How do I localize ad copy for different regions?

Start with targeting: make sure the right region sees the right message

Decide what “region” means in your account (country, state, metro/DMA, city, radius)

Localization falls apart when your targeting definition is fuzzy. Before you touch copy, decide what level of geography actually changes customer intent for your business. For some advertisers, “region” is country (currency, shipping, legal claims). For others it’s state or province (service areas, licensing), and for many local businesses it’s metro/city or even a radius around a physical location.

Be realistic about operational overhead. If you create 50 state-level variants, you’ll need enough budget and conversion volume in each to learn anything. If you don’t have that volume, localize at the metro level (or group states) until performance justifies going more granular.

Use the right location targeting mode so your localized copy doesn’t show to the wrong people

Most campaigns default to showing ads to people who are in your targeted locations and people who’ve shown interest in those locations. That’s often fine for e-commerce and travel, but it’s a common reason localized copy looks “wrong” in the wild (for example, a “Dallas same-day delivery” headline showing to someone in New York who previously researched Dallas).

If your offer truly depends on where the user is physically located (local services, regulated services, in-person appointments, limited delivery footprints), tighten the setting to target people in or regularly in your locations. It typically reduces impressions, but the clicks you keep are far more likely to match your regional promise.

Set language targeting intentionally (and don’t assume it’s the same as “country”)

Language targeting isn’t a perfect proxy for geography. It’s a filter that helps you reach people based on language signals, and it can still allow scenarios like someone physically in your target country who searches in another language (or has a different device language) to see your ads, depending on how their language signals and behavior line up.

Practically, this means you should localize by geo + language as a pair. In multilingual regions, create separate campaigns (or at least separate ad groups) per language so your ad assets and landing pages stay consistent. If you only translate the ad but not the landing page (or vice versa), conversion rates almost always suffer.

Choose a structure that matches your scale

Here’s the rule I’ve used for 15+ years: if regional differences affect your offer, your compliance, or your landing page experience, separate your campaigns. If it’s mostly cosmetic (spelling, small phrasing changes), you can often stay in one campaign and localize within ads using dynamic tools.

As you scale, separate campaigns also make it easier to control budgets, bids, and seasonality by region. The tradeoff is more management overhead, so start simple and split only when the performance or operational needs justify it.

Localize the message (not just the words) while staying editorially compliant

Translate second; localize first

The biggest mistake I see is “translation-only” localization. Great regional copy aligns with what that audience cares about, what they call things, and what friction points they have. That usually means adapting the offer framing, not just swapping vocabulary.

For example, a UK variant might emphasize “next-day delivery” and include VAT expectations, while a US variant might lean into “free returns” and financing language. Even within the US, the value prop can shift: dense urban areas respond differently to “same-day appointment” than rural areas that care more about “we serve your county” and “travel fees explained upfront.”

Also localize your proof. If you have region-specific review volume, warranty terms, certifications, or service guarantees, weave those into regional assets so the promise feels credible.

Use dynamic localization tools when you need scale (and use defaults to stay safe)

If you want localized ads without duplicating everything, you have two high-leverage options in responsive search ads: location insertion and ad customizers.

Location insertion lets you insert a city, state, or country into ad text. It’s perfect for headlines like “Serving {City} Today” or “Top-Rated in {State}.” Set a sensible default text for when a location can’t be inserted (or when inserting would create awkward grammar). One important nuance: if you’re targeting by metro/DMA, the inserted “city” will be the closest city associated with that DMA, so always write copy that still reads naturally when the city is approximate.

Ad customizers are my go-to when regional differences go beyond the place name. You can define attributes (like “DeliveryPromise,” “PromoText,” “PriceFrom,” or “CalloutRegion”) and then set values at the account, campaign, ad group, or keyword level. That’s how you scale truly regional offers (“Free Delivery Over $50” vs “Free Delivery Over £40”) without building dozens of nearly-identical ads.

Operationally, be disciplined with customizers. Keep naming clean (avoid special characters in attribute names), always provide fallback defaults, and remember that customizer values must exist for the ad to be eligible for review. When you do it right, customizers let you update regional offers quickly without rewriting ads across the account.

