Link building is subject to the same linguistic, cultural and localisation challenges as any other aspect of international marketing. Links do not necessarily carry the same value across every market, and a tactic that works well in one country might [...]]]> Link building is subject to the same linguistic, cultural and localisation challenges as any other aspect of international marketing. Links do not necessarily carry the same value across every market, and a tactic that works well in one country might yield poor results in another.

The importance of links, however, is the same everywhere and therefore getting your global link building strategy right is an essential element of any international SEO project. Bastian Grimm will be speaking on international link building at the International Search Summit @ SMX Munich next month, and here he gives an insight into the topic and what delegates can expect in Munich.

What do you see as the major challenges for organisations targeting a multilingual audience?

“You have to get to know them; all of them – individually!” So what does it mean? Having done quite a bit of work within international companies I’d say the biggest issue is, to find out what actually works on a per-market basis. And to do so you really need to understand your audience which, obviously, differs for each country – and language. That being said, I think a successful multilingual SEO campaign needs a heavy preparation. So if you’re not simply replicating your strategy from another country (which you clearly should not do without further validation!) you have to accept that it’ll just take time, money, market-specific knowledge and a lot of work to successfully conquer another country or language.

What area of search do you see as most important for international marketers in 2012?

Usually companies operating in international environments are big brands – and updating / changing their websites does usually take quite a bit of time (not days, but months and sometimes even worse). Since Google continues pushing in new stuff like the hreflang=X property and because I expect them to continue doing so, I’d say one of the really important tasks for international marketers is going to be testing and validating new stuff before it actually goes live; which means you’d have to have multiple domains in multiple languages just for testing. This is quite a bit of work and might cause some headaches, I’d guess.

What are the biggest pitfalls to consider when developing a global link building strategy? Is it possible to have a global link strategy, when each market needs a localised approach?

It’s still the same problem as it used to be for years now: Markets do need their localised approaches; however this will cause problems with administration, handling all those different agencies and link-builders, etc. – it’s an administrative pain

And very generally speaking one needs to consider that almost everything is different on a per-country basis. Link profiles are very, very different. Looking – for example – at the amount of links, difference in deep- / start-page link ratios, types of TLDs linking-in, anchor-text distribution, geo-distribution in terms of IPs linking in, etc. – it all just differs. And that simply means you have to do a competitive analysis for each market you’re planning to build links for and  need to consider the industry as well.

What will delegates gain from your session at ISS?

I’ll try to come up with a cheat-sheet on what to actually consider when you start doing link-building in multiple markets. So the idea is to provide some kind of “what’s really important, where do I get it and what do I need to do with it?” kind of approach based on real-world data from various countries, which – I think – will be quite interesting.

And finally, why attend the International Search Summit?

That’s an easy one! There is only one truly international-dedicated conference – ISS. That being said I do like the broad range of topics but still all being focused on international search. So if you’re in international search marketing, be sure not to miss it! See you in Munich.

International Search Summit Munich will take place on Thursday 29th March, as part of SMX Munich. Full agenda and registration information is available on the website. All sessions at ISS are in English.

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International SEO will be a key topic at the upcoming International Search Summit on 24th November, where delegates will be guided through the challenges of marketing to a global audience by  international marketing specialists who have been there, done [...]]]> International SEO will be a key topic at the upcoming International Search Summit on 24th November, where delegates will be guided through the challenges of marketing to a global audience by  international marketing specialists who have been there, done it – and survived!

Annabel Hodges, aka @searchpanda, will be speaking on the international SEO panel, where she and her OMD colleague Martin MacDonald, will share strategies, tips and techniques for successfully optimising multilingual websites. We chatted to Annabel ahead of the Summit.

What are the common mistakes you see organisations making in global search campaigns? How can they be avoided?
The most common mistakes are I think still the simplest and most obvious. E.g. assuming that because two countries speak the same language, they must be similar in culture. France and French Quebec are worlds apart! Despite this, people continue to treat countries of the same language in a similar manner.  How to avoid this? Well I’m repeating myself in another of your questions here but I genuinely do think it still boils down to the most simply (yet often ignored) steps of international search. Understanding your audience. Do the research, learn the culture, get experts on board.

How can organisations achieve scale in international SEO to improve cost and time efficiency?
Working for a company like OMD, our life is made very easy as there are so many international colleagues in so many countries available to reach out to. I would say that one new country-targeted site done well is better than 100 international sites rolled out with no strategy. Both from a branding perspective and an ROI one. Poorly translated sites are far less likely to convert!

Don’t do everything yourself, look for commercial partners that understand your target market. This doesn’t have to be a huge investment or an entire company, even having one local member of staff can have huge impact. It may seem like a waste of money but the benefits should outweigh the cost.

What role, if any, do you think social plays in international seo?
I think social is big now and will be huge for the foreseeable future . Facebook has taken over the world but that’s not to say that other smaller social sites like Ameba in Japan or Tuenti in Spain should be forgotten.
More importantly, the world’s population is growing increasingly used to being social. No matter their choice of platform – ideas like infographics and creating digital content in general can be easily (and cheaply) used in a  global manner. Much more so than traditional media.

What is the biggest challenge facing international search marketers in 2011?
I don’t think the biggest challenges for international search are really any different to those faced by SEOs in the English language. Crucial over the next few months will be adapting to changes on the search landscape – from recent changes to GA tracking to increasingly frequent and impactful algorithmic changes such as Panda. It’s not the language that is important here, it is the wider strategy and understanding.

If you could give marketers working on global campaigns just one tip, what would it be?
It’s been said a thousand times before but: “Understand your audience”!
I’ve seen and heard too many stories of companies pushing forward into new counties without stopping to consider cultural/language differences or even simply tax/finance rules – and being hit hard.

Finally, why attend the International Search Summit?
ISS allows marketers from around the world to indulge in their more niche search concerns . Although the wider strategies are applicable to all, I think it is both helpful and reassuring to be able to hear and discuss specifics that relate to building up an international business. Personally I’ve always found real case studies to be really interesting and inspiring, particularly when dealing with international expansion and succeeding in search.

Find out more about the International Search Summit and Register at the best rates

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Internet users prefer sharing content than creating it, is a key message to come out of the latest GlobalWebIndex report, which surveys web users in 27 markets around the world.

When asked “Which online activities have you done in the [...]]]> Internet users prefer sharing content than creating it, is a key message to come out of the latest GlobalWebIndex report, which surveys web users in 27 markets around the world.

When asked “Which online activities have you done in the past month”, almost 70% of respondents had watched an online video clip, 50% had managed a social network profile
and 35% had commented on a story, yet only 25% had written a blog post and less than 20% had written an article.

The growth of social media platforms has made it so easy to share and distribute content, which presents huge opportunities for those creating interesting, compelling and attractive content. Create good content and there will be plenty of people willing to share it

Other data in the report supports the importance of social sharing, with social networking growing across all global regions, although significant growth is now being driven by emerging markets rather than mature ones. Microblogging is also growing but, surprisingly it is not the advanced web markets like the USA and EU5 countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain & Italy) that are driving this growth, rather the BRIC markets, where 40% of users have been active on a microblogging site.

In contrast, blog engagement is either stagnating or declining across all markets, however the highest levels of engagement are also by users in the BRIC markets.

Perhaps most interesting to note, is the decline in contributions and interactions on Facebook, despite the social network continuing to grow its global user base. From sharing photos to installing an app to joining a group, there has been a global drop in the number of users active on the site and its different functions, with the most significant drop coming amongst young, college-educated users in the US, who were the early adopters of the network.

