10 principles for successful international web presence | susanne dirks - evorsprung consulting

10 principles for successful international web presenceSUSANNE DIRKS

E-VORSPRUNG CONSULTING


Susanne Dirks MSc BSc

German living in Ireland

Academic background:◦ Translation / Localisation

◦ IT / Artificial Intelligence

◦ E-Marketing / Web Technologies

◦ International SEO

◦ Business Development and Innovation

Experience:◦ 15+ years as in MNC environment in various international IT

consulting, business development and management roles

◦ Recent years, working with Irish SMEs, helping them develop and implement strategies for international markets

Contact data:◦ [email protected], Ph. 086-2375131


mailto:[email protected]

e-Vorsprung Consulting

Helping Irish SMEs fully leverage the Internet for sales and marketing with focus on export markets including:

International (e-)marketing strategy

Export market research

Export market content planning and development

Web presence localization, translation, trans-creation

International e-marketing and international SEO

Helping Irish SMEs leverage the Internet to reach, enter, and grow in export markets

www.evorsprung.com


Why build international web presence ? INTERNATIONAL E-MARKETING IS NOT WHAT YOU MAY THINK IT IS


1. Market opportunityGLOBAL INTERNET POPULATION

Global internet population

E-COMMERCE SALES IN SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Ireland France UK Germany Russia Spain

eCommerce Sales in Bn Euro (2015)

eCommerce Sales in Bn Euro


Source: internetlivestats, 2013Source: ecommerce-Europe.eu

2. Market visibility

93.70%

2.80%

3.50%

6.30%

Example: www.irish-sme.ie

Ireland

UK&US


Typical non-Irish Market share of Ireland-only SME website

93.70%

2.80%

3.50%

6.30%

Example: www.irish-sme.ie

Ireland

UK&US

3. Market choice


10 principles for successful international web presence


StrategyBusiness

EnvironmentCompetitors Culture

Technology Content Language Optimisation

SupportSpecial

challenges

1. Start with INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY

1. Countries

2. Products / services

3. Target audience/s

4. Channels

5. Differentiators and USP


WHERE WHAT WHO WHY WHEN HOW

2. Prepare for a different micro and macro

business environment


Macro environment

Micro environment

Internal

Company

• Economy• Demographics• Cultural forces• Social factors

• Legal structure• Political structures

• Technology

• Suppliers• Distributors• Competitors• Customers

Beware: Different business environment!

Example: Google Global Market Finder for ‘Tractors’ opportunity in Europe (extract):

Example: Different demand (online)

3. Embrace your new competitors


Get to know your new competitors

Learn from your new competitors

Different organic SEO competitors“Journalism course”

Ireland UK


Different Google Adwords competitors:“Journalism course”Ireland UK


Learn from your new competitorsTYPICAL AREAS TO EXAMINE

Weaknesses and strengths of competitor

Specific business aspects, e.g.◦ Terms and conditions

◦ Pricing

◦ Value proposition / USP

Specific web presence aspects, e.g. ◦ Keywords

◦ Content strategy

◦ E-marketing tactics

◦ Social media strategy

◦ Customer support

◦ Best practice

EXAMPLE: BENCHMARKING AGAINST NEW COMPETITORS


COMPETITORS

4. Tune into local culture

CULTURE INFLUENCES HOW ALL OF ITS MEMBERS:

Perceive

Think

Value

Act

E-MARKETING AIMS AT GETTING PEOPLES’:

A ttention

I nterest

D esire

A ction


“The web is not a culturally

neutral medium … a website has to be

designed for a targetted customer segment

… Local adaptation should be based on a

complete understanding of

a customer group’s culture …”

Hofstede’s 6 cultural dimensions:

Power distance

Individualism

Masculinity/femininity

Uncertainty avoidance

Long-term orientation

Indulgence


Can and must be addressed via:

Web design, content, language,

features/functionality

Cultural dimensions as a guide

Ireland in comparison…

KEY PRINCIPLES

Minimal ambiguity

Clear navigation

Structured information

Predictable user journey

No pop-ups

No non-essential info

Explicit language

Clear images

EXAMPLE:

Example Russia: Website design addressing uncertainty avoidance


Example: Concepts, values, interests vary


What is a ‘family’ ?

