Key Takeaways

• Led multi-market PPC strategy and execution for Twinkl across the UK, US, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, and other international regions.

• Managed monthly PPC budgets in the thousands of GBP, optimising spend for efficiency, scale, and rapid market entry.

• Built PPC frameworks that supported new domain launches while working alongside SEO to drive long-term growth.

• Used paid media to generate early traction, validate demand, and accelerate visibility in competitive international markets.

The Challenge

Twinkl Educational Publishing, a global leader in educational resources, was expanding aggressively into new international markets while continuing to grow its established UK presence.

While organic performance was an important long-term goal, the immediate challenge was speed:
Twinkl needed fast, measurable growth in new territories such as South Africa, Mexico, the United States, and Australia, while maintaining efficiency across sizeable monthly advertising budgets.

Each market presented unique challenges — from differing educational calendars and terminology to varying levels of competition and cost per click. The objective was to launch scalable, high-performing PPC campaigns that could drive early engagement and revenue while supporting broader digital growth.

Our Approach

I joined Twinkl’s existing digital team and took ownership of PPC strategy across multiple regions, working closely with internal stakeholders to align paid media with wider marketing and commercial goals.

PPC-First International Expansion

For each new market, I built and launched region-specific PPC campaigns, tailored to:

• Local search behaviour and terminology

• Country-specific school calendars and seasonal demand

• Market competition and cost efficiency

Campaigns were structured to prioritise high-intent keywords, ensuring budgets were focused on users most likely to convert. This approach allowed Twinkl to gain immediate visibility in new regions while gathering performance data to inform long-term strategy.

Budget Management & Optimisation

With monthly budgets reaching into the thousands of GBP, ongoing optimisation was critical. I continuously refined:

• Keyword targeting and match types

• Ad copy and extensions

• Bidding strategies and budget allocation by market

This ensured spend was being directed toward the strongest-performing campaigns and regions, maximising return while supporting scalable growth.

Supporting SEO with Paid Data

While PPC was the primary growth driver, campaign insights were also used to support SEO strategy. High-performing paid keywords and user behaviour data helped shape content priorities and on-page optimisation, ensuring paid and organic efforts worked together rather than in silos.

Results

• New international domains achieved rapid early visibility and engagement driven by PPC.

• Paid campaigns delivered strong first-stage growth, validating demand in new markets and supporting revenue targets.

• Efficient budget management ensured sustained performance across multiple regions without wasted spend.

• PPC insights helped lay the foundation for longer-term organic growth as SEO strategies matured.

These campaigns played a key role in supporting Twinkl’s continued international expansion, providing a repeatable, scalable paid media framework for future launches.

Call to Action

If you’re looking to scale your brand through high-performance PPC, manage substantial ad budgets, or launch into new international markets with confidence, we can help.

Get in touch with Sandfold Studio to see how we can build paid media strategies that deliver real, measurable growth.