How to optimize keywords in non-English marketplaces

European languages share highly unified linguistic features and root words. For example, the Netherlands marketplace is bilingual, allowing for both English and Dutch keyword targeting. For advertisers, it is essential to balance these shared linguistic features with marketplace-specific approaches to effectively reach relevant audiences. The following sections outline tactics for optimizing keywords in specific marketplaces in Europe.

U.K. and Germany

Improve targeting accuracy:

Select keywords with high conversion rates from automatic targeting and apply them to manual targeting in Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands with exact matches. Continuously refine keyword precision while filtering out ineffective traffic through negative targeting.

Optimize ad placements:

Identify top-performing ad placements based on campaign click-through and conversion rates, then strategically increase bids for these high-value positions.

Expand keywords with multiple match types:

Leverage automatic targeting in Sponsored Products to continuously discover new keywords and traffic opportunities. Apply both Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, utilizing broad matches and phrase matches for manual targeting to explore new keywords.

Other European marketplaces

Expand traffic and keywords across channels with Sponsored Products:

• Utilize all four match types in automatic targeting to continuously expand keywords and traffic, while refining accuracy with negative targeting.
• Expand keyword reach via broad matches and phrase matches, optimizing traffic precision with negative targeting.
• Leverage manual product targeting (target category and competitor ASINs) to capture relevant traffic.

Optimize ad placements:

Identify top-performing ad placements based on campaign click-through and conversion rates, then strategically increase bids for these high-value positions.

Case study

A European seller of seasonal household mosquito nets used manual keyword groups such as product-related keyword groups for targeting. This reduced the advertising cost of sales (ACOS) from 68% to 38%.¹ Additionally, the system helped the seller expand to over 20 highly relevant local consumer search terms, such as the Turkish word for fly screen,"sineklik," quickly achieving a cold start for new products.²

Using manual keyword groups can help sellers quickly find highly relevant keywords for their products, even when they are unfamiliar with the site environment and language. At the same time, in the face of constantly changing market competition, the system can automatically capture recent consumer and competitor search trend changes, continuously mining new search terms.

In Japan, search terms are complex due to the Hiragana, Katakana, Romaji, and Kanji writing systems all being used, so it’s important for advertisers to use spaces correctly in these writing systems to improve performance. To optimize keywords in the Japanese marketplace, consider the following strategies:

Combine automatic and manual targeting

Due to the complexity of the Japanese language, discovering effective keywords requires a hybrid approach. Use both automatic targeting and manual targeting to expand keyword reach.

Generate multiple match types

When CPC is low, use broad matches and phrase matches to continuously scale traffic and keyword coverage. Use high-performing keywords from broad matches and run them into exact matches to improve targeting precision.

Drive traffic with product detail pages

Japanese shoppers pay more attention to product detail pages. To capture relevant traffic, utilize manual targeting (by specific categories and competitor ASINs) in Sponsored Products.

Case study

A gardening gloves seller utilized automatic targeting in Sponsored Products to generate a list of high-potential keywords, then implemented data-driven optimizations based on performance metrics. The search term "園芸用手袋" (gardening gloves) demonstrated strong sales and ACOS performance.³ The seller launched exact match campaigns to prioritize this high-converting term and optimized for spacing variations.

The Middle East is a bilingual marketplace. In the UAE, English is the primary language and brand keywords are limited. However, in Saudi Arabia, Arabic is the primary language, and brand keywords are abundant. To account for these regional differences in language preference and search behavior, consider the following strategies:

Expand keywords across channels

• Use all four match types in automatic targeting of Sponsored Products to continuously discover new keywords and traffic.
• Combine broad matches and exact matches in manual targeting to expand keyword reach while maintaining precision.
• Run campaigns in both Arabic and English to capture traffic across language preferences.

Expand traffic with product targeting

Use manual targeting to focus on specific product categories and competitor ASINs to help expand relevant traffic.

Case study

Consumers in Middle Eastern marketplaces search for products using Arabic, and sellers can efficiently cover traffic entry points through continuous automatic targeting and simultaneous deployment of both English and Arabic keywords. At the same time, they can break through keyword bottlenecks by utilizing manual product targeting.

Some search terms in the Mexican marketplace overlap with U.S. sites, as there are some English-speaking consumers in Mexico. To optimize keywords in the Mexican marketplace, consider the following strategies:

Use Sponsored Products

Utilize Sponsored Products for multi-channel keyword and traffic expansion. Employ all four match types in automatic targeting to continuously discover new keywords and traffic, while using manual targeting with broad matches and phrase matches to expand keyword coverage. Consistently monitor the Impression Share (IS) metric to secure premium ad placements.

Capture brand traffic

Extract high-performing keywords from Sponsored Products campaigns and deploy them in Sponsored Brands video ads. Target your own brand terms to enhance brand awareness and protect brand traffic.

Expand related traffic

Implement manual product targeting in Sponsored Products by focusing on specific product categories to capture associated traffic.

Sources

^1–3 Advertiser-provided data.