Brett Petersen, Senior Strategy Consultant at Trendstream, which produces the GlobalWebIndex, will be speaking at the International Search Summit @ SMX East in New York, on Monday 12th September where he will be sharing many more insights into global web usage and behavior.

Here, Brett answers a few questions about the Global Web Index data and its value to international marketers

What exactly is GlobalWebIndex?

The GlobalWebIndex is the world’s most in-depth, continuous research study into online consumer behaviour. Since 2009, the GlobalWebIndex has surveyed nearly 100,000 internet users across 27 different countries. The data is then provided in an intuitive online tool, as opposed to reports, to allow marketers and brands to customise the data to their needs by building their specific target audiences and analysing their online and social media behaviour.

There are many great sources of data and trends online, what is different and valuable about the GlobalWebIndex reports?

The GlobalWebIndex is unique in the fact that it is the only research study to survey online and social media behaviour across all types of internet capable devices within a single survey. Other research providers often survey mobile, PC, and tablet separately, but researchers cannot cross compare that data because the information is coming from different respondents that are surveyed using different methodologies. The GlobalWebIndex makes these comparisons possible, allowing marketers and researchers to get a much more accurate picture of the online environment. The fact that the exact same survey is asked in 27 markets also makes the data comparable across all GWI markets.

How can and should marketers use the data to improve their global web activity?

Having a detailed understanding of what your target audience is doing online is critical to developing not just a brand’s digital marketing strategy but determining the overall marketing mix to ensure that resources are allocated in the most efficient way possible. The GlobalWebIndex, however, goes beyond illustrating what consumers are doing online to also explain their motivations for doing (or not-doing) specific online activities. It also give brands a chance to add their specific brand to the survey to track how their customers behave online and determine the best ways to engage them and build brand advocates.

What is the most interesting or surprising trend you’ve seen over the past few years?

I think there are two overarching trends that occurring at the moment that are challenging how we’ve traditionally viewed the internet. The first is the localization of the internet. Instead of becoming a global network that drives convergence in online consumer behaviour and culture, the global internet is more a series of local internet, each with its own culture and norms.

The second is the move towards Post-PC era. This is a view that grown out of our research but is often challenged by others on the grounds that PC sales still outweigh mobile devices sales etc. While that is definitely true, the key question for us is where are consumers most likely to be engaged online because higher engagement results in better marketing effectiveness for our brands. Our research indicates a continuing shift towards higher online activity via mobile devices thanks to high-value packaged internet services that are available in real-time, no matter where they are.

Which global markets do you think marketers should be investing in now?

The markets to invest in at the moment depend on the scope of your campaign and brand strategy. Advertising in many newly industrialised and emerging markets is still underdeveloped and there is significant scope for marketing investment in these markets as their middle classes become richer. The bigger emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Russia, and India have escaped the worst of the ongoing economic downturn and consumer spending in these countries must rise to compensate for reduced demand from Western markets in the future. This is not to say that marketers should not devote significant time to Europe and North America because their consumer markets are massive and advertising will be more critical than ever as household budgets are squeezed.

Online marketing in emerging markets is particularly important because they do not have the legacy of developed media markets that exist in Europe and North America. Emerging market consumers are going online for everything in their everyday lives from entertainment to personal well-being, and this presents great opportunities for marketers to begin the long process of brand building in these markets.

Why attend the International Search Summit?

The International Search Summit is a vital resource for search marketers because , as GWI research indicates, the results from a search engine are still some of the most effective purchase drivers out of all advertising communications methods, not just online. Furthermore, the localisation of the internet demands that every online and search advertising campaign be tailored to specific local markets. The International Search Summit gathers the world’s most knowledgeable online and search marketing experts to deliver insights that allow agencies and brands to achieve country tailored campaigns as part of a broader international brand strategy.

Tickets are still available for the International Search Summit @ SMX East. Other speakers include Preston Carey from Yandex,  Jae Choi of NHN USA (Naver), Rishab Aiyer Ghosh from Topsy and WebCertain’s Andy Atkins-Krüger.

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South Korea has long been one of the most advanced web markets, with high internet penetration and fast connectivity.  It is also one of the few markets where Google has failed to make an impact, with local search engine Naver [...]]]> South Korea has long been one of the most advanced web markets, with high internet penetration and fast connectivity.  It is also one of the few markets where Google has failed to make an impact, with local search engine Naver holding over 72% market share.

Jae Choi, CEO at NHN USA, a branch of NHN, the company which owns and developed Naver will be speaking at the International Search Summit New York on 12th September, offering delegates a unique insight into the Korean market.

In advance of the Summit, we spoke to Kyle Choi , SEM Manager at NHN USA, to find out some more about the search engine and the opportunities available to marketers targeting a Korean audience.

Can you share the bit of background to Naver?
Naver was created by six former Samsung SDS search engine developers and the company was first established as ‘Naver Com’ in 1999, later merging with ‘Hangame’ to become the company it is today. NHN Corporation, which operates both Naver and Hangame, currently has 3,500 employees in our headquarters alone. In 2008, NHN become the first Korean internet company to reach one trillion KRW in sales ($900 million +) and has an annual growth rate of 10 to 20%. Naver has also recently solidified our leading position in the mobile search market.

Like Yandex & Baidu, Naver has developed a search engine specifically for its local market. What has made it so successful there?
Naver was able to achieve success in Korea because it provides search results that have been optimized for Korean users. ‘Comprehensive Search’ Naver’s basic search algorithm, does more than list search results; it pulls together multiple categories of results on one page which are optimized for the user. Naver invests a lot of attention into search modeling, and has invested time in developing ‘collection ranking’ and ‘multi-ranking’, to provide individual and relevant search experiences.  Naver displays daily trends on the top of the page in order to offer information that most accurately meets the users’ search needs.

What are the key characteristics of the Korean search market? What makes it different from other markets?
The Korean search market suffered from a shortage of web documents written in the Korean language. Since search quality depended on the quantity of web documents, securing Korean web documents was vital. This led to the development of UGCs as well as Knowledge Search. Naver’s Knowledge iN, which opened a new chapter in the history of Korea’s search market because not only did Naver’s Knowledge iN Service coin the term “knowledge search”, it created the knowledge search culture and documented knowledge that was locked inside the human mind. Knowledge Search is Naver’s equivalent to Yahoo Answers, which was actually developed based on Naver’s Knowledge iN, after Yahoo! engineers visited the search engine to benchmark their service.

Is knowledge of the Korean language required in order to advertise on Naver? What options are open to non-Korean speaking marketers?
Advertising in Korean language with understanding of Korean culture can bring the most efficient results. However, advertisers don’t need to speak Korean. NHN USA offers not only translation for keywords, titles and descriptions, but also localization consultancy to provide recommendations for localizing for the Korean market and all reports can be delivered in English.

Does Naver have any plans to expand into international markets?
Naver is different from Google because Naver aims at offering services that has been optimized for the region by providing localized search services. Naver launched a search service in Japan, named Naver Japan, which offers new services that aren’t available in Korea’s Naver, such as “Matome”, which was designed to reflect the Japanese culture, where people hold intense discussions while collecting material about a certain subject. NHN plans to expand its search service to regions that have cultural similarities, allowing us to demonstrate our expertise in providing localized search services.

However, as games are not as influenced by the market’s culture in the same way that search is, NHN plans to enter the global market with our game business and has set detailed plans to embark into the European market.

If you had just one tip for organisations targeting a Korean audience, what would it be?
Korean users are used to getting customized search services, so rather than providing a common globalized service, try to appeal to the Korean users by offering a more unique, localized service. It’s difficult to give one tip on how to target a Korean audience, since a country’s culture cannot be easily defined on paper.

