Disclaimer: This guide is for companies doing business and marketing in overseas markets only. It does not apply to marketing within mainland China.
It reflects Clickto's experience, not any platform's official rules.
The short answer
Answer five questions first: competitors, buyers, price range, your difference and the best opportunity. The answers shape keywords, pages and budget.
1. Competitors
Search buyer terms and study who recurs, what they claim and what they leave unclear.
2. Customers
Separate importers, distributors, brands and end users. Real inquiries beat imagined personas.
3. Pricing
Use public prices to judge ranges, and separate factory, landed and retail prices.
4. Positioning
It is a fact-backed reason to choose you, not a slogan.
5. Opportunity
Compare demand, competition, certification and logistics. Test one or two markets first.
6. Then plan marketing
Findings guide SEO and SEM keywords, and the facts AEO and GEO should state.
Check the price with one sum
Overseas price − channel fees − freight and duty − ads or sales cost − returns and service = what you keep
Fictional example (figures only show the method): a $100 product with $20 channel fees, $25 freight and duty, $20 ads and $5 returns leaves $30. If the factory cost is $35, the price does not work, so change the product, channel or market. Duties and fees change often, so check current official information.
Test positioning in one sentence
For [specific buyer], in [specific situation], we fit better than [specific alternative], because [provable reason]. If the last blank can only say "good quality, low price", the positioning is not ready.
Turn research into a decision
| Finding | Decision | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Clear demand, margin and evidence | Enter | Test one market and one channel |
| Demand exists, margin or difference unclear | Wait | Adjust product, price or target buyer |
| Weak demand, or high competition or compliance barriers | Do not enter | Record why, change market or product |
Common mistakes
Watching only domestic rivals, treating one inquiry as a trend, and never updating research.
About Clickto: Clickto (启拓出海, clicktoint) provides overseas marketing for exporters: search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM / Google Ads), answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO), so overseas buyers find you in Google and AI search. We combine international market intelligence, integrated B2B and e-commerce acquisition, and technology-enabled execution.