Kuwait PPC Advertising
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is one of the most compelling ways to drive business to your company and reach new audiences at the same time. Since its birth in the 1990s, PPC advertising has evolved to be applicable across geographical lines- and the Middle East is no different. In this article, we’ll take you through an overview of PPC advertising in Kuwait, and show you how IstiZada can help you get the most bang for your buck in the region.
What is PPC advertising?
Before we delve into what the industry looks like in Kuwait, let’s take a step back to clarify what exactly is PPC advertising. In a nutshell, PPC advertising is an ad campaign where ads are placed in places where they will receive high traffic- whether that be within search engine query results or on a social media site. Every time a consumer clicks on the ad, the company placing the ad pays a certain bid. So instead of paying to “rent” online ad space, they pay each time the ad is clicked. Bids vary depending on the revenue each click to the site will drive- if a click will drive high revenue, companies will pay more for better placement. If a click will drive less revenue, the company will bid to pay less.
The most common place you’ll see PPC ads is on google searches, and the biggest provider of PPC advertising placement is Google Ads. Mobile PPC ads are a popular choice as well, for companies targeting smartphone users.
Why is PPC Advertising Important
So why is PPC advertising an important area to focus your time and money on, among all the other advertising methods there are? There are a number of benefits to PPC advertising that make it worth your while. First of all, it’s money efficient, as you only pay for actual clicks on your ad, which may generate leads. Second of all, it’s totally customizable and you’re able to reach a really targeted audience with your campaigns. Finally, PPC advertising allows you to track your success very easily, as you’ll be keeping track of the number of clicks on your ad. This knowledge can only be an advantage to your business as it grows. With all these advantages, you don’t want to miss out on PPC advertising.
Kuwait: The Target Market
When thinking about doing business in the Middle East, the first places that cross peoples’ minds are Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, Kuwait has a thriving population that is not to be looked over when doing business in the region. The country is unique in that its population is over 70% expatriates from other Arab countries and around the world. In fact, the quality and standard of living is so high in Kuwait that it ranks as the #3 destination in the world in terms of net migration.
In addition to its global population makeup, Kuwait is an excellent country for PPC advertising because of its young population. Kuwait has a median age of 39 years old, and a clearly tech-savvy population concentrated 100% in urban centers. The internet penetration in Kuwait stands steadily at 99%, and reports show that in 2023 there were more mobile connections than people – meaning some people are using more than one smartphone.
Emirates Delivers facilitates online shopping in Kuwait
Like the rest of its neighbors in the Gulf region, Kuwait is participating in the rising strength of the international e-commerce market. Bringing in USD $1,601 million in revenue this past year, the e-commerce market in Kuwait is predicted to continue growing at a rate of 14% per year through 2027. The most popular sectors for e-commerce among Kuwaitis are food and personal care items, fashion, and electronics. Online shoppers in Kuwait received good news in August 2023, when the UAE-based shipment provider Emirates Delivers announced it would service Kuwait, meaning that shoppers can have products from the US and UK delivered from a variety of sites such as Amazon in as quick as 3-5 days. Considering these developments in the Kuwait online market, this is clearly a country you don’t want to miss in future ad campaigns.
Biggest PPC Advertising Mistakes in Kuwait
Kuwait is an Arabic-speaking country, with a large part of the population speaking Arabic as their first language. Naturally, any truly targeted PPC campaign in Kuwait will have Arabic or bilingual Arabic and English ads, which will also resonate with the expat demographic if they do not read Arabic. The process of translating ads, however, is not as simple as Google Translate makes it out to be.
Common Arabic language mistakes in PPC ads in Kuwait include a lack of, or a poorly written “call to action” in the ad, a word like “buy”, “find”, or “shop”, that prompts the consumer with what to do next. These calls to action are key in generating revenue, and they don’t translate as smoothly into the Arabic language as one might think, often resulting in awkward or ineffective ads.
An Instagram ad from Applebee’s Kuwait features an effective call to action in both English and Arabic text
Similarly, ads can often mix up keywords in Arabic with ones that are not so relevant to the campaign. Poorly written or non-engaging headlines that don’t take into account cultural or linguistic norms can drag a campaign down. Beyond just the language, a lack of expertise on strategies known to drive revenue in the region, such as the use of ad extensions, can lead to unsuccessful or disappointing campaigns.
How IstiZada Can Help
Making the foray into advertising in a new territory is scary- it can be hard to know if the effort and funds you’re putting in are going to pay off with tangible revenues. Thankfully, IstiZada offers a number of services to help you succeed with a PPC advertising campaign in Kuwait.
When you work with IstiZada, you work with people who live, know and breathe the Arab world. We have the language fluency to help you avoid the common mistakes listed above, as well as the cultural and contextual knowledge to create specifically targeted ads that will drive results. We’re a team of people with real experience living and doing business in the Middle East, Kuwait included, so our knowledge is tried and tested.
Beyond region-specific knowledge, IstiZada is known for its results-driven strategy. With a dedicated project manager for each campaign, you can be sure that there’s serious attention to detail going into our work, and accountability every step of the way.
