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International
One of the many challenges companies face when going global is choosing the market that will provide them with the best return for their service or product. Whilst a company may have intrinsic knowledge of its domestic market, new territories present a challenge with different language and localization requirements.
To help SMEs with this challenge, Google launched Market Finder. The platform hosts a hub of information to help companies understand the requirements of new markets and decide which one is right for them. But is it enough to secure international success on its own? We look at how Google Market Finder can help companies expand into a new territory and discuss other considerations to stand the best chance of international success.
Google Market Finder is a free platform that helps companies identify growth opportunities in new international markets. The platform contains three sections and each provide insights and advice about global expansion.
One core purpose of Google Market Finder is helping businesses find the best territory to enter based on their product or service. By entering the URL of your domestic website, the tool automatically pulls up the categories of the products you sell or services you offer.
You can amend these or add up to a maximum of five categories if you wish. Market Finder then recommends a list of potential markets for your business to expand into. These suggestions are based on a number of factors, including monthly search volumes, Google Ads cost-per-click and household disposable income. You can also discover more in-depth country information that includes purchase behavior and the languages spoken, before shortlisting up to three countries.
Once you’ve shortlisted your potential new markets, you can use the available guides and resources to look at the operational elements you need to consider. Google has created videos, articles and guides on topics such as localization, international payments and logistics.
The last section focuses on how to market your business in new countries. The resources in this part cover topics such as search advertising, display advertising and global marketing strategy. It also links to Google tools that help you put your campaigns into practice.
Google Market Finder will inevitably improve companies’ understanding of different markets and help change the perception that going international just involves translating website content into another language. However, there are still important limitations to consider so you choose the right market to enter and can maximise your ROI.
Google Market Finder allows you to easily see combined keyword volume for five broad categories. Whilst this is useful for a broad comparison of markets by indicating demand and the size of the opportunity, the results aren’t tailored to your specific company. The tool’s real value comes from its application with other technology, including those linked to Google Market Finder, allowing you to evaluate data in more detail.
Although Google Market Finder can save time narrowing down opportunities, you should use other tools to validate the keyword volumes and relate them to your specific product or service. It also doesn’t take into account the technical SEO aspects that should be woven into website translation which strengthen your organic performance in a new market.
Google Market Finder shows Google Ads recommended bid for each country. The recommended bid is calculated using the cost-per-click and relevant keywords other advertisers are paying for in the same location. While this can indicate how competitive a market is, it is vague and average bid price will vary depending on the keywords you want to target. It is also a limited view of assessing competition.
The market could be competitively comprised of small companies, but your business is able to compete with a certain niche and target specific, long-tail keywords. Alternatively, the territory can be completely monopolized by a competitor that may be able to outbid but struggle to compete against in terms of brand awareness.
Once again, Google Market Finder offers great initial insights, but the benefits of the tool can only be truly realized when you use it alongside other tools, as it allows you to see a more accurate cost of PPC in any given market or competitive landscape.
Google Market Finder has a whole host of valuable localization information, but the application of the information is still very much in the hands of the user. Google Market Finder doesn’t benchmark where your company sits during the present period, where you need to head or provide a cost of getting you to that point.
For example, the tool provides you with the most used payment types in different markets (Japan is used as an example in the screenshot below). However, it doesn’t analyze the payment types you currently have or tell you the logistical costs involved in offering the payment options you don’t have. When it comes to customer service advice, our search was unable to find any country-specific data for Japan which makes it difficult to action the advice without further research and expertise.
When entering any market, it is important to consider the impact that comes from offering the right payment options and customer service support. Google Market Finder can help you look toward solutions to these problems, but can’t solve them though.
Google Market Finder provides a wealth of valuable data and information for companies, allowing them to make more insightful decisions about which are the best international territories to enter. However, Google Market Finder doesn’t provide a quick fix that can translate your website, localize your content or enable messages to instantly resonate with local buyers. The full potential of Google Market Finder is only realized with expert guidance and when its data and insights are used alongside other tools.
We encourage all businesses that consider international expansion to thoroughly explore the hub of information Google Market Finder can offer. All the information from Google Market Finder needs digesting to better understand the opportunities available to you, the assets needed to implement them and the true cost of expansion.
Keen to dominate a new international market?Our webinar with Google explains how you can
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