Google Ads Language Targeting: Bilingual Store Guide

Google Ads language targeting is changing for Search: starting in September 2026, Google is removing the campaign-level language setting from Search campaigns and from the Search part of Performance Max. Instead of obeying a language you tick in settings, Google will match your ads to people based on the language of the ads themselves. For a Saudi or GCC store that advertises in both Arabic and English, that means the words in your ads and on your landing pages now do the job the old setting used to do.

Google says no action is required, and in a narrow sense that is true: your campaigns will keep running. But “no action required” is not the same as “no impact.” This guide covers what changes, what stays, and a checklist so Arabic shoppers see Arabic ads that land on Arabic pages, and English shoppers get the same in English.

What Google announced about Google Ads language targeting

The change was announced in mid-August 2026 and is documented on Google’s own language targeting help page. According to that page, starting in September 2026:

• Search campaigns: the campaign-level language targeting setting is removed. Search ads will automatically match based on the language of your ads.
• Performance Max: the campaign-level language setting will no longer apply to ads shown on the Google Search Network.
• Matching: Google says its language comprehension aligns ads with the user’s language, and it will prioritize ads that match the language of the user’s search term.
• Advertiser action: Google states that no action is required by advertisers for this change.

Search Engine Journal reported the change on August 13, 2026, with the rollout expected in late September 2026. Their coverage adds useful detail: Google uses the language of the query, the language of your ad creative and landing pages, and other signals from Google AI to decide which language fits a user. Existing campaigns do not need to be restructured, and accounts that already split campaigns by language can keep that structure.

In short: the checkbox is gone for Search, and your ad copy becomes the language signal.

What changes and what stays

It helps to separate the Search side of your account from everything else. Here is the picture based on Google’s help page:

Area	Before September 2026	After the rollout
Search campaigns	Campaign-level language setting decides eligibility	Setting removed; ads matched by the language of the ad and the search term
Performance Max on Google Search	Campaign language setting applied	Setting no longer applies on the Search Network
Performance Max on YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail	Campaign language setting applied	Language settings continue to apply
Existing campaign structure	Often split by language	Can stay as is; no forced restructure

The practical takeaway: for Search, you lose a manual control, and you gain a system that reads your content. If your content is clean and consistent in each language, the system has a clear signal. If an ad group mixes Arabic and English headlines, or an Arabic ad sends people to an English product page, the signal gets muddy.

Why this matters for bilingual Arabic and English stores

Many Gulf stores sell to both Arabic-speaking and English-speaking shoppers. Before this change, the language setting acted like a fence around each campaign. After the rollout, that fence is removed for Search, and what keeps each audience in the right place is the language of your ads and pages.

This matters most in three situations:

• Mixed ad groups. If one ad group holds both Arabic and English ads, Google now has to pick between them for each search. It will favour the ad that matches the query language, but your reporting becomes harder to read.
• Mismatched landing pages. An Arabic ad that opens an English product page sends a mixed signal and gives the shopper a poor experience at the exact moment they are deciding whether to buy.
• Brand and product names in Latin letters. Arabic-speaking shoppers often type product or brand names in English. Watch your search terms after the rollout to see which ads Google chooses for these queries, rather than assuming.

A practical checklist for bilingual stores

Work through these steps before and shortly after the rollout reaches your account.

1. One language per ad group. Keep Arabic ads and English ads in separate ad groups (or separate campaigns if that is how you already work). Each ad group should have headlines, descriptions and sitelinks in a single language.
2. Match the landing page to the ad. Arabic ads should point to Arabic product or category pages, and English ads to English pages. Check your final URLs one by one, including sitelinks and any URL parameters that switch the store language.
3. Review keywords by language. Keep Arabic keywords in Arabic ad groups and English keywords in English ad groups. Decide on purpose where to put Latin-script brand and model searches that Arabic speakers commonly use.
4. Keep the old structure if it works. Google says campaigns split by language can stay. You do not need to merge anything; the structure still helps with budgets and reporting.
5. Audit search terms by language after rollout. For the first few weeks, open the search terms report and look for queries in one language triggering ads in the other. Add negatives or move keywords where the match does not make sense.
6. Watch performance for shifts. Compare click-through rate, conversion rate and cost per sale for Arabic and English ad groups before and after the change, as Search Engine Journal suggests monitoring for unexpected traffic shifts.
7. Leave Performance Max non-Search settings alone. Language settings still apply to YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail inside Performance Max, so keep them set correctly for those channels.
8. Fix product copy in both languages. Titles and descriptions on your product pages and in your product feed are part of the language signal. Thin, machine-mixed or half-translated copy weakens it.

