When crafting a digital marketing strategy, control is everything—who sees your ads, what they convey, and how much you spend. But many U.S. advertisers overlook one key area: language.
Most default to English, assuming that’s where the audience is. But should they? Our testing revealed a significant missed opportunity in Spanish-language search ads. With 52 million native and bilingual speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States. While many Spanish speakers interact with advertising through the same channels as anyone else, many best practices within the industry are not optimized with the 18% of the population that speaks Spanish in mind.
As we advance the tools we use into the 21st century, it is important that we also expand our idea of who we seek to serve. Our agency took steps to identify opportunities for launching Spanish-language efforts through a number of recent campaigns across various industries. Here’s what we found, and why your brand should take notice.
Discovering Spanish Demand
If you’re running search campaigns today, you may already be reaching Spanish-speaking users—without even realizing it. Especially with broad and phrase match, Google can sometimes serve ads for Spanish search queries triggered by English keywords. We recommend you look at your current traffic and identify if there are any Spanish searches coming into your English search campaigns.
We analyzed over $100,000 of spend on English language search campaigns and found a miniscule 0.05% in spend for search terms including those containing common spanish words, especially those like “cerca de mi” (“near me”), or “cosas que hacer” (“things to do”).
You may be asking yourself, “So what?” If you have a miniscule amount of spend, what does this mean for you—and how do you know it will be profitable and worthwhile to even explore?
Well, the answer is that you won’t know until you test and engage in the research necessary to understand what opportunity lies just beyond the horizon. Ready for the good news? We’ve done testing of our own, and we have more than a few tips and tricks to help you along your way. Over the course of our test, we defined and proved four distinct hypotheses.
Our Spanish-Language Search Hypotheses
Our first hypothesis: Spanish searches in English campaigns are just the tip of the iceberg and do not reflect the size of actual Spanish opportunities. That 0.05% of total spend we mentioned earlier may seem like a negligible amount. But we saw it differently, and we were able to explore the opportunity just beneath the surface. We proved our first hypothesis correct, discovering that there is more volume out there than initial results would suggest. Over the next five months, our Spanish campaigns scaled spend on Spanish search terms by 3,500%, driving a 6,885% increase in revenue and a staggering 20,049% increase in conversion volume. These results make it clear that using English-only campaigns will not result in any meaningful Spanish traffic, and any traffic that does make it through is just the tip of the iceberg.
Once we confirmed the value of Spanish-language search, we developed our next three hypotheses:
2. Spanish-language campaigns will appear in an auction that has different competitors than their English counterparts.
3. Spanish translations of existing English keywords will suffice as effective phrase match keywords in our new campaigns.
4. Spanish ads with English-language landing pages will not see diminished performance compared to English ad counterparts.
Being Early Isn’t Always Easy
After launching our campaigns to target Spanish-speaking users, we discovered a unique issue: Google currently has a relatively higher level of obscurity unique to Spanish-language search term results.
English-language search campaigns delivered search terms reports for 10% of conversions that were generated by campaigns, but Spanish delivered search terms reports responsible for only 3% of conversions. Regardless of the visibility issues with Spanish search terms reports in the Google platform, we can still learn a lot from the top keywords.
How To Build a Spanish-Language Campaign for Testing the Waters
As far as the structuring within the campaign itself, our recommendation is to keep things simple.
At the Campaign Level
- Keep all things consistent as far as targeting, what kind of exclusions you’re using, and the brand negatives, but set your budget to whatever your team is comfortable with for new tests. For us, that was an initial daily spend of $50.
- Change your campaign’s language setting from “English only” to “Spanish only.”
At the Ad Group Level
- Replicate the existing structure from your English campaigns when building out their Spanish counterparts.
- Create twice as many ad groups—one containing English ads, and one containing Spanish ads.
At the Ad Level
We recommend developing Spanish ad copy for each ad group you will include in your campaign, including Spanish translations for headlines and descriptions. Preview your new ads to make sure any extensions are not detrimental to the user experience.
You should also include the English-language ads from your original English campaign, so you can track the effectiveness of each ad serving Spanish-speaking users. You can segment ad groups by ad language or run “rotate indefinitely” to truly test this.
At the Keyword Level
While we recommend the broad match testing structure here for English campaigns, we urge you to take a simplified approach for your first Spanish efforts. Start your Spanish-language test with only exact and phrase match keywords.
Translate your existing keyword set, and ensure that there are no English keywords within your Spanish-language campaigns. You can, however, copy over your existing negative keyword set.
Remember: Spanish keywords can show for English search terms, and English search terms can show for Spanish keywords.
This is because the campaign’s language setting is based on a user’s browser’s language setting. Today, Google’s official definition of what signals language is based on is, “These signals could include query language, user settings, and other language signals as derived by Google AI.”
At the Landing Page Level
Many marketers may be concerned that they don’t have Spanish-language landing pages available before launching a Spanish-language campaign. We’re here to tell you not to worry—we’ve got you covered. Most users will either be comfortable navigating an English-language landing page, or will use a tool like Google Translate. This supports our fourth hypothesis, which we based on the sole factor of using the same landing page across differing language efforts. Spanish ads with English-language landing pages will not see diminished performance compared to English ad counterparts.
How Our Test Performed
After conducting our test for five months, we have reached a number of conclusions that can be used to further refine best practices approaches for digital marketers.
Let’s start with what our results can tell us about how Spanish keywords functioned during the test.
Our third hypothesis was that simple translations of existing keywords will be enough to launch a Spanish-language campaign. This was proven correct. We did not need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the Spanish language and its nuances in order to build an effective campaign.
Of course, it helps to be fully fluent in the language, but another option is to always do your own research on how your client or offering is understood by Spanish-speaking customers. You can lean on Spanish-speaking members of your community for assistance, or engage in research on your own using tools. This could mean leveraging Google Translate on Spanish websites to understand what concepts directly translate and which don’t, or using prompts and AI to help you along.