Keep your localized copy within editorial and trademark guardrails

Regional copy often tempts advertisers into “louder” punctuation, stylized spelling, and gimmicky formatting to stand out. Be careful: excessive or non-standard punctuation and symbols can trigger disapprovals, and you may need to adjust formatting or request a review when non-standard styling is truly part of a brand or product name. Similarly, avoid repetitive gimmicks across assets (for example, repeating the same regional phrase in multiple headlines) because responsive formats reward variety and uniqueness.

Trademark issues also show up more when you localize, especially if you add regional competitor names (“Best Alternative to… in Texas”). Trademark restrictions are nuanced and can depend on how the term is used and what your landing page provides. If localization pushes you toward competitor comparisons, validate that your copy and landing page experience are crystal clear and not confusing or misleading.

Match the landing page to the region-specific promise

If your ad says “Serving Phoenix” but your page looks generic—or worse, mentions another city—expect conversion rates to drop and lead quality to suffer. The cleanest approach is region-specific landing pages (even lightweight ones) that confirm the service area, pricing assumptions, and availability. When separate pages aren’t feasible, at least adapt on-page modules (shipping info, service area messaging, store locator, phone routing) so the user’s first impression confirms they’re in the right place.

Turn localization into a repeatable system (and improve performance over time)

Use assets to reinforce regional trust

Localized ad copy performs best when the rest of the ad experience agrees with it. If you have physical locations, location assets can add address and phone information directly into the ad experience and make your regional message feel real. This is especially powerful for high-intent local searches where proximity matters.

If you operate in multiple regions with different offers or policies, align your sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets with those regional realities. It’s a subtle step, but it prevents “message mismatch” that quietly kills conversion rate.

Write responsive search ads that actually allow localization to work

Responsive search ads need enough unique assets to assemble good combinations for each region. When you localize, avoid the trap of pinning everything. Pin only when compliance or meaning requires it, because pinning reduces combinations and can limit learning. Aim to supply the maximum variety you can responsibly support, and use regional headlines to complement (not duplicate) your core value props.

Also watch Ad Strength as a practical quality control. It doesn’t determine eligibility, but it’s excellent at flagging the two most common localization problems: not enough unique headlines/descriptions, and too much repetition across assets.

A diagnostic checklist to keep localized campaigns clean

• Targeting sanity: Confirm your location targeting mode matches your intent (physical presence vs interest). Tighten it if you’re making “only in X” promises.
• Language alignment: Ensure the ad language, keywords, and landing page language are consistent for each region/language segment.
• Default text safety: For any dynamic insertion (location insertion or customizers), set defaults that read naturally and remain compliant.
• Editorial compliance: Remove gimmicky punctuation/symbol patterns and avoid repetitive “shouty” formatting that commonly triggers disapprovals.
• Landing page match: Validate that the page confirms the region-specific offer (availability, shipping, pricing assumptions, service coverage).
• Measurement: Compare performance by location in reporting and only split into more granular regional variants when volume supports it.

How to iterate: promote winners, prune losers, and expand only when data supports it

Once you have a baseline, localize in layers. First, prove that region-specific messaging improves conversion rate or lead quality at a broad level (for example, by metro vs non-metro, or North vs South). Next, identify the few regions where localized offers materially change performance and deepen your localization there with dedicated landing pages and tighter campaign structure. Finally, scale what works using customizers so regional upkeep stays manageable.

This approach keeps you out of the “100 regions, 0 learnings” trap and turns localization into a controlled performance lever instead of a permanent operational burden.

If you’re localizing ad copy across regions, the hard part is usually keeping targeting, language, offers, and landing pages aligned as you scale—especially once you start mixing campaign splits (by country, state, DMA, or radius) with dynamic tools like location insertion and ad customizers. Blobr connects to your Google Ads account and uses specialized AI agents to continuously spot where regional messaging and settings drift (for example, ads promising a local offer outside the service area, or copy that doesn’t match the landing page language), then turns those best practices into concrete, prioritized fixes; agents like the Keyword Landing Optimizer and Campaign Landing Page Optimizer can also help ensure your localized ads reliably land on pages that confirm the same regional promise.