How to Globally Expand Your AdWords Market Reach

By Lior Levin

Google Adwords is great because it shows you suggested keywords for your ads and optimization based on your own language, but what about other languages? How can you know which keywords to use for those who speak Chinese, French, Russian or any other language that’s foreign to you? Well, you can now search for keywords in 56 different languages via Google’s new Global Market Finder tool.

With this tool, you don’t have to be limited to keywords in your native language, you’ll be able to reach over 80 percent of Internet users worldwide because you’ll now know which keywords to use in other languages as well as yours.

What Does This Tool Do?

“Google Global Market Finder uses data from Internet searches conducted around the world to show the number of times people search for your keywords in [...] 56 different languages. When combined with AdWords, Global Market Finder also showcases estimates of suggested bid, competition for each Google Translate translation for that keyword used in your target market.” So, it’s really a great learning tool that will help you reach customers worldwide using various ad formats like search engines, video, mobile devices and TV.

Global Market Finder automatically translates keywords into your customers’ language and lets you see where they’re searching for your product. If you’re not fluent in any other language, these are metrics that you really would have no way of finding out without hired help.

How Does This Tool Work?

You only need one thing to get started: keywords that describe your business. After selecting your location and language, you’ll need to enter these keywords in order to get see your results. It takes less than a minute to see your Geographic Distribution chart. As you can see from the image below, you can view different locations and then expand those to see other languages and keywords in those locations.

There are 4 other columns besides location:

• Opportunity - Ranks each country’s export opportunity relative to other countries.
• Local Monthly Searches – An approximate 12-month average number of queries for the keywords you entered based on countries and language.
• Suggested Bid – The suggested bid amount for your ad based on the corresponding keywords.
• Competition – The number of advertisers bidding on each keyword in respect to all keywords on Google.

Why Are These Metrics Important?

These metrics can greatly benefit your company because you’ll be able to compare the cost of gaining new customers with your product margins. You can then see whether you can afford to reach customers in a new market and if this step will be beneficial for your business.

Things To Watch Out For

Google cannot guarantee the accuracy of these keywords or that they will improve the effectiveness of your campaigns. Global Market Finder uses Google Translate to create the keywords, so they may not be always be 100 percent correct. You may need to use another source just to verify the keywords so that you can be sure they are a good fit for your ads. Using the wrong or inappropriate keyword could actually cause more harm than good. You don’t want to insult or turn off any potential customers.

Another thing you may want to keep in mind is that there’s no direct way (as of yet) to export keywords from Global Market Finder to your AdWords account. They recommend you use the Google Translator Toolkit in order to automatically translate your keywords and then share those translations with AdWords translators, who can edit and confirm their accuracy.

With Google’s Global Market Finder tool, you will not only boost your sales and customer-base, but also be a step above your competitors who are not using this valuable tool (or anything like it). As you can see, this tool is really great for companies who sell products and are looking to expand their global market. If you’re looking for that extra boost in profits and reach for your business, give Global Market Finder a try.

Author Information

Lior Levin is a consultant to a live chat support software company. Lior also works for an MA in Israel studies program in Tel Aviv University.

5 Best Screen Cast Tools On The Web

By Lior Levin

Adding a screen cast to your site is a great way to enhance your site’s visual appeal and make it more interactive. But if you’re not a video whiz how do you create an attractive screencast? And once you’ve made it, how do you share it with the world?  These five free tools we use at 123 neon signs will help you.

GoView

It takes just two clicks to begin recording what’s on your screen with GoView. At the moment it’s available for Windows and you have to go to the site to download the application. GoView captures everything that happens on your screen and it’s got a countdown timer so you know when recording is about to start. You don’t have to worry if you make a wrong move. All you need to do is use the scissors tool during the editing process to cut out anything you don’t need. You can also add title slides easily. Once it’s done you are easily able to share it online as it’s streamed to the online servers while you create it. I think this is a great tool for people who are just starting out with screencasts.

Jing

Jing has been around for a while and is available for Windows and Mac. It allows you to create screencasts of up to 5 minutes and you can easily share your screencasts via Twitter, Facebook, and Screencast.com (your account includes 2 GB of free storage).  It’s easy to capture the action on your screen, and this popular application can also be used to take screenshots. You will have to get the pro version if you want easy sharing to YouTube.

Overstream

Overstream is an online editor that makes it easy for you to add text to existing videos from YouTube, Vimeo and other video sites. This is a great site for video modders and is useful if you already have a video that you want to extend with commentaries, captions and subtitles. You can even create video postcards. This seems a bare bones option in comparison with some of the other screencast tools.

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic is an online screen recorder which requires no installation and works with Windows, Mac and LINUX. With the free version you can make screencasts of up to 15 minutes, export to a number of common formats and uploaded to YouTube. The pro version removes the watermark, allows password protection and gives you some editing tools. This tool is easy to use because all you have to do is click the start recording button and you will instantly capture your screen. Even a novice could make a competent screencast within seconds.

Screenr

Screenr is another web based screencast recorder which works with Mac or PC. It’s easy to create recordings which play on your iPhone or on the web. Like the other tools mentioned, it takes just a couple of clicks to have a screencast. It’s especially made to work with Twitter but it’s also easy to share your recordings on YouTube. It really doesn’t get much simpler.

So, which one should you choose? Many people swear by Jing, but the easy editing features in GoView make this a great option for screen cast recording. And if you prefer not to download software  Screenr with its easy upload to Youtube is another worthy contender.

Author Information

Lior Levin works for 123neonsigns, a neon signs store and also advises on a regular basis to a applicant tracking software company that developed an amazing solution.