Finally, why attend the International Search Summit?
ISS is very unique opportunity to meet professionals in the international search field and to share information about the global search market. For Naver, it is a great opportunity to introduce the search engine and the Korean market to a new audience.

Early Bird Rates for the International Search Summit will expire on Saturday August 2oth.  Other speakers include Yandex, Topsy, Autodesk and WebCertain.

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There were many great sessions and speakers at the International Search Summit Seattle earlier this month, but the standout speaker for many of the delegates was Bill Hunt, and he was nominated the Medallion Speaker on the day. [...]]]> There were many great sessions and speakers at the International Search Summit Seattle earlier this month, but the standout speaker for many of the delegates was Bill Hunt, and he was nominated the Medallion Speaker on the day. And not for the first time, as he also received the accolade at International Search Summit in San Jose earlier in the year.

Throughout his search marketing career Bill has worked with a vast range of leading global brands and understands the challenges and processes involved in achieving streamlined and efficient global campaigns better than most.

In Seattle, Bill’s session “Operationalizing Global Search” looked at how organisations can use their existing content and data more effectively to dramatically improve performance and lower costs.  Following the show, Bill answered a few questions to share some of his key tips.

Bill, What are the most common mistakes you see organisations making when it comes to managing global search activity?

The big mistakes I commonly see are:

1. Thinking that search is the same anywhere in the world.  They will often mandate change globally that won’t work or where there are not resources in the local markets to facilitate it.  This leads to a lack of communication and collaboration allowing countries to work on different paths but with the same content, which can lead to problems.
2.  Not integrating SEO best practices at the infrastructure level. They use Content Management System (CMS) templates but don’t look at the global implications.   Andy always reminds people about word length and direction and people are aware of it but they don’t apply that to search.  They don’t apply the same business rules to ensure key places are populated with the most popular, linguistically correct term.
3.  Not sharing their PPC keywords and performance trends.

How can localization processes be streamlined in order to utilize valuable content effectively?

Companies should map their localization process and find the intersections with search.  In my presentation I gave an example of a company that compared its German speaking markets.  They looked for words that were the same across all of them.  Of their top 20 keywords, 12 were the same.  They were able to share that content, keyword research and prioritized that content and pages to be edited since they would all benefit.  Just sharing the audit reports across markets cut down on costs allowing them to focus on the 8 keywords that were different.  This approach saved them $25k in potentially redundant localization costs alone.

In your session at ISS, you talked about the importance of centralized keyword management in global search campaigns. How can search teams use keyword data to maximize performance?

This is growing as an approach.  First it gives corporate a lens into the performance of the country and business unit level where they have not typically had it before.  We are not necessarily talking budget control or some power shift but the organization of data.   While all the words should be localized and not translated or used only in English, these can be used to inspire words not considered in the local language.  Also, trending words in one market might be a insight for another.   For example, in Japan we saw searches related to a new application of a product.  We started adding wider set of words to the campaign in Japan.  We then added them to other markets and this resulted in significant sales in multiple other markets.  We may not have seen this trend had we not shared data.

In addition, the global manager can see opportunities and budget needs by understanding local share of voice and opportunity, that may lead to additional budget and better alignment with global and regional activities.

When operating in multiple markets using local teams/agencies, what steps can organizations take to ensure consistency across all markets? And how can they benchmark performance?

Great question and it follows your first question.  I recommend a center of excellence.  This is where you standardize many of these issues and share the knowledge.

Communication and Guidelines – this is critical – the agency needs to follow similar process around the world.   Too many times companies use multiple agencies that don’t share templates or follow guidelines that are in place because either they don’t care or they are unaware of them.
Web and SEO Standards should be uniform and communicated globally.

As far as benchmarking – always start with a current state analysis.   The usual suspects can and should be evaluated:

1. Share of traffic from paid and organic (this is a great global benchmark to average against all countries)
2. Page Inclusion – too many times the problems start with no or few pages indexed
3. Click and Conversion metrics – paid and organic – this is a great diagnostic tool

While I like ranking reports for diagnostics they are a challenge in local markets if not generated there, since they won’t be accurate.  KPI’s and metrics should be the same for every market and use the same template.

Bill will be speaking at the next International Search Summit, at SMX East in New York on September 12th, where he’ll be on course for a hat trick of Medallion Awards.

The agenda for International Search Summit New York has just been released and other speakers include Preston Carey from Yandex, Maura Ginty from Autodesk and WebCertain’s Andy Atkins-Krüger. Check out the full agenda, and register at the Super Early Bird price, available until July 16th.

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Microsoft Advertising is a brand that takes customer engagement seriously and values building relationships with its audience. However,  as a global brand this engagement needs to be tailored to each market and each audience – no mean feat!

Jenny Leahy, [...]]]> Microsoft Advertising is a brand that takes customer engagement seriously and values building relationships with its audience. However,  as a global brand this engagement needs to be tailored to each market and each audience – no mean feat!

Jenny Leahy, who leads the Web Marketing and Evangelism team at Microsoft Advertising, will be speaking at the International Search Summit @ SMX Advanced on June 9th, where she will share Microsoft Advertising’s experience of running multinational social media campaigns.

Here she shares a few insights into Microsoft’s successful strategy, as well as the challenges they’ve faced.

Jenny, what are the major challenges of developing a social media presence in multiple countries/languages?
The social media tools landscape is different in each country – there are some more “universal tools” but you really need to evaluate your strategy in each region and market before establishing your social channels. I find that marketers in the local markets, especially the smaller markets are often the most dynamic and creative marketers – but they are often running all of the marketing channels for the country. Social needs to go beyond the amplification of a message to the daily engagement with customers in a local language – I see the challenge in having an already over taxed marketer take on an additional channel.

How does Microsoft use social media to engage global users and build lasting relationships?
Microsoft Advertising focuses on a few social channels to drive engagement with marketers. We focus on our blog, twitter, Facebook and youtube.

What have you found to be the most successful tactics for growing a social media presence around the world?
Our event coverage in multiple regions has been our strongest tactic in growing our global audience. We use the major advertising festivals to drive traction in this area.

If you had just one tip for organisations trying to develop an international social media presence, what would it be?
Cheating…I have two:
1) Create a global framework (i.e. look and feel of social channels, structure of your handles etc.)
2) Build global, social communications cascades that focus on amplification that can be easily localized, allowing local markets more time to focus on 1:1 conversations.

And finally, why attend the International Search Summit?
Content is global, we have to learn how to build marketing campaigns and online experiences that don’t alienate individuals, but bring people together and into an experience regardless of their location.

There are still places available at the International Search Summit. Other speakers include search engines Yandex and Baidu, global brands Dell and Logitech and international search specialists Bill Hunt, Andy Atkins-Krüger and Shari Thurow.

Register now to secure your place!

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Eastern Europe, The Middle East and Africa are all regions that are rapidly developing when it comes to web use and becoming increasingly popular targets for global organisations.

We speak to Google’s Steffen Ehrhardt ahead of the [...]]]> Eastern Europe, The Middle East and Africa are all regions that are rapidly developing when it comes to web use and becoming increasingly popular targets for global organisations.

We speak to Google’s Steffen Ehrhardt ahead of the International Search Summit Munich to find out more about targeting these  emerging markets, display advertising and global search in general.

As an Emerging Market Specialist, you focus particularly on Central & Eastern Europe, The Middle East and North Africa. What are the main online trends you are seeing in these markets at the moment?

