Yandex Ads for international companies: paid traffic without a wasted budget
I set up and run Yandex Direct, Russia's main search advertising platform, so you can see where every dollar goes and get inquiries from people who can actually buy. For me the campaign is the last step, not the first: first we work out who your Russian customer is and why they choose, then we build the account.
Anyone can launch a campaign. Making it bring leads and pay back is a different job. The difference is the strategy before you press "Start".
In 30–40 minutes I'll show where your budget leaks.
If this is your advertising, keep reading
This is what a wasted budget looks like. It's rarely "bad Yandex". Usually the ads went live before anyone understood the customer.
The budget melts, no leads
Money is charged every day, and the phone and the form are silent. Where exactly it goes is unclear.
Half of it goes to bots
Up to 40–60% of traffic in Yandex Direct can be bots and click fraud. You pay for visits that never really happened.
Leads, but no sales
Inquiries trickle in, but from the wrong regions, random queries, people who "just wanted to ask". Your sales team is annoyed. So are you.
Flying blind
Broad keywords with no negatives, no Yandex Metrica goals, decisions by gut feeling. What works and what burns money is invisible.
None of this is fixed by "adjusting the bids". It's fixed by a system.
Showing the ad is the last step, not the first
Most people go straight to the account: collect keywords, write a few ads, launch. Then they waste the budget, because they're sending traffic to a weak offer and an unfinished landing page. I go in the opposite order.
The customer first
Who buys and why, what stress they're relieving, what state they're in: a hedonist, an aesthete, an expert or a conservative. Each has their own language and their own trigger.
Then the offer and the landing page
What you promise, how you promise it, and whether it survives the trip to your page. If the page doesn't sell, the ads pour money into a hole, no matter how you tune the bids.
Only then the account
Yandex Direct is a delivery tool: the right message to the right person. It amplifies what already works. It doesn't repair what's broken.
That's why I'm not an "ad setup guy". I answer for turning ad spend into inquiries and sales, not for a campaign being "active".
The work, step by step
The full route from analytics to payback. Not everyone needs every step. Which ones you need, we decide on the review.
Analytics and goals
I install and check Yandex Metrica, set up goals and events, so from day one we know what counts as a result.
Keywords by intent
I collect queries by the intent to buy, not by volume. Written in Russian the way Russians actually search, not translated from English. Negative keywords cut out the casual browsers you'd otherwise pay for.
Campaign structure
Search, the Yandex Advertising Network and retargeting, laid out around your funnel and goal, not "everything in one pile".
Ads per segment
Copy written for different customer states: what hooks an expert does nothing for a hedonist. One meaning, different wording.
Protection from waste
I cut bots and fraud, set regions properly, clean junk placements in the ad network. You stop paying for empty clicks.
Bidding strategy
Chosen for your goal and budget, not "autopilot by default", and tuned to your economics per lead.
Compliance and labeling
Ads shown in Russia must carry an ad identifier and follow the language rules. I handle that so the campaign doesn't get stopped or fined.
Landing page and end-to-end analytics
I refine the offer and the page structure so a click becomes an inquiry, then bring everything down to cost per lead and payback. You see what a customer costs and what makes money.
What I answer for
Transparent advertising
You see every dollar: where it went, what it brought. No "trust me, it's working". Only numbers, reported in English.
A flow of real inquiries
Not clicks and not "traffic": messages from people who can actually buy, from your regions, on your queries.
Clear economics
You know the cost per lead and the payback, so you can calmly scale what works and switch off what doesn't.
A real result from practice: website conversion to inquiry doubled in the first month on the same ad budget. Not through "bid magic", but through the offer and the landing page.
How we can work
From a one-off look to full management, depending on the task and the budget.
Account audit
I take apart an existing account: where the budget leaks, what's going on with bots, keywords, the landing page. You get a written document with a plan, not a chat.
Turnkey launch
I build the advertising from scratch: analytics, keywords, structure, ads, waste protection, landing page. You get a working system.
Ongoing management
I run the advertising as a strategist: optimization, placement cleaning, tests, a report on numbers and cost per lead. For those who need results over the long run.
I'll name a price range after the review; I don't quote blind. I've worked on everything from zero-budget projects to campaigns above $10,000 a month.
Why trust your Yandex advertising to me
Yandex Ads doesn't work alone
Paid traffic is part of a system. Here's what strengthens its result.
Yandex SEO
Ads bring inquiries now; SEO brings traffic that eventually works without a monthly budget. Together, cheaper acquisition.
Learn more →VK and Telegram Ads
Search catches demand that already exists. Social ads create new demand and warm up a cold audience.
Learn more →Advertising in Russia: the guide
Platforms, 2026 rules, first steps for a foreign company.
Read →Common questions about Yandex Ads
What is Yandex Direct, and is it the same as Yandex Ads?
Yes. Yandex Direct is the advertising platform behind Yandex, the search engine that handles roughly seven out of ten searches in Russia. Internationally it's often called Yandex Ads. It covers search ads, the Yandex Advertising Network (banner and native placements on partner sites and apps) and retargeting. Since Google Ads no longer serves advertisers targeting Russia, it's the main paid search channel in the country.
How much budget do I need?
It depends on the niche, the region and the competition. There's no universal number. On the review I'll estimate a sensible minimum for your task, enough for a test to produce conclusions rather than "spent it and learned nothing". I won't name a sum blind.
How soon will the first inquiries come?
Usually within the first days after launch. But the first inquiries aren't the point. The point is reaching a stable, profitable cost per lead, and that more often takes the first month. I'll be more precise once I've seen the project.
Can you work with our existing account, or only from scratch?
Both. If you have an account, I start with an audit: it's often cheaper to fix than to rebuild. If you don't, I build it from scratch. Which is better in your case, I'll tell you on the review.
Do the ads have to be in Russian?
Yes, if you want them to work. Most Russian users search and read in Russian, and the law requires consumer-facing advertising in Russia to be in Russian. I write the keywords and the ad copy myself, as a native speaker, and report to you in English.
What about the ad labeling rules?
Online ads shown to users in Russia must carry a registered identifier and be reported to the state registry. This applies to foreign advertisers too. It's part of the setup, and it's why I don't recommend running Yandex from abroad with a translated copy of your Google campaign.
Don't burn the budget blind. Start with a review.
In 30–40 minutes I'll look at your advertising (or your task, if there's no advertising yet) and show where the budget leaks and where to start so Yandex brings inquiries. Honestly, even if we never work together.