Average marriage age

Standards and conventions: When in Rome …WEBSITE FUNCTIONALITY

Measurements

Currency

Symbols and icons

Formats for specific text items

Word and text length

WEBSITE MARKETING

Overall look and feel

Layout and navigation

Colours

Pictures

Content

Concepts

Bank Holidays


Example Facebook: Consistent and modular design accommodating different language requirements

FACEBOOK, ITALY FACEBOOK, ISRAEL


Example Alibaba: Adapting colours and overall design to cultural preferences

ALIBABA.CN ALIBABA.COM


Example Nivea: Using pictures that the target market audience can identify with

Example Starbucks: Using pictures of feature products that are most popular in the market


Turkey

Mexico

Korea

India

Ireland

All pictures should be checked for suitability for their new market


Draft for German market

Final version for German market

6. Be tech-savvy

Different hardware / IT infrastructure

Different software platforms

Different usage patterns

Different rules


Different technology infrastructureAVERAGE MOBILE CONNECTION SPEEDS MOBILE SHARE OF WEB TRAFFIC


Source: Statcounter, Q1/16 / wearesocial.com


Google is not Number ONE everywhere

Differences in software platform preferences

SEO / SEM implications especially for:- China- Hong Kong- Russia- South Korea- United States

Example: Germany Example: China


Different countries, different social networks

Example: Russia

6. Provide locally relevant content

Articulates your value proposition in …

Differentiates you from competitors in …

Meets the content needs of …

Uses standards and conventions in …

Uses content formats preferred by …

Uses design, colours, graphics used in…

Builds trust with local users in…

Speaks the ‘language’ of …


Your Target Market


Germany

Ireland

Target market focus:Locally relevant content for local appeal

Example: Aldi approach to localised web presence


Aldi Süd Germany value proposition: Quality products, cheap price guaranteed


Aldi Nord Germany value proposition:Top quality food at consistently low price


Aldi Austria value proposition:Cheap style with a conscience


Aldi France value proposition:Low cost, quick tasty food for singles


Aldi UK value proposition:Fresh food with a British twist


Aldi Ireland value proposition:Buy Irish quality and support Ireland


7. Speak the right language

Search

Read

Listen

Evaluate

Order

Ask

questions

Write

reviews


Only ¼ of Internet users are English

speakers

Question asked:

“Do you use a language other than

your own to read/watch content

on the Internet ?”

Considerable country variances !


English language proficiency is lower than you think: No translation, less reach

Top 25 global websites (2015) support an average of 30 languages!

Google Translate is not the solution

Food for Thought:1.Who had the most

globalised website in 2015 ?2.Did they use Google

Translate ?

Do it right: Translation quality is a reflection of your attitude to quality and customer service


A big part of translation is planning and prioritising


Decideat start

Scope

Messages

Style

Formats

Ensure

always

Quality & consistency

Keyword focus

Fresh content

Standards & conventions

Avoid

here

Thinkcarefully

Keywords

Taglines

Ads

CTAs

Non-text content

Google Translate & Co

Translator wannabes

Mixed-language approaches

Creating valid,

fresh,

persuasive,

relevant quality

content for local

users and search

engines

Don’t forget to ‘translate’ English content


Website text and SEO text needs to reflect the ‘language’ used by your target market

◦ Official language

◦ National ‘dialect’

◦ Words

◦ Spelling

◦ Usage patterns

Search:

UK: 77%, US: 14%Search: UK: 23%, US: 86%

8. Make your website easy to find

• Give local signals for search engines

• Optimise your website for local search engine/s

• Select best keywords for search engine marketing: SEO and PPC

• Be seen in the ‘right places’ online

• Decide, where and how to ‘socialise’