More and more people are going online but the big difference to Western Europe is that in Emerging Markets more people go online via mobile devices.  Especially in countries where there is a poor landline infrastructure mobile devices are key for online access and with all the new high-end devices a lot more people have  the opportunity to go online for the first time. So one interesting development that is happening because of this are a lot of innovations around mobile e.g. m-banking. Another interesting trend is for example the creation of content in non-English languages – Arabic is currently the fastest growing language on the web.

How do these markets differ from more developed online markets say in Western Europe? What do marketers targeting countries in these regions need to be aware of?

Generally you can say that Western European markets are a lot more developed in direct online transactions, so have also a lot more direct response online campaigns, mainly because conversion rates are easier to track.  Emerging markets often lack a standardized, trusted form of payment, clearly defined ICT regulations etc. so direct transactions are less often made online. Also competition and user  interests and behaviour can heavily vary from market to market.

You’re also part of the Google’s display team – how does display compare to other online advertising mediums in EMEA in terms of usage? Has there been an increase? Does it vary much by region/country?

Display is currently getting a lot of attention and more and more people realise the potential display advertising has. Growth rates in display are really impressive globally and in a lot of markets it is growing even faster than for example search advertising. I think advertisers are realizing the effect of having a holistic view on online advertising so aligning search with display and other online advertising activities. Display offers a lot of different solutions today like Video, Dynamic Ads or Remarketing that combined with creativity can deliver great results. Usage of display in general varies a lot from market to market e.g. in some Middle Eastern countries display is more important in the whole advertising mix than in some Western European markets.

In your opinion, how should organisations be using display as part of their international online strategy? How does it integrate with other online tools & techniques?

First of all you have to define  a clear strategy of what you want to achieve with the internationalisation of your products or services and if you have an offline business you have to make sure activities are aligned cross channel. Online definitely makes it easier to internationalise but I still see a lot of companies totally underestimating the work that is required when you want to go into other markets. You can not just copy a successful campaign, translate it and hope it will work in another countries – you need to know market specifics, what are established forms of payment, regulations that may affect your business etc. With regards to tools – there is a wide range of great tools in the market, from Google I’d like to specifically highlight: AdPlanner, Remarketing, Global Market Finder Tool, Insights for Search and of course Analytics.

If you could give one prediction for what we should expect in 2011 – either in search and/or display – what would it be?

The biggest growth in 2011 that I see is in the following areas: Mobile, Local, Social and Video & Dynamic Advertising. So my one prediction is that the combination of all these areas opens up an incredible potential for advertisers where the user will also see a lot of benefits.

Finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

There are a lot of great online events but most of them are focused on what is happening in a specific markets or in a specific region. International Search Summit is for me personally a key event you have to attend when you want to be be successful in online marketing across several markets globally, at the same time. There are a lot of roadblocks you need to be aware of – campaigns can be successful in one market but not in another one and the International Search Summit sessions will help you to minimise risks and to understand what is required to be successful in all markets.

Steffen will be speaking on the Impact of Display on Search at the International Search Summit Munich on April 4th. Also speaking at the event are Evgeny Lomize, Yandex; Cedric Chambaz, Microsoft; Florian Reisinger, BMW; Andy Atkins-Krüger, WebCertain and Thomas de Buhr, YouTube.

Tickets for the Summit, which will take place alongside SMX Munich, are still available.

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The Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is finally coming to fruition with marketers and advertisers in Europe beginning to feel the effects of the partnership in early 2010.

In advance of his session at the International Search Summit Munich on [...]]]> The Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is finally coming to fruition with marketers and advertisers in Europe beginning to feel the effects of the partnership in early 2010.

In advance of his session at the International Search Summit Munich on April 4th, Microsoft’s Cedric Chambaz, gives an insight into the development of the alliance and what it means for search marketers around the world.

Can you just give us a brief overview of what the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is?

First it is critical to understand that the Yahoo! and Microsoft partnership is, as it says on the tin, a “Search Alliance”. Not a fusion, not an acquisition… An alliance, limited to search.

As a result of the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance, Microsoft’s technology will power Yahoo!’s search and search advertising infrastructure, meaning that the search alliance covers algorithmic search (web, image and video through Bing algorithm) and search advertising. Microsoft and Yahoo! will unify their paid search marketplaces, and Microsoft’s search advertising platform, Microsoft Advertising adCenter, will be used for paid search advertising.

The search alliance however does not include any aspects of display advertising, vertical searches or Yahoo! site searches, such as queries on Flickr or Yahoo! News. In these fields, our two companies will continue to compete.

The search alliance offers brands and search agencies a new competitive alternative as the two best converting search engines consolidate their high quality audiences. Practically spoken, advertisers can now promote their business to a larger, highly converting audience of Bing and Yahoo! users, in less time and efforts. This improves productivity and budget efficiencies, especially for resource-constrained advertisers, by allowing them to manage their search campaigns at both search engines from a single platform.

What stage is the roll out at in North America? And what about Europe?

After the natural search algorithm was successfully  implemented in Yahoo!’s Search in Northern America in late-August, at end of October we completed another major milestone for the search alliance transition in the U.S. and Canada: Microsoft Advertising adCenter now powers all of the paid search advertisements on Yahoo!’s owned and operated properties and its publisher network. Advertisers operate a single account on adCenter that powers search advertising campaigns across the combined audience of Bing and Yahoo! currently reaching 164 million in the U.S. and 15 million in Canada.[1]

For Europe, we anticipate the organic search transitions for the UK, France, Ireland, Germany, Spain and Italy to begin in the first quarter of 2011, with other European markets following in mid-2011. We expect to begin the paid search transition in the UK, France and Ireland in the second quarter of 2011, with other European markets to start in late 2011 and early 2012. Our goal is to provide a quality transition experience for advertisers in Europe. If we feel that it would improve the overall experience, we may adjust the timing of the organic and paid search transitions.

Is the plan to eventually rollout in all markets? And what are the timescales for reaching Eastern Europe, and Asia?

In addition to the roll-out in Europe early 2011, we expect to start transitioning in further international markets also in early 2011 for selected markets in Asia as well as Latin America, with all global customers and partners expected to be transitioned by early 2012.

What does it mean for organisations that are currently advertising on Yahoo! and/or Bing in Europe? And how will it impact organic rankings in both search engines?

Search advertisers will need to transition their account to the Microsoft Advertising adCenter platform in order to continue showing their adverts on the Yahoo! sites and their partners. In case advertisers don’t have an adCenter account we’ll support them in creating one allowing them to reach Yahoo! traffic once the Yahoo! Search ad serving transition is completed. With a single platform with superior targeting capabilities, they will then save time and effort by managing only one global account for their search marketing campaigns across both search engines.

Once the algorithm for natural search is completed, the organic results displayed on both Yahoo! Search and Bing will be the same with the single difference that each company will continue to own and enrich its individual consumer experience. However, the current organic ranking in Yahoo’s search engine might possibly change once results are powered by Bing as the website ranking will be 100% based on how the Bing algorithm indexes and ranks the relevance of your site for a particular search query. Therefore, we recommend that webmasters ensure that their sites are properly referenced and indexed by the Bing algorithm by them time the transition will be completed. Webmasters can register their websites and sitemaps in the Bing Webmaster tool.

What about those not currently using Yahoo!/Bing – what does the alliance offer them? What benefits will it bring?

Firstly, advertisers will gain access to more highly converting customers in several markets through the combined traffic of Yahoo! Search and Bing. In the UK for instance, the combined Yahoo! Search and Bing audience is 36% more likely to buy online than the average user[2].  Additionally, the Search Alliance reaches users that advertisers won’t be able to reach elsewhere: 5 million unique users use Microsoft and Yahoo! Sites (including Yahoo! Search, Bing, and partners) that don’t use Google in the UK[3].

