Native Translation - The Key to Success in Google Ads?

It's true that serving your search ads in multiple languages is the best way to ensure that campaigns are successful internationally. So much so that Google have an "All Languages" feature within Google Ads which automatically translates copy into corresponding languages according to your geographical settings within the campaign.

However, its not always clear how accurate these translations are; especially when it comes to nuances within regions and cultural colloquialisms.

We're incredibly lucky at Revenue Growth Agency that our Director of Client Growth Strategy David is a native french speaker so took the opportunity to really test the performance of a natively translated ad against Google's own "All Language" setting.

Translated Ads Vs. ‘All Languages’ - The Test

We tested running search ads directly translated into one of our targeted countries native language (French), against Google's "All Languages: setting in order to determine which variant performed more effectively.

To ensure our findings were not luck or anomalies, we implemented the test across two separate clients with the translated ads running directly alongside the "All Languages" ads. The campaigns were identical across both clients, both targeting France.

Results:

Taking the results from the 6 week test across both clients and averaging the data we saw an impressive:

Conclusion

If you are running Google Ads across multiple territories, it would definitely be worth testing natively translated copy against the "All Languages" feature. You can expect to see an increase in engagement and conversion as ads resonate better with consumers within each individual locations. By using an native speaker you can also be more sure that your brands message is promoted in the best possible light, rather than blindly relying on Google's own "All Languages" service.

Please note that we do not recommend using Google Translate to 'natively' translate your copy. Google Translate and similar online tools can be a good starting point are often far from perfect and will translate word by word with no context. If you're not lucky enough to have a team member or contact who speaks the native language, please use a good translation or interpreter service  to avoid any potential disasters that could harm your brand image.

If you are a global brand, or looking to expand into new territories, invest some time into ensuring that all your search ads are reading correctly in all languages. It could be a very quick win in improving your conversion rate, improving cost efficiency of your campaigns and ultimately improving customer experience.