Paid search management: bilingual Cardiff campaigns

What to take away

Welsh language keyword research for Cardiff paid search management

Welsh language keyword research starts with the words your Cardiff audience actually types, not the words you translate. Welsh speakers in Cardiff often search in English for products, but in Welsh for public services, education and culture. Pull search term reports from your existing campaigns and look for Welsh queries you already pay for by accident.

Volume is the hard part. Welsh search volume is a fraction of English, so a keyword tool may show zero for terms that still convert. Use your own data first: Search Console queries, call centre logs and on-site search.

This is a version of the audience research method you would use in any market, applied to a smaller language.

Build a bilingual keyword map. One column for the Welsh term, one for the English equivalent, one for the landing page each should send traffic to. Keep them separate: do not mix Welsh and English keywords in the same ad group, or your ad copy will not match the query.

Watch for mutation and dialect. Welsh has formal and informal registers, and north and south Wales differ in vocabulary. A Cardiff audience is more likely to see standard forms in public signage, but local SMEs may use informal phrasing. Test both.

Negative keywords matter more in Welsh campaigns. A Welsh term can look like an English one to a broad match algorithm, so add English negatives to Welsh ad groups and Welsh negatives to English ad groups.

Use the target audience without guesswork approach to decide which Welsh keywords deserve their own campaigns. If a term has steady conversions and a clear Welsh-language landing page, it earns a campaign. If not, keep it as a keyword in a shared English campaign until it proves itself.

Bilingual ad copy rules under the CAP Code and ASA guidance

Bilingual ad copy is still advertising, so the Advertising codes - ASA | CAP apply to the Welsh version exactly as they do to the English one. The CAP Code requires ads to be legal, decent, honest and truthful, and that does not change when you switch language.

Translations must carry the same meaning as the original. A claim that is compliant in English can become misleading in Welsh if the translation softens or exaggerates it. Keep a single approved source text and have a fluent speaker check the Welsh version against it, not against a machine output.

The AdviceOnline Library - Advice for Marketers - ASA | CAP is the first place to check how a rule applies to your sector. It covers common issues such as pricing, availability and comparative claims, which are the claims most likely to drift in translation.

Claims and endorsements need particular care. The Claims, endorsements and testimonials - ASA | CAP guidance applies whether a testimonial is in English or Welsh, and a translated testimonial must not change what the customer actually said. If a public body or SME cannot substantiate a claim in both languages, drop it from both.

Character limits force choices. Welsh often runs longer than English, so a headline that fits in English may truncate in Welsh. Write the Welsh version first, then fit the English around it, or run separate responsive search ads so each language has room.

Keep the same regulatory context in mind as you would for advertising rules in England. The ASA codes are UK-wide, so a Cardiff campaign is judged by the same standards as one in London or Manchester.

Landing page requirements for Welsh and English campaigns

Landing page requirements for bilingual campaigns are simple to state and easy to get wrong. The page must be in the same language as the ad. A Welsh ad that lands on an English page breaks the scent trail and wastes the click.

Build separate URLs for each language, not a toggle that hides the content. Use a clear structure such as /cy/ for Welsh and /en/ for English, and set the correct lang attribute so screen readers and search engines know which language they are reading.

Public-sector buyers may require Welsh-language pages under the relevant Welsh Language Standards. If bidding for Welsh Government, council or health board work, check that body's tender requirements rather than assuming the same requirement applies to every opportunity.

Forms, thank-you pages and confirmation emails must also be bilingual if the click path starts in Welsh. A Welsh ad that leads to an English form is a common and avoidable failure.

Check accessibility. Contrast, font size and plain Welsh all matter, and public bodies will assess them. Keep sentences short in both languages and avoid jargon that has no settled Welsh translation.

Test conversion separately. Welsh and English pages can perform differently for the same offer, so track them as separate conversion actions in Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.

Serving public bodies and SMEs in Wales with bilingual PPC

Cardiff public bodies and SMEs have different reasons to run Welsh campaigns. Some public bodies, including Cardiff Council and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, are subject to Welsh Language Standards under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, overseen by the Welsh Language Commissioner; requirements depend on the body. SMEs in tourism, retail and hospitality use Welsh to signal local identity and to reach customers who prefer it.

For public bodies, bilingual PPC is usually a compliance and reach question. Campaigns for services such as recycling, school admissions or health screening may need Welsh coverage to meet those duties. Budgets are often fixed, so the case rests on reach rather than return on ad spend.

For SMEs, the case is commercial. A Cardiff tourism business targeting Welsh-speaking visitors from north Wales or Patagonia may find Welsh ads cheaper and more engaging than English ones. A local retailer may use Welsh to stand out in a crowded market.

ONS data on Internet Users - Office for National Statistics shows high and rising UK internet use, which supports the case for reaching Welsh speakers online rather than only through print or broadcast. The audience is there, but it is smaller, so precision matters.

Agency side, bilingual work changes your workflow. You need a Welsh-speaking reviewer, a translation plan and a QA step before launch. Agree the scope with the client from the start rather than absorbing it later.

Procurement is another factor. Public bodies in Wales often ask for evidence of Welsh-language capability in tenders. Being able to show live bilingual campaigns is a practical advantage over agencies that only promise translation.

When bilingual Welsh campaigns are worth testing

A bilingual Welsh campaign is worth testing when three conditions hold: there is measurable Welsh-language demand, the offer suits a Welsh-speaking audience, and the client can support a Welsh landing page and ongoing review.

Worked example. A Cardiff-based training provider runs an English campaign for a first aid course. It finds a small but steady stream of Welsh queries for the same course.

It builds one Welsh ad group, one Welsh landing page and a Welsh form. After a quarter, the Welsh campaign produces a higher click-through rate and a lower cost per lead than the English one, because competition on Welsh terms is thinner. The provider keeps the Welsh campaign and expands it to a second course.

The reverse also happens. A Cardiff e-commerce SME translates its whole account into Welsh and sees almost no Welsh conversions, because its customers search and buy in English. The fix is to keep a small Welsh brand campaign and spend the rest on English terms.

Use a simple test before you commit:

Set a review date. Welsh search behaviour changes slowly, but budgets and policy priorities do not. Revisit the decision each year, and keep the Welsh assets live so you are not starting from scratch.

Common questions