Secondly, the campaign setup and management will be easier and more time- and therefore cost-efficient as advertisers will have one sales force supporting them as well as a one set of campaigns and keyword structures on a single platform.

Third and primarily what we hear from advertisers: The Search Alliance offers a competitive choice in search, providing advertisers with greater value and efficiency by delivering a higher quality audience and a better conversation rate driving a greater ROI.

And finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

The International Search Summit, combined with SMX Munich, is a great opportunity for advertisers and publishers to get their head around the up and coming trends in global  search. The global deployment of the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is obviously a major evolution in the advertising industry and it is important to get a good understanding of its impact and associated opportunities for your business.

Other speakers at the International Search Summit include Steffen Ehrhardt, Google; Evgeny Lomize, Yandex; Andy Atkins-Krüger, WebCertain; Florian Reisinger, BMW and Thomas de Buhr, YouTube.

View the full agenda and register for the Summit

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Overcoming language barriers is one of the greatest challenges for any business targeting an international audience, particularly in the social space where multiple conversations are happening on multiple platforms in multiple languages all the time.

Here we talk to Jani Penttinen, [...]]]> Overcoming language barriers is one of the greatest challenges for any business targeting an international audience, particularly in the social space where multiple conversations are happening on multiple platforms in multiple languages all the time.

Here we talk to Jani Penttinen, founder of multilingual community Xiha about how he has developed a platform to facilitate multilingual communications and the role it can play in helping organisations to develop their  international visibility.

Jani will be speaking at the International Search Summit Munich on April 4th.

For those who don’t know, can you tell us a bit about Xiha?

Xiha is a three year old technology startup focused on solving issues around languages and translation and providing speakers of different languages ways to communicate with each other. We operate our own social network www.xihalife.com, and at the start of 2011 we started selling the platform as a service to other businesses under the brand PremiumFanPage. With PFP, we provide a service where a business can operate their website in a number of languages without extra effort

All content, from static text to blogs and Twitter feeds, is translated by human professionals in near real time, so a customer in Japan will see a fully Japanese website while someone in America might be looking at an English language website. We also embed Google Translate to all content, so it is easy to communicate with visitors. This is based on what we have been doing with the Xiha community for the past three years now, and we are very happy to be able to provide the same tools for everyone.

Why did you decide develop the site?

I was living in China at the time, and there was no website that worked in Chinese and English and provided ways to mingle with the locals. I couldn’t use the local websites as they were in Chinese and the locals didn’t want to use the foreign websites, which were all in English. My wife, who is Chinese, had the same problem as she was interested in learning more about other countries. She had the idea of a community where everyone could use their own language for browsing but still make friends in other countries, so together we started building the site and later started a company around it.

You’ve created a large global community. What has it taught you about the way users from different countries/cultures interact online? What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned?

First of all, people from different cultural backgrounds certainly behave different way in the online community. Members from the Nordic countries are quiet and kind of shy, while Asians are not afraid to talk to anyone and ask for help to improve their English. People from Latin America and southern Europe are very talkative and colourful.

For the most part, the Xiha community works really well. People are there because they are interested in other cultures, so they’re quite tolerant of the differences in behaviour. I’ve also noticed that people are really OK with broken language, so nobody needs to be afraid to write even if they don’t know the language very well. And as we provide the machine translation for all of the content, so we often see lively discussions where everyone is writing in their own language!

It’s been a pleasant surprise to notice that people can interact even if there is no common language. Machine translation is not perfect, but then again it’s usually a better option than not being able to communicate at all. Google is also doing an excellent job improving the quality of translations all the time. We get most of our traffic from international searches, from outside of the English speaking world, mostly because we have a large website with a lot of public content in dozens of languages. We’ve learned this to be a competitive edge – the market is way less saturated when you go outside of the English speaking countries, and the smaller the language group, the better we perform.

In your opinion, how can organisations leverage social sites like Xiha to engage with customers and boost brand awareness?

The tools we provide, both in the Xiha community and as a platform, help organizations speak with the customer despite the language barriers. The Xiha community is quite unique because it is so widely spread – one million people in over 200 countries, with no country representing over 5% of the total!

Quite often a company only has customer service in one or two languages, while they may have customers around the world. As I said before, people from different cultural backgrounds behave differently so it is very important to get a direct contact with the customers in different markets. Even if you have local sales offices, the headquarters should keep some level of contact with the customers to better understand the needs. A lot of companies already have a Facebook fan page, which is a good idea, but they are completely missing out on other languages.

At the International Search Summit, you will be talking about the role multilingual SEO played in growing Xiha around the world. If you could give just one tip to marketers running international search campaigns, what would it be?

Work with real humans, native speakers, when coming up with keywords, search phrases and content. Never attempt to shortcut by using a machine translator. It works well with human to human interactions but it will fail with search engines, for a number of reasons.

And finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

It has never been more important to focus on international markets. There is so much new research coming out, and the market is exploding rapidly. Performing well in this space can be a real competitive edge for any startup.
The International Search Summit is a conference series focusing exclusively on international and multilingual search and social media topics.  In 2011 the event is being held alongside the Search Marketing Expo conference (SMX) in San Jose, Munich, London, Seattle and New York.

For more details on speakers, sessions and registration visit www.internationalsearchsummit.com

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I’d hazard a guess that at least 99% of people reading this post will have a LinkedIn profile and I’d put money on the likelihood that your connections will not be limited to people in your own organisation, your [...]]]> I’d hazard a guess that at least 99% of people reading this post will have a LinkedIn profile and I’d put money on the likelihood that your connections will not be limited to people in your own organisation, your own city or even your own country.

With over 90 million users across 200 countries, LinkedIn has not only become an integral part of working life, but also a huge opportunity for marketers to reach a relevant, targeted audience anywhere in the world.

Here, we talk to Konstantin Guericke, one of LinkedIn’s co-founders to ask him how the business network became an international success and how organisations can leverage its global reach.

Konstantin, LinkedIn has transcended language/culture and become a truly global network – how has it achieved that, and what has made it so successful?

We have done some things in the product that go above and beyond typical localization, but it is also a testament to the fact that world is flat. More and more professionals have international business contacts, so as they connect their network into LinkedIn to access people and information more effectively, they automatically spread and strengthen LinkedIn in countries across the globe.

Our global leadership role is also a result of that fact that trust and relationships are key for effective business across cultures. I think in many places, trust is even more important than in the US: Middle East, Japan, China, etc…

When you first started in 2003, did you ever envisage it being such a success?

We consciously worked on a very large opportunity and sought the right investment partners to support us in that, but we were also acutely aware of at least half a dozen major reasons why LinkedIn might never take off.

As VP of Marketing, you played a major role in the international growth of LinkedIn. What were the major challenges you faced?

As we spent no money on advertising, our focus was on supporting our members as they spread the word, helping our users get the most out of LinkedIn and PR. One of the challenges we faced was that we were quickly copied in other countries, did not have localized versions right away and it took time for us to build up the network in other countries.  So local competitors  thrived for a while, but because the world is so interconnected, there is a huge incentive for professionals to have access to investors, experts, partners, etc. outside of their home country.

LinkedIn’s huge membership level, along with its global reach makes it an appealing channel for marketers targeting a global audience. How can organisations use it effectively as a marketing tool?

For global reach, I would highlight advertising, polls, groups and company pages. These four work best if used in a coordinated fashion and integrated into your website and other online marketing programs. All except advertising are free, and companies can get going with advertising via DirectAds for as little as $10 per day. For groups, for example, you can set up sub-groups in languages other than English, where people can provide feedback on your product and initiatives or discuss a topic related to your market.

