I’m not sure if you’re aware of this.  I only noticed it yesterday and was quite surprised.

I’m going to use Argentina as an example, but I’m pretty sure this happens with all localized versions of Google.

When someone in Argentina types in “www.google.com”, they’re automatically redirected to “www.google.com.ar”.  The .ar part corresponds to Argentina.  Unless the user specifies that he wants to use the .com version of Google, all of his searches will be done on the .com.ar Google, which provides totally different results.  Most people prefer to use their localized versions of Google, so it is natural to assume that most Argentineans are searching on www.google.com.ar.

If you’re targeting Argentinean people using Adwords for search, Google displays the ads in google.com.ar’s search results.  As far as I can tell, Google does not display ads in the search results based the seracher’s IP, but by the localized version of Google he uses.

By default, English browser search bars use google.com to process their searches. For instance, if someone from Argentina chooses to use the English version of Firefox, the searches done in Firefox’s Google search bar will be automatically done in google.com, instead of google.com.ar.

Why does this matter?

Pretty much because you aren’t targeting Argentineans or even people in Argentina.  You’re targeting people that use www.google.com.ar, regardless of where they are at. It is quite logical to assume that most people that use the Argentinean version of Google are, in fact, Argentineans.  But what about those Argentineans that use the plain ol’ google.com for their searches or those who excessively use the search bar?  Furthermore, since Argentineans that use the US version of Google seem understand English, do they have a higher purchasing power?  I can’t answer that question as I’ve done no real research on that subject, but my gut tells me they do.

I can’t remember the last time I went to Google.com to search for something.  I exclusively use the search bar in my Firefox browser, thus all of my searches are done on Google.com (by default!) instead of Google.com.uy (Uruguay’s localized version of Google). I’m also a guy that uses the web heavily to buy stuff, so any Uruguayan publishers that use Adwords to target people living in Uruguay are missing out on my excellent predisposition to buy things online because my browser uses Google.com to process all of my searches.

You might argue that my case is too specific and unique to worry about it.  While this is partly true, you do need to consider that every local person I know that speaks English has a higher purchasing power than the average uruguayan and, most importantly, is also more open to buying things online.

I have a friend who is addicted to books.  This month he has spent a lot of money on Amazon and does so month after month.  You should see his personal library, it is quite a spectacle.  He uses Windows Vista in English so his IE is in English.  I’m pretty sure you can tell what version of Google his IE search bar uses.  Local bookstores that use Adwords to target people in Uruguay are missing out on a nice client.  They’re probably not reaching other people like him as well.

The next time you plan an Adwords campaign that targets people in in other countries, especially if you’re aiming at people that are more likely to have international credit cards to be able to make the online purchase, you should definitely consider this small problem.

While this may not be a huge problem, it is something that raises concern around here when planning out an online campaign for the local market.