Google ads by default selects just the United States as a location in which to display your ads. But is this the best choice? Are there any other countries that are worthwhile to display ads to?
Here we go over some other countries you might want to consider. The factors that we use to determine eligibility are Cost Per Click Modifier (estimate of the average cost per click of the country in comparison with the US, data taken using random high volume keyword sampling with a sanity check from here: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/07/06/average-cost-per-click), English Speaking Population Modifier (% of country that speaks English, data taken from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population), and GDP Per Capita Modifier (GDP in comparison with the US, data taken from here: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD). Using these three factors we score and rank the countries from best options to display ads to worst.
The score is calculated by multiplying the GDP Per Capita Modifier by the English Speaking Population Modifier and then dividing by the Cost Per Click Modifier.
GDP per capita is an important metric because it is a rough estimation of the purchasing power of the average viewer of the ad. The higher the purchasing power of the viewer, the more likely they are to convert to paying for your product or service. That is why typically 1st world countries are more expensive to display ads to than 3rd world countries.
% of the country that speaks English is an important metric because, assuming your ads are in English, you will waste ad spend on people that don’t understand the ad. The lower someones understanding of an ad, the lower their chance of purchasing the product or service. Google ads lets you specify the language of the audience but this is only a partially effective mitigation strategy. Many browsers will have English set as a default despite the users not speaking English. Additionally, many users will be using a shared device which will have the default language set to English despite that particular user not speaking English. Finally, many English learners will set their browser to English to learn the language faster. Our own data tends to support this conclusion, as we find lots of foreign language queries even with the language set to English only. % of English speakers also tends to correlate with consumption of products and services from English speaking countries, so it acts as a good secondary metric when determining the average intent to purchase.
Finally cost per click is an important metric because it gives a sticker price to judge the other metrics against. If a country has only half the % of English speakers and half the GDP per capita of another country, but is 1/5 of the cost per click, it will still provide a much better value. Let’s get started with the list.
Countries that did not make this list were either too small, had too low of an English speaking %, or too low of a GDP per capita to qualify.
Cost Per Click Modifier: .45 (45%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .83 (83.1%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 1.5 ($93,905 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Singapore is the best value for google ads by a large margin. The small Southeast Asian country wins the top spot due to its high GDP per capita and low cost per click giving it a great value. We think this country may be undervalued due to its small size and location in Asia.
Final Score: 2.77
Cost Per Click Modifier: .65 (65%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .98 (98.37%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 1.22 ($76,305 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Ireland comes in second. The island has a relatively high cost per click, very high English speaking percentage, and a fairly low cost per click. We think this country may be undervalued due to confusion between selecting UK/Ireland and its small size.
Final Score: 1.84
Cost Per Click Modifier: .45 (45%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .9 (90%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: .846 ($52,941 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Third place goes to the Netherlands. The European country has a surprisingly high English speaking population combined with a low cost per click and a respectable GDP per capita. We think this country may be undervalued due to lack of knowledge of its high English speaking %.
Final Score: 1.69
Cost Per Click Modifier: .45 (45%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .86 (86%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.81 ($50,541 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Denmark gets the fourth spot mostly due to its low cost per click. Its GDP per capita and cost per click are relatively middle of the road. We think this country may be undervalued due to lack of knowledge of its high English speaking %.
Final Score: 1.55
Cost Per Click Modifier: .60 (60%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .96 (96%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.85 ($53,518 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: The small island of Iceland comes in fifth due to its high English speaking % and low cost per click. We think this country may be undervalued due to its small size and lack of knowledge of its English speaking %.
Final Score: 1.37
Cost Per Click Modifier: .35 (35%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .6 (60%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.76 ($47,561 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Belgium comes in sixth with one of the lowest costs per clicks on the list despite not having a high English speaking %. GDP per capita is middling. We think this country may be undervalued due to lack of knowledge of its English speaking %.
Final Score: 1.3
Cost Per Click Modifier: .55 (55%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .86 (86%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.80 ($50,070 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Sweden comes in 7th. The Scandinavian country has fairly low cost per click but is brought down slightly due to its GDP per capita and English speaking %. We think this country is pretty close to fairly valued.
Final Score: 1.25
Cost Per Click Modifier: .5 (50%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .85 (85.0%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: .611 ($38,267 / $62,606)
Why it may be worth adding: Israel comes in 8th. Israel has a great cost per click which is balanced out by its low GDP per capita. We think this country is pretty closely to fairly valued.
Final Score: 1.04
Cost Per Click Modifier: .90 (90%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .98 (97.82%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.81 ($50,541 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: New Zealand is ninth on the list. It has a very high English speaking % but suffers from a surprisingly high cost per click. We think this country is overvalued because it is a native English speaking country.
Final Score: 0.88
Cost Per Click Modifier: .85 (85%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .97 (97%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: .741 ($46,378 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Canada comes in number 10. Canada has a great English speaking % but its GDP per capita and cost per click are too high to rank higher on the list. We think this country is overvalued because it is a native English speaking country.
Final Score: 0.85
Cost Per Click Modifier: .80 (80%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .61 (61.28%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 1.04 ($65,006 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Switzerland comes in at eleven. Switzerland has a good GDP per capita but also an unfortunately low English speaking % and is relatively pricey per click. We think this country is overvalued because of its perception of wealth and lack of knowledge of its low English speaking %.
Final Score: 0.79
Cost Per Click Modifier: .95 (95%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .97 (97%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: .751 ($47,047 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Australia is 12th on the list. It has a very high English speaking % but the cost per click is too high. We think this country is overvalued because it is a native English speaking country and an overestimate of its wealth.
Final Score: 0.76
Cost Per Click Modifier: .90 (90%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .98 (97.74%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: .701 ($43,877 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: The United Kingdom comes in 13th with a high English Speaking % but also high cost per click. We think this country is overvalued because it is a native English speaking country and an overestimation of its wealth.
Final Score: 0.76
Cost Per Click Modifier: .70 (70%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .7 (70%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.72 ($45,192 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Finland comes in 14th due to a combination of high cost per click, low English speaking %, and low GDP per capita. We think this country is overvalued because it gets lumped in with Norway and Denmark too often despite having a significantly lower English speaking %.
Final Score: 0.72
Cost Per Click Modifier: .4 (40%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .39 (39%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.68 ($42,779 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: France comes in at 15. It has a great cost per click but an unfortunately low English speaking % and GDP per capita. We think this country is overvalued because it has a surprisingly low English speaking % and GDP per capita compared to some of its European neighbors.
Final Score: 0.67
Cost Per Click Modifier: 1.00 (100%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .73 (73%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.84 ($52,558 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Austria comes in at number 16. Though it does have a decent GDP per capita it is brought down by its high cost per click and low English speaking %. We think this country may be overvalued due to perceptions of its wealth and an overestimation of its English speaking %.
Final Score: 0.61
Cost Per Click Modifier: .75 (75%)
English Speaking Population Modifier: .56 (56%)
GDP Per Capita Modifier: 0.60 ($50,715 / $62,606)
Why it is probably not worth adding: Germany comes in last on the list. Its cost per click is high while its English speaking % and GDP per capita are low. We think this country may be overvalued due to perceptions of its wealth as well as an overestimation of its English speaking %.
Final Score: 0.45
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