For B2B segments with high average selling prices, targeted searches are usually the best way to identify the most promising customers and partners, and while InMail is an excellent option, in many cases it’s hard to beat getting a warm introduction from someone your prospect already knows and trusts.

Finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

Having lived, worked and studied not only in the US, but also in Europe and Asia, I think it is important to remember that most significant corporations derive over 50% of their revenue from outside of the US. Companies succeed when they adapt not only to the local culture, but also market conditions. It is a challenge to be global and local at the same time, but there are many examples of how US companies have succeeded, so you can learn a lot from both failures and successes.

Konstantin will be speaking at the International Search Summit in San Jose on March 11th. The Summit is a one day event, being held alongside SMX West.  Early Bird registration is still open.

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Everyone is talking about social media, and many companies are actively participating in it. But with so many channels, tools and techniques available are global brands making the most of it and is it an effective marketing tool. We’ve asked [...]]]> Everyone is talking about social media, and many companies are actively participating in it. But with so many channels, tools and techniques available are global brands making the most of it and is it an effective marketing tool. We’ve asked Massimo Burgio, a global search and social expert where companies are going wrong with social – and what they should be doing to engage users and build their brand using social media.

What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in global social media at the moment?

Not much, really… maybe the NewTwitter as a better tool, or platforms like SocialCast or Jive for managing social media marketing project on a team scale. Social media is growing fast on the consumer side, while the brands look like they spent all their creative efforts in offline media, as I don’t see big commitment on the social media side. The most exciting news this year is probably the decision of Pepsi not to invest $20M on a Superbowl ad, and to invest it in social media instead– but not on Facebook and the likes. They threw a contest for social business ideas, and gave the money to support sustainable businesses. However, there is nothing new even here, Google does it all the time…

What are the biggest mistakes being made by organisations in their international social media strategies?

Waiting for social media success to happen because of the users’ activity, rather than stimulating conversation and proposing new ways of engagement. This is a global mistake but not necessarily a mistake in global strategies. It just happens over and over all around the world, and marketers keep doing the same mistakes in every country.

How important is it for organisations to plan their social media activity? Should social media activity be planned – or is it more spontaneous, and reactive?

Social media marketing is not black magic, it’s just another channel for marketing fellas to engage in. And like any other marketing channel, it needs serious planning of content, resources, commitment. The reactive part (replying to a comment or a thread) is nothing more than any other community management process – always on. But companies cannot allow their presence on social networks to be determined by users in terms of content – they need to focus on how, what and when to communicate, with some decent planning.

There are so many social media tools, platforms and channels – how can marketers determine which tools will be most effective in their chosen target markets?

It’s all about strategic and competitive analysis. Marketers should market where their target audience is, and not just jump on the first option only because it is fancy. Sometimes social media means also being active on “boring” networks such as LinkedIn or Yahoo! Answers, but those can sometimes be more effective than “shining happy networks” such as Facebook, twitter or (remember that?) Second Life. I suggest looking at the Conversation Prism designed by Brian Solis, I will talk about it at the International Search Summit London.

What role do you think SEO plays in achieving success in social media campaigns?

SEO plays a pivotal role in everything internet. Even if it’s not possible to implement SEO coding on many social networks profiles, knowledge from SEO should always drive in the choice of vanity URLs, profile names, tags and categories when allowed, and so on. On the digital media side, meaning the optimisation of all media we distribute on social networks (text, links, images, videos, maps), SEO is definitely the main reference for all social media optimisation techniques.

If you could give just one tip to marketers running global search/social campaigns, what would it be?

One tip? Only one? It won’t be enough… So I’ll go with: “You’re putting your brand in the front line. Be prepared and know what you are doing.”

And one final one, why attend the International Search Summit?

Because it has a very particular take on search, from the global perspective. And because it’s fun, of course!

The International Search Summit London will take place on 28th October at The British Library. Visit www.internationalsearchsummit.com/london for the full agenda and to register!

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The Middle East is one of the major growth regions for the internet, and a study released this week revealed that web users in the region spend more time online than many of their Western counterparts. Here, Omar Khaled, [...]]]> The Middle East is one of the major growth regions for the internet, and a study released this week revealed that web users in the region spend more time online than many of their Western counterparts. Here, Omar Khaled, Partner Relations Manager for Arabic search engine Ayna, talks about how search is evolving in the region and the opportunities available to both local and international markets.

Omar, tell us about Ayna

Ayna is an established company headquartered in USA with branches in UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon. Our core business is offering local answers and solutions to Internet users in the Middle East & North African (MENA) region. Ayna started in 1997 by bringing the first Arabic Search Engine set to the convenience of Arab users all over the region. Today, Ayna has a wide range of online services and up-to-date technologies, thus reaching the widest user segment in our region. To check our services, please go to http://ayna.com/index.en.html

What is the search market like in The Middle East at the moment?

The search market is witnessing impressive developments in our region. Last year, search advertising was up by double-figures  from the year before. Analysts predicted that it is expected to grab a bigger share of the internet advertising market within the coming four years.  Search Advertising has now become an affordable, measurable, and traceable tool of promotion. We believe our market is a fertile market, and is bound to witness noticeable growth within the coming years.

What are the opportunities for marketers targeting users in the region?

Internet in our region retains a substantial audience. Latest studies have shown that the MENA internet users spend more time online than watching TV throughout the day. The studies have also showed that the internet usage in our region remains at its peak all day long compared to other media. This indicates that the internet has become the number one media consumed by users during the day, thus opening new opportunities for marketers to target users in the region. In addition, some countries in this region are continuing to heavily invest in the Information & Communication Infrastructure as part of the strategies to develop local economies and increase the number of web users.

Does the Arabic language pose any challenges in search campaigns?

Arabic  is the seventh most popular language on the web, with more than 344 million Arabic users worldwide. Such figures show that the Arabic language is a key factor in the success of a local search campaign targeting locals that intend and prefer to have their search experience in their native language. Case studies have shown that local audiences respond more to advertisements in their local language, which have local relevance. This is certainly the case in The Middle East and North Africa.

If you could give one tip to organisations embarking on Arabic campaigns, what would it be?

“Localize Yourself!” If you want to target locals, you have to have a well-set local campaign. During our session in the International Search Summit, we will be giving some tips and tricks on how to target locals and create successful Arabic campaigns.

Hear Omar speak at the International Search Summit on 28th October in London. Tickets are still available.

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For any organisation targeting a Russian audience, knowing and understanding Yandex is key to success in the country. The homegrown search engine is the clear market leader in Russia, and is showing little sign of relinquishing any of this share [...]]]> For any organisation targeting a Russian audience, knowing and understanding Yandex is key to success in the country. The homegrown search engine is the clear market leader in Russia, and is showing little sign of relinquishing any of this share to Google, or any other competitors.

Eugene Lomize, Head of Advertising Technologies at Yandex will be speaking at the International Search Summit in both Seattle and London, where he will talk about the online market in Russia, as well as how organisations can use Yandex to get the most out of their campaigns.

Here, Eugene answers a few questions on how the search engine maintains its strong position in one of the most exciting global internet markets.

Yandex is still the clear market leader in Russia and showing no signs of losing any market share. Why is it so popular in Russia, and how does it retain its users?

Russians have always been good at math and that helped us cultivate a one-of-a-kind style of programming and nurture a rich engineering environment in this country. This also was something that helped Russia join a small club of nations with a technologically competitive on a global scale search engine of their own.

