meanings. Consider these sentences:

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.

Additionally, the English language just doesn’t even make sense sometimes. For example,

1. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
2. English muffins weren’t invented in England, and French fries aren’t French.
3. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
4. Quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig.
5. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham?
6. If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth?
7. One goose, two geese; so, one moose, two meese? One index, two indices?
8. Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends, but not one amend?
9. If you have a bunch of odds and ends, and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
10. If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?

(Source)

Impacts on PPC Strategy

When developing a PPC strategy that is based on the search queries, the English language presents a lot of challenges. And, if your client provides its product or service to other English speaking countries, you need to be aware of the nuances in their version of English. Particularly because search queries mimic the spoken version of the language more so than the written form. This was a challenge I was recently faced with when I was developing a keyword strategy for the UK.

Although these countries speak English, there are significant differences in how you should approach your audience compared to the US. The first noticeable difference is in the spelling. If you place an ad outside the US and use the US spelling, people are far less likely to click your ad. I am not a linguist, but here are some basic guidelines to get you started on your campaign in in the UK and other English speaking nations outside the US.

In the UK,

• terms ending in –er often retain their French, greek, or latin endings of –re
  • centre
• terms ending –or become –our
  • colour
• terms ending in -yze become –yse
  • analyse
• -log and –gog become -logue and –gogue
  • catalogue
• the preference is to not to drop the -e in terms like aging.
  • ageing

For a more complete explanation of the differences between American English and British English click here.

The next difference you will notice between US English and English spoken by other countries is the terminology. Here is a list of words compiled by Ubuntu that differ between the US and UK.

I recommend creating a separate campaign for each country you’re targeting so you can develop a keyword list and create ads specific to that country and their language nuances. How often do you click an ad with a misspelled word in it? Probably not very often. So if you are in the UK and you use the term, color or center, instead of colour or centre, your audience might think you are not a reputable source, or they will immediately know you are American. Either way, you’ve got a lower chance of earning their business.

Unfortunately, successful advertising abroad doesn’t stop at spelling and terminology. You have to consider how people in other countries behave and interact. There are additional pieces outside of language to consider when targeting users in different countries.

• What other languages are spoken besides English?
  1. US – Spanish
  2. Canada – French
  3. Others?
• How does the consumer behavior differ?
  1. Are they more/less risk adverse?
  2. Are the pain points the same?
  3. What incentives resonate with those citizens?
• What types of creatives do users in the country respond to?

What other differences have you noticed across difference English speaking countries? Share with us in the comments!

Easy Reference

I’ll leave you with this. The table below is a great resource if you’re ever needing to know how the US speakers across the pond will write something.