Local signals for search engines

Domain URL and domain strategy

Webmaster Tool settings

Sitemaps and hreflang tag

Server Location

Website – content and metadata language

Currency and address formats

Inbound links


Don’t confuse Google with your domain strategyCLIENT EXAMPLES

Client example 1: Target markets: 4 Domain names: 2 Generic top-level domains: 2 Country code top-level domains: 5 Country subfolder: 1

Client example 2: Target markets: 3 Domain names: 2 Generic top-level domains: 1 Country-code top-level domains: 2 Country sub-folders: 2

DOMAIN STRATEGY

Domain name Meaningful

Works internationally

Available internationally (if ccTLD approach)

Approach: Consistency is key: Country-code OR subfolders

Decision criteria:

International strategy – countries

Domain name availability

Resources for SEO

Domain history of company


0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

health shoes (IRL)

gesunde schuhe

bequeme schuhe

extra breite schuhe

weite schuhe

Monthly search volume


0! Search volume for the Google Translate term

Search terms are thinking patterns that often DO NOT translate one-to-oneExample: Selling “wide fitting shoes” in Germany

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Ackerschnacker

Händy

Natel

Handy

Mobiltelefon


Example: “Mobile Phone” in German speaking markets

Same language does NOT guarantee same search pattern

Official translation

Colloquial term

Local Swiss term

Be ready for users’ own approaches to deal with language issuesAccents and dropped accents

Umlauts

Compounds


Competitive differentiation of keyword varies between markets


Keyword Irish search result(google.ie)

German search result (google.de)

butterPage 1 (Place 5) Page 5 *

* Organic search results only, Google ads shows earlier

** First product in the listing

Example: Kerrygold in the search engine results

9. Plan for the long haul


74.7 % say availability of after-sales support in own language influences their buying decision

Web presence in export markets requires time, budget, resources Initially – localisation, on-page SEO, e-marketing for launch

On an ongoing basis – off-page SEO and other e-marketing tactics

A website is for life, not just for Christmas Fresh content

Internet is a 2-way channel Enabling and answering incoming queries

10. Face up to special challenges


Provide answers and options for queriesRich and localised information on website, e.g.Sitemap

FAQs

Brochures

Downloads

Product selector/configurator

Delivery tracking option

Product availability information

Options for getting answering specific questionsChoice of contact options

Interactive and instant contact options


Building trust: BasicsContact data

◦ Address, phone number, email, fax etc.

Provide information about company◦ About us

◦ History

◦ People

◦ Achievements

Provide locally expected or legally mandated information

◦ E.g. Germany: Impressum


Building localised trust: AdvancedEdelmann Trust Barometer

2014


L

O

C

A

L

10 principles for international web presence at a glance

1. Start with international strategy

2. Prepare for a different business environment

3. Embrace your competitors

4. Tune into local culture

5. Be tech-savvy

6. Provide locally relevant content

7. Speak the right language

8. Make your website easy to find

9. Plan for the long haul

10. Face up to special challenges



2. e-Marketing localisation

1. Website localisation

Successful web presence

in export market

International web presence involves addressing two main requirements: Local impact & local visibility

Next step, the ‘proper way’: Internationalisation project

Phase1

• Strategy review & development of international web presence strategy

Phase2

• International web presence, optimisation & localisationplanning

Phase3

• International web presence implementation

Phase4

• Internet marketing strategy and approach for export markets

Phase5

• e-marketing implementation, incl. ongoing refinement and skills transfer

Launch of SEO-optimisedexport website/s based on strategy developed

International e-marketing

Strategic web presence internationalisation

Alternative next steps: Testing the waters

International strategy and market research/prioritisation

(Foreign market) Website audit

Mini website for foreign markets

Adwords campaign/s for foreign market/s

Localised approach using external platforms

Local presence on Social Media

Joint distributor e-marketing initiatives



Susanne Dirks

e-Vorsprung Consulting

www.evorsprung.com

[email protected]

Ph. 086-2375131

Thank You

http://www.evorsprung.com

mailto:[email protected]