But, a world-class technology alone wouldn’t cut it. What is also important is to understand the users, their interests and the market. At the time when Yandex was launched what gave us the edge on the market was our knowledge of the Russian language morphology. This allowed us, among other things, to index and deliver many more documents than our competitors. Today, we also need to consider a number of other important factors such as a user’s location. This has become essential as each city in Russia differs from other cities considerably, having its own specific local content, maps, news, products, popular websites etc… As soon as we realized that, we concentrated our effort on localisation. Last year, we rolled out our new algorithm MatrixNet that allowed us fine-tune our page ranking and deliver search results depending on what city the user is in. Global players would struggle to do that as their targeting works on a country level.

What was the reason behind Yandex’s decision to offer users results in English, and the Latin-alphabet? How have users responded to this?

Yandex has been indexing foreign websites and adding global content to its search results for two years already. Web users in Russia look for, first and foremost, locally relevant information in their own language, with foreign websites being only an extension to the local search results. However, it may happen that the user wants to receive an answer specifically from a foreign website. This is the main reason why we offer our users an opportunity to limit their search specifically to foreign websites. We’ve been only experimenting and obtaining feedback so far. What we can say with certainty, though, is that now we can return an answer to each of the 15 million search queries in languages based on the Latin alphabet (12-15% of all queries on Yandex) that we receive every day and we do it well.

What are the major changes that have taken place in the Russian online market in the past year? And how have they impacted on advertisers and search marketers targeting the region?

In the past year, the  online market in Russia kept growing and absorbing budgets from offline advertising. Contextual advertising kept growing faster than the market for banner ads due to the influx of numerous clients with yearly budgets varying from a couple hundred dollars to millions. Having historically been the market mostly for hundreds of thousands of small players, search advertising has now been boosted by the emergence of some really large accounts, e.g. niche (auto, finance etc) brands, FMCG international companies and mass e-commerce sites.

What is Yandex doing to keep up with these changes?

We are constantly improving our products to suit the market demand. Since search advertising attracts clients with very different backgrounds, demands, budgets and levels of competence, we have to provide them with various tools to meet their requirements. We launched a very simple and very intuitive interface (with a lot of intelligence inside the system) for the industry newbies (those with very little or no experience in search advertising). In addition, we keep developing and upgrading our advanced campaign management tools for our largest clients who run campaigns with hundreds of thousands of keywords. As a part of this, we released an API for integration with the search аds management systems like Omniture.

If you could give one tip to anyone targeting the Russian market through search, what would it be?

Keep in mind that Russia is different. It’s a special country where a local search engine, Yandex, serves 64% of all search queries and Google has to deal with only 21%. It also has a specific language and culture – and this is something that does matter. Going the easy way and giving literal translation to your keywords and ads to ‘localise’ them does not work. One has to re-develop every ad to make it sound Russian, and re-define keywords according to the local cultural habits. That’s why it’s so important that advertising campaigns in Russia are designed and supported by the locals, advertising professionals whose mother tongue is Russian.

And finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

To understand what it takes to make their search marketing truly international. The online world is global and has no borders, but there are so many nuances that are essential for success.

Details on how to book for Seattle and London, as well as full event agendas are available at www.internationalsearchsummit.com.

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We all know Twitter is a global tool and an essential part of any international social media strategy – but how should we use it for maximum effect?

John Yunker is the co-founder of Byte Level Research, a company dedicated [...]]]> We all know Twitter is a global tool and an essential part of any international social media strategy – but how should we use it for maximum effect?

John Yunker is the co-founder of Byte Level Research, a company dedicated to the art and science of web globalization and he recently produced a report Twittering in Tongues, analyzing global Twitter usage and recommending steps for developing international Twitter campaigns.

John will be speaking on this subject at the International Search Summit in Seattle on 6th October and here he answers a few questions about why and how global companies should be integrating Twitter into their marketing strategies.

John, in your opinion, how much potential does Twitter have as a global marketing tool? And how does it compare to other social media tools?
As a marketing tool, I see lots of opportunities (as does Twitter). Dell, for instance, uses Twitter to advertise last-minute deals to people in various markets. Twitter also gives you immediate feedback, something companies are only beginning to comes to terms with. But Twitter also raises the overall noise level, which is something to keep in mind with your Twitter feed. Are you adding value or noise?

What is the most surprising thing you discovered during your global Twitter research?
I was surprised to learn that a number of corporate communications offices weren’t even aware of how many Twitter feeds their offices around the world managed. Twitter feeds are springing up like weeds across all geographies of global companies, and I believe this is a good thing. It’s analogous in many ways to the early days of the Internet -– chaotic, decentralized, and exciting.

Are there any major differences in Twitter trends in different regions around the world?
The similarities are more striking than the differences. People like to connect with one another. People like to know what’s going on around them in real time. That said, some markets appear more “social” than others, though I must stress that governments, telecoms carriers, cost of living should be taken into account. Markets that I find remarkable from a social perspective include Brazil. Indonesia and Turkey.

What are the major mistakes companies are making on Twitter in international campaigns?
First off, any company that approaches Twitter as a US- or English-centric phenomenon is making a mistake. More than half of all Twitter users are based outside of the US. The second mistake companies make is not empowering their in-country Twitter authors to be themselves, to interact with people, to not just “sell” but serve. On Twitter, passion rises to the top. Companies need to realize that Twitter isn’t just another channel for pouring out PR-speak.

If you could give just one tip to marketers embarking on global Twitter campaigns, what would it be?
Know that you can’t do it alone. You need in-country Twitter experts to own the local feeds. And you need people who can write.

One last question, why attend the International Search Summit?
From India to Russia to Brazil, international is where the growth is. But every market is different and not even Google dominates every market. This conference is a great way to get up to speed on the complexities and opportunities of search around the world.

Tickets for the International Search Summit Seattle are now on sale -  Book at the early bird price for just $295.

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At an event focusing on online innovations, it would be impossible to not include video on the agenda. Bruce Daisley, Leader of YouTube and Display in the UK, will be at the International Search Summit on 13th May to [...]]]> At an event focusing on online innovations, it would be impossible to not include video on the agenda. Bruce Daisley, Leader of YouTube and Display in the UK, will be at the International Search Summit on 13th May to talk about the international power of YouTube and how search marketers can transfer their skills to use video as an effective marketing tool. Here, Bruce answers a few questions about YouTube’s global appeal and his favourite innovations.

Bruce, why do you think video has become such a popular online channel over the past few years?

I read something incredible the other day – it said that 25% of the bandwidth of the web today is video.  Cisco have predicted that in 2013 it will be 90%. YouTube is five years old – and it sounds like video is only going to become more important in the next three years.  Brands need to understand how they will deliver authentic brand messages in a video-centric web.

YouTube is by far the most popular global video site – what is it about the site that appeals to users all over the world?

What our users tell us they love is the vast breadth of what they can find on the site.  My Dad loves Bob Dylan clips, my son loves Mr Bean.  Yesterday I followed 4 YouTube links from people I follow on Twitter.  This is perhaps no surprise – YouTube is the most linked to website in the world. Interestingly a few years ago people thought that we’d think of our friends in the digital age by sending an ‘e-card’ but in truth most of us show that we’re thinking of someone by sending them a clip of something that will make them smile.  We love gifting clips to each other.

Why is it so effective as an international channel?

Britain’s Got Talent 2009 debuted on ITV with around 8 million viewers.  It featured the now world famous Susan Boyle clip.  In that ensuing week the clip was seen 6 times more than the TV programme – and that reach was global.  The second programme saw its audience rise massively to about 12 million viewers. A massive amount of the viewing was in the US, in Europe and around the world.  It was impressive that when asked about it Simon Cowell described YouTube as ‘the best thing that’s ever happened to us… its brought the whole world together’.  The host of the show Ant (the one who isn’t Dec) said he was stopped in a shop in Dubai by someone calling him ‘Susan Boyle boy’). YouTube makes great content globally accessible.