What to check in Performance Max

Performance Max now behaves in two ways at once. On Search, language comes from your content and the query. On YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail, your campaign language setting still applies. If you run separate Arabic and English Performance Max campaigns, keep the asset groups clean: Arabic headlines, descriptions and landing pages in one, English in the other. If you are also testing Google’s newer AI features, our guide to the Google Ads AI Max upgrade covers how automation reads your ads and pages.

Your product pages are now part of your targeting

The quiet lesson of this update is that Google is leaning more on what your store actually says. Your landing page language is one of the signals Google uses, and your product titles and descriptions are what shoppers read once they click. That makes product copy quality a targeting issue, not only a conversion issue.

For each language version of your store, check that:

• Product titles are clear, specific and written naturally in that language, not a word-for-word copy of a supplier title.
• Descriptions explain what the product does, key specs, and what is in the box, in the same language as the page.
• Category pages, filters and buttons are not left half in one language and half in another.
• Your product feed (if you use Google Merchant Center) uses the same clean titles and descriptions as the page. Our article on product data for Google AI shopping goes deeper on this.

Whether your store runs on Salla (get a 10% discount with the code F-GTFFU30M) or on Shopify, the principle is the same: every page an ad sends people to should speak one language clearly. If your Salla store needs a cleaner structure for its language versions, our Salla store design service can help, and a dedicated custom landing page is an option for campaigns that need a focused page per language.

How MaXab.ai helps you prepare your product pages

Because your ads now depend more on what your pages say, the quality of your product catalog matters more than before. This is where MaXab.ai fits in. It is an AI-powered dropshipping app built for Salla stores, and it helps with both sides of the problem: what you sell and how you describe it.

• AI product titles and descriptions. When you import a product, MaXab AI writes the title and description in your brand’s voice, so pages start from clean, readable copy instead of a raw supplier listing. It also writes SEO articles to support your store’s content.
• One-click import into Salla. Connect your store, browse a catalog of more than 10,000 products that is updated continuously, and add a product with one click, with no inventory and no upfront cost. Prices and quantities update automatically.
• A real intermediary, not just a connector. MaXab buys the product from the supplier and follows the order until it reaches your end customer, so you do not deal with the supplier or shipping yourself.
• Featured products shipped directly from China. Sections such as mobile electronics (magnetic wireless chargers, power banks, cables), audio, smart devices like smart watches and smart rings, and content creation gear ship from China straight to your customers. Women’s handbags and men’s leather wallets and bags are stocked inside Saudi Arabia.

You can compare the plans on the MaXab.ai pricing section.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to change my Google Ads campaigns before the rollout?

Google says no action is required, and existing campaigns keep running. It is still worth checking that each ad group uses one language and that its landing pages match that language, then reviewing search terms after the rollout.

Does Performance Max still have language settings?

Yes, but only for non-Search channels. According to Google, the setting no longer applies on the Search Network, while YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail inside Performance Max continue to use it.

Should I merge my Arabic and English campaigns now?

No, not because of this change. Accounts that separate campaigns by language can keep that structure. Separate campaigns or ad groups per language still make budgets, reporting and landing page matching easier.

The end of campaign-level Google Ads language targeting on Search shifts control from a settings checkbox to your content. For bilingual Gulf stores, the fix is simple and worth doing: one language per ad group, landing pages that match the ad, a search terms review after rollout, and product copy that reads well in each language. If you want a faster way to build a catalog with clean titles and descriptions for your Salla store, take a look at MaXab.ai.