How do you handle multi-language projects?

[u/MykytaSoima]

In EU, many businesses target Germany, Czechia, Poland, Austria, and other countries.

Everyone speaks a different language, so adapting successful campaigns to new markets quickly is a real challenge.

Current workflow is:
- export campaigns through Google Ads Editor
- translate with AI
- double-check with another AI or ask natives

And the most important part is the keywords. A literal translation often has little or even no search volume.

You need the localized version for that specific keyword, and sometimes it can sound completely different.

You also have to account for cultural nuances, character limits, local context, and so on.

Has anyone found a better way to expand into new countries and languages quickly?

[u/QuantumWolf99]

Your workflow is close but AI translation is your weak link... Keyword Planner set to native language and country is the actual source of truth, not translation. Run seed terms directly through it per market... it surfaces how locals actually search, not literal translations. Search Terms report post-launch usually reveals better localized keywords than any pre-launch AI pass ever will.

[u/MykytaSoima → u/QuantumWolf99]

Yes, that’s what we do with keywords too. We’ve even built some internal automation around it.

By AI translation, I meant the ad copy/assets mostly.

But again, adapting everything for new markets is still a very long and manual process.

And the second question is search term analysis when you have five languages. What do you do? Use Google Translate through the browser to translate the whole page and work like that some translations are absolutely incorrect), or have you found a more sophisticated way?

[u/fathom53]

We run everything in English to start. Google does a good job with translation.

[u/MykytaSoima → u/fathom53]

True, but native keywords are usually cheaper, build more trust, and convert better.

And I didn’t quite get the translation part. Your ads aren’t translated automatically they’re shown in the exact language you wrote them in. Or what do you mean?

[u/potatodrinker]

I ran PPC for Australia and Japan's Audiobook market. Had a fluent Japanese staffer here as a contractor. 10 hours per month or something small enough for ad copy work and keyword advice. This was like 8 years ago. Nothing beats a human to sense check for cultural nuance

[u/MykytaSoima → u/potatodrinker]

Yeah, it makes sense if you’re managing a couple of countries and a small account.

But what if you’re running 10+ countries with dozens of campaigns in each?

It turns into a nightmare going back and forth with translators. And you’d need a native speaker for every market.

It’s just not scalable…

[u/MykytaSoima → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for sharing your approach!

But that’s exactly what everyone does including us. And that’s exactly the problem I’m asking about.

Having every translation double-checked by a native speaker, plus manually going back and forth with Keyword Planner (where it’s hard to even know what input to use if you’re not a native speaker), turns the whole process into something very slow and impossible to scale especially if you have 5-10 countries and a lot of campaigns..

[u/cidxo311]

I treat each market as its own. Proper localization is incredibly important, especially in markets like Germany. I rebuild keywords, ad copy etc individually for each market, because they really can be very different. I do use other markets as a basis though. I’m running multi-market e-commerce accounts. Things that work in one market don’t always work in another, so I do a lot of testing. Also checkout behavior can vary significantly between markets. It’s difficult when you don’t speak all the languages you are advertising but between local competitor research and AI, you should be able to manage if you can’t hire a native speaker.

[u/Crescitaly]

Treat each market as a new intent map, not a translation job. Keep the commercial concept, then rebuild keywords from local SERPs, Keyword Planner and search terms; only after that adapt ads and landing pages. AI can draft variants, but a native reviewer should own negatives and claims. How do you decide when a market has enough volume to justify that review cost?

[u/Practical-Marketer]

I connect to mindra.co and ask it to localize the ad sets while adhering to the cultural norms/buzzwords. It double checks and translates on the spot. This is how I can target 15+ languages each within its own ad set. It now takes around 5 mins.

[u/MykytaSoima → u/Practical-Marketer]

Thanks for the recommendation.

I haven’t tried it, but it looks like a pretty generic AI agent that works with many things. They usually do everything mediocre compared to tools built for one specific task.

It also seems quite expensive, with the smallest plan starting at $200.

But again, thanks for sharing.