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3 Strategies for Reaching a Global Market

By Charles Mburugu on 24 May 2011 @ 7:05 PM.

Tags: targeting your market, web marketing, web strategies.

The internet has rendered country borders irrelevant. With the current globalisation in web marketing, you can reach any part of the world, attract visitors to your site and influence them to respond. The following are some strategies that can help you cash in on business opportunities overseas.

1. Write content in the customers' language

It is obvious that you will be more successful in attracting customers if you communicate in their own language. However, this involves more than just translating your content. Each country has a unique culture which responds to sites differently. Some countries even have micro-cultures within them.

Avoid automated translation tools. The internet is filled with incomprehensible results from such tools. For best results, find a native speaker that can help you review your translation to ensure it makes sense within that culture. You could also get a second review from a native who speaks the language and also understands search engine optimisation.

For keyword research, you could start with Google's keyword tool. However, you might miss some vital local jargon. For instance, in Germany, a cell phone is referred to as a 'mobile' or a 'mobilefon', while some use the term 'handy'. Hence, if you only optimize for the search term 'cell phone', you will miss out on many queries. A native speaker who is familiar with the culture can help you identify local terms that you may not be aware of.

2. Use country specific domains

For each country you wish to reach, use individual country extensions in the URLAn acronym for 'uniform resource locator'.

Learn more about URL, such as .br for Brazil or .ke for Kenya. You could also use directory extensions or sub-domains to indicate the country being targeted. Search engines see the country domain first. This determines which websites are ranked in country searches.

Locally sourced links which are in the local language can also offer guidance for search engines. Native speakers can help in identifying linking opportunities, as well as making personal and individual link requests.

3. Identify the top search engine in each market you target

Google is the leading search engine in many places. Though it is the most popular in the United States and Europe, there are other markets where local search engines are more popular. In Russia, Yandex is the top search engine. In China, it's Baidu. In Taiwan and Japan, Yahoo! is the dominant search engine. In South Korea, local search engine Naver boasts a larger market share than Google.

Taking your web marketing to a global level will offer you a greater opportunity for business success. To increase your chances of success, the following tips can be useful:

Create individual websites for different countries
Find a native speaker who can review your content to ensure that it fits the targeted culture
Find out which local terms are used for popular items. This will help you reach a wider market.
Use country specific domains and local links. This will help search engines identify which country you are targeting.
Target the top search engine in every market.

About the Author

Charles Mburugu is a professional content developer and an entrepreneur. He often writes about real estate, finance, business start-ups and internet marketing. In the past few weeks he has been writing for blogs where you can get the latest Bluehost promotional coupon and Web.com promotional coupon.