There were about 37 billion dollars worth of online transactions in China in 2009, double the amount spent in 2008. That number is only going to go up, and will most likely continue to rise by an astounding rate each year. If you think that you might have something to sell to some of the 400 million Chinese Internet users, one of the fastest and cheapest ways to test the market is to have the key content of your website translated, and then start a Chinese pay per click campaign. Within two to three weeks, you'll learn how much interest Chinese consumers have in your products. If the campaign shows promise, you can build a website that is fully localized for the Chinese market and expand your online marketing efforts. If you choose the right partner, very little effort is required on your part but the potential benefits are enormous.
How do you go about setting up such a test and what criteria should you use for selecting a Chinese pay per click partner?
The first part of the equation is language. If you want to sell to the largest base of Chinese Internet users, you need to target mainland China. To sell to mainland Chinese consumers, you'll need to speak to them in their language, which is Mandarin Chinese written in simplified characters. Since there are hundreds or even thousands of Chinese dialects and two styles of Chinese writing, you'll have to make certain that your pay per click campaign management partner is using Mandarin written in the simplified form.
The next thing you should know is that, whenever it comes to marketing, it is always best to choose somebody (or some team) that is born and raised in that area and speaks the local language. Don't think about choosing a Chinese person that has been living abroad for the last ten years and certainly don't choose somebody that has never lived in China or only speaks Mandarin as their second language. Your partner needs to know modern Chinese and the current cultural trends in China in order to be able to write effective copy for the pay per click ads and for your website.
For the website translation, your partner will also need to know how to deal with HTML, CSS or whatever coding language or content management system your website is written in. It should be fairly easy to find somebody that can do that or even deal with that with somebody you currently work with. It is much more difficult to choose the ideal partner for website translation.
To put it simply, your focus for the website translation should be on selling your products or service. This means you need to work with a company that provides both an accurate and professional translation as well as copywriting that is persuasive - copywriting that transforms the traffic from your Chinese pay-per-click campaign into sales. Just like professional writers, all translators have specific areas in which they are particularly strong. You wouldn't choose the same person to edit a pharmaceutical patent that you would to write a marketing pamphlet, right? Similarly, it's best to ask translation agencies or translators which areas they are strongest in.
If your partner has the translation and copywriting skills to allow your website to connect with Chinese consumers, they have the quality control process to make sure your text is accurate and they are able to deal with the technical issues with your website, you are ready to have the website translated. But you will still need to be able to judge whether or not they are able to create and manage an effective pay per click campaign.
For the pay per click campaign, you should first learn which platform they are using. The most common options are Google and Baidu. Baidu is China's most popular search engine and an excellent platform for Chinese pay per click ads. However, they require that you spend about 400 US Dollars to setup an account. Although most of this money is put towards the actual ads, it can seem like a lot of money for some companies, especially compared to Google's $10 minimum. Whatever you choose, make sure your partner has experience in that area as Google and Baidu account management are somewhat different.
After you know which advertising platform you and your potential partner will be using, it would be wise to inquire about their past experience. Look for positive reviews from former clients, the amount of experience the specific pay per click manager has and examples of exemplary work in the past. If you aren't familiar with pay per click yet, you can do a little reading on the subject so you will be able to ask some more pointed questions. Can they create an estimated budget for you including search frequencies, estimated click-through rates and estimated prices? Do they use match-type keyword trapping? Do they optimize pages to improve Google quality scores? There are many more questions you would ask and, even though there may be multiple valid answers for some questions, if you are dealing with a professional company, they should be able to provide valid answers in a timely manner.
To sum it up, what you'll need in order to operate a website translation and Chinese pay-per-click test is:
· Accurate translation into simplified Mandarin Chinese.
· Persuasive copywriting for both the website and the pay-per-click ads.
· Effective pay-per-click management.
· The technical skills required for website translation.
Perhaps one last thing that should be mentioned is that they need to be able to communicate with you. Can they effectively communicate with you in English or might they be misinterpreting some of what you say? Do they understand your business needs? Always make sure you and your partner are on the same wavelength.
Good luck in the Chinese market!
Tait Lawton is a Chinese-English translator and online marketer. He manages Nanjing Marketing Group's Chinese pay-per-click service.
Nanjing Marketing Group provides Chinese website translation and Chinese-language Internet marketing services including Chinese pay-per-click management for Baidu and Google, Chinese-language SEO, Chinese link building and Chinese social media marketing. http://www.nanjingmarketinggroup.com
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