It’s important to understand that while those of us that speak Spanish are not a monolith, the needs and wants of your customer base are going to have a lot of overlap. The language barrier here isn’t as mysterious and nebulous as many people make it seem. As marketers, our job is to use our abilities to efficiently meet people where they are, according to their needs. Language is just a tool to communicate with and understand one another. If we limit our campaigns to just English for the sole reason that it’s the norm, we’re neglecting a significant opportunity.
Along these lines, our top keywords by conversion volume for Spanish campaigns shared many similarities with their English counterparts, but there was absolutely a difference in concentration of conversion volume, with 87% of Spanish conversions coming from the top five keywords.
| Top 5 Keywords | Spanish | English |
| 1 | “qué hacer en Dallas” | Dallas attractions |
| 2 | “atracción cerca de mí” | attractions in fort worth tx |
| 3 | “atracciones en Dallas Texas” | things to do in Dallas |
| 4 | “qué hacer en Dallas” | Dallas tx things to do |
| 5 | “atracción cerca de mí” | Visit Dallas |
| % of Total conversions | 87% | 32% |
English Ads, Spanish Ads, and the Auction
Next, let’s look at how spend was distributed across the two different ad groups within our campaign. We found that Spanish ads unsurprisingly made up the dominant percentage of total spend, and had stronger down-funnel KPIs.
| KPI | Spanish Ads | English Ads |
| Spend % | 65% | 35% |
| Impressions % | 82% | 18% |
| Clicks % | 81% | 19% |
| CPC | $22.26 | $22.23 |
| CTR | 11.47% | 12.05% |
| Conversion % | 84% | 16% |
| CPA | $8.01 | $22.27 |
| CVR | 26% | 22% |
| Revenue % | 78% | 22% |
| ROAS | $3.63 | $1.84 |
As a general rule, the competitors in the English and Spanish auctions will be similar. It is worth noting that, as with most things, this will vary by industry. In our test, we saw two new competitors with Spanish-first approaches in their websites appear in the Spanish auction, but not the English auction. This proves our second hypothesis correct, that the auction makeup will differ based on the campaign’s language settings.
| Impression Share | Spanish Campaigns + Spanish Ads | Spanish Campaigns + English Ads | English Campaign + English Ads |
| Our Campaigns | 50% | 40% | <10% |
| Competitor 1 (English) | 0% | 0% | 12% |
| Competitor 2 (Spanish) | 16% | 11% | 0% |
| Competitor 3 (Both) | <10% | <10% | <10% |
Additionally, our strongest competitors in the English auction did not have any presence in the Spanish auction. For other tests we have conducted, the results are similar, and we have yet to see a competitor with strong presence in the English auction have an even stronger impression share in the Spanish auction.
With Spanish Campaigns, Engagement Is Higher but Click Costs Are Competitive
| Metric | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| CTR | 12% | 7% |
| CPC | $2.62 | $1.34 |
The first thing that stands out is the 12% CTR on Spanish campaigns, compared to just 7% in English. That’s a 71% increase in engagement, meaning Spanish-language users are not only searching for but also more likely to click on relevant ads.
Despite this higher engagement, CPCs remain manageable—$2.62 compared to $1.34. While that’s slightly higher, the increased CTR more than makes up for it by delivering more qualified traffic.
Conversion Rates Are Higher, But Costs Need Optimization
| Metric | Spanish | English |
| CVR | 25% | 18% |
| CPA | $10.35 | $7.49 |
If high CTR was the first good sign, conversion rates tell an even stronger story. Spanish campaigns converted at 25%, compared to just 18% in English—a 39% increase in efficiency.
This means that not only are Spanish-speaking users more engaged, but they’re also more likely to take action once they land on the website.
However, the CPA ($10.35 vs. $7.49) indicates there’s room for optimization. With more spend and time for Google’s algorithm to refine its targeting, we’d expect CPA to drop further—especially given the strong conversion rates.
This data goes a long way towards proving our fourth hypothesis. Once Spanish users click on an ad, they are not only just as likely to convert once in the landing page. They are even more likely to convert than their English counterparts. This can be attributed to a narrower target market, lower spend in total, or a number of other factors. However, there was not a drop off in conversions once users were faced with an English website after clicking a Spanish-language ad.
Impression Share Sets Spanish Campaigns Apart
| Metric | Spanish | English |
| Impression Share | 46% | 12% |
This might be the most overlooked takeaway: Spanish-language campaigns are capturing 46% impression share, compared to just 12% in English.
That’s nearly four times more visibility in the Spanish auctions, which confirms our hypotheses around lower competition. While English campaigns are constantly fighting for ad placements, Spanish search queries present a much bigger opportunity to own a larger share of the market with less friction.
For brands willing to invest in Spanish search ads, this means cheaper impressions, higher engagement, and a chance to dominate in a space where competitors are scarce.
Final Takeaway: Spanish-Language Search Is a Growth Opportunity
If you’re only running English campaigns, the data makes it clear: You’re probably leaving revenue on the table.
Spanish-language search ads:
- Deliver higher engagement (12% CTR vs. 7%);
- Convert at a higher rate (25% vs. 18%); and
- Compete in a less saturated market (46% impression share vs. 12%).
For brands looking to own more market share and drive incremental revenue, investing in Spanish-language campaigns isn’t just an option—it’s a competitive advantage.
The question isn’t “should I run Spanish ads?”—it’s “how much market share am I willing to let my competitors take?”Want to see how expanding your language coverage can strengthen your campaigns? We’d be happy to dig in and discuss strategies. Reach out to us using our contact form, or connect with us on LinkedIn.