Should all organisations be integrating video into their online marketing strategies? Is it appropriate for all sectors and industries?

When 90% of the web is video consumers are going to expect to see things explained in video.  Companies need to think about how they will fulfil that desire.  Its thrilling and challenging in equal measure.  In truth nothing communicates like video so it’s a powerful tool for anyone with a clear message.

What is the one piece of advice you would give marketers embarking on  a YouTube campaign in multiple countries?

Keep things simple at first and experiment.  What video assets do you own?  Put them on the web and use the community to decide what works most effectively.  Use the power of the live focus group of YouTube to help you decide your next move – and then respond to it.

This will be your first time speaking at the International Search Summit – what value do you think the event offers delegates?

It has a great reputation in the market, I’m actually looking forward to sitting and listening to some of the other presentations.

The International Search Summit in May is focused on innovations – recent developments in search and social media which are changing online marketing. In your opinion, what is the most significant innovation in recent years, other than video of course!?

Facebook is just an incredible phenomenon.   I also adore Twitter.  For me I can be more picky about who I follow on Twitter to give me news, jokes and inspiration.  On Facebook I do worry that I’ll offend someone if I un-friend them. Anyone on Twitter should follow @sexyexecutive.  Whoever writes this feed is a genius – the challenge for them is that the writing is amazing but I can’t see it working anywhere else.  It’s like when you hear about the Japanese phenomenon of user generated mobile-phone-based novels.  He makes me laugh every single day – which is a delight that I’d pay money for.

To hear Bruce speak on International YouTube Marketing, register now for the International Search Summit on 13th May. Early Bird Tickets are still available.

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Gillian Muessig is the President and Co-founder of SEOmoz, one of the world’s leading SEO resources and is a regular speaker at search marketing conferences around the world. She sits on the board of directors for two search [...]]]> Gillian Muessig is the President and Co-founder of SEOmoz, one of the world’s leading SEO resources and is a regular speaker at search marketing conferences around the world. She sits on the board of directors for two search marketing companies in India, and has just spent a month working and speaking in the country.

At the forthcoming International Search Summit, Gillian will be examining the developing search market in India and giving her recommendations on how marketers can make the most of the opportunities it offers.  For a brief insight into what she’ll be talking about, keep reading!

Gillian, if you could give just one tip to search marketers working on global campaigns, what would it be?

Know your markets intimately. Pay attention to cultural, dialectic and even weather differences between regions, as well as countries. If you don’t know whats going on in the local market, you may be trying to sell swimsuits to Miami during hurricane season or “pop” to New Yorkers, where the drink is called “soda”.

You’re going to be speaking on ‘Search in India’ at the Summit, how quickly is it developing in terms of the web?

I see the Indian search market as being exactly like the US in 1999 – a wide open playing field. It’s a little like the movie ‘Back to the Future’ – we know exactly how things are going to turn out. We know who the winners are going to be. So many portals are yet to be built out. They only need someone to execute on the opportunity. That’s incredibly exciting. But things are moving at breakneck speed – in the blink of an eye this landscape will change dramatically.

Are there any key differences between search in India and other emerging markets?

Yes. Significant differences. China is the other huge, emerging market and it’s very exciting. But Google’s current embroilment demonstrates that a totalitarian system negates a robust international market place. There is a reckoning to be had in China.

Indians complain vociferously about government inefficiencies, corruption and red tape…just like other democracies. In other words, they are free to complain, to work better systems and create businesses in an open market atmosphere. With 1.2 billion people, the disenfranchised market is still huge but the massive amount of manpower is now being viewed as a value proposition rather than a liability, that is the beginning of enfranchisement. India is a democracy with a growing middle class and it is eagerly embracing technology.

What are the main opportunities, and challenges, for organisations targeting the Indian market?

The opportunities are what i referred to before – so many un-built major portals can be had for the taking. A professionally designed and operated political or finance portal could reap millions.

On a smaller scale, marketing itself is in its infancy here. The only ‘professional’ ad campaigns on or offline are run by Tata and Reliant. If you can design a decent ad campaign, know how to design a landing page and write convincing copy, you can be the one-eyed man in the land of the blind. The market is w-i-d-e open.

When it comes to challenges, ecommerce is severely hampered by banking regulations that don’t protect consumers. Trust issues are, again, similar to those we experienced in the late 90’s and turn of the century:

1) Vendor trust issues - how do I know that the product will be delivered and will be in good order when it arrives? Can I trust this vendor?

2) Financial protection issues – what protections do I have against someone stealing my credit card information or how do I get my money back if I don’t receive a product in good working order or return it but get no refund from the vendor?

As a result, ecommerce companies may need to take orders over the phone, a more familiar process to the Indian market.

What value do you think the International Search Summit offers delegates? This is my first time at the International Search Summit and I’m very excited to be part of it. Times have been tough pretty much everywhere recently, and as a rule of thumb, I say

When times are good, globalise. When times are bad, do it faster!

One can only hope to hold steady at best and will likely slip in your profits during tough times. One of the best ways to increase your chances of growth is to expand your market. Since your current customers are tightening belts or best holding steady, expanding your customer base now, while your competition is laying low is good for business now and will be great for business when the economy turns.

International Search Summit? Be there!

The International Search Summit in May is focused on innovations – recent developments in search and social media which are changing online marketing. In your opinion, what is the most significant innovation in recent years?

That Internet thing looks pretty exciting, isn’t it?

Seriously, Social Media was the watchword of 2009 and the innovation of ‘web 2.0′ – interactive web – spawned massive human interactions online.  That was certainly huge.

Mobile web, which involved innovations in hardware and software was and continues to be huge. I have talked about the web becoming mobile for some time now. With the rapid adoption of mobile pda’s I see this happening very quickly.

But the big thing I see now is the convergence of local-social-mobile marketing and the development of deep databases, the stuff that powers it. The quality of the experience of user search and the potential for marketers takes another giant leap forward when marketing messages can be delivered to geo-located internet connected devices at the request of the consumer. This is the stuff of marketers dreams!

Early Bird tickets are available for the International Search Summit. The Summit will be held at The Barbican Centre in London on 13th May, 2010.

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Shari Thurow, founder and SEO Director of Omni Marketing Interactive is recognised as the leading expert on search engine friendly design and has authored three books about web design and usability. She speaks at events around the world, sharing [...]]]> Shari Thurow, founder and SEO Director of Omni Marketing Interactive is recognised as the leading expert on search engine friendly design and has authored three books about web design and usability. She speaks at events around the world, sharing her research and offering advice on how to optimise user experience on websites. Shari will be at the International Search Summit in Seattle on 9th June to present some findings on the variations in information scents between countries and here she answers a few questions about search and international usability.

If you could give just one tip to search marketers working on global campaigns, what would it be?

My one search marketing tip is actually a website usability tip: use your users’ language, and use it well.

British English is very different from (US ) American English and Australian English. Parisian French is very different from Canadian French. Spanish in Spain is different from Mexican and Argentinean Spanish. The grammar is different. The slang is different. Word nuances are different. It is so very important to use your users’ language.

You’ll be speaking about the scent of information at the International Search Summit – what exactly does that mean?

On a website the scent of information consists of textual and graphical cues that communicate:

(1) Where am I?
(2) Where can I go?
(3) How can I get there?
(4) Should i click on this link?

When the scent of information is strong and reinforces user mental models, people click. When the scent of information is diminished or lost, people leave your website.

And what is the impact of this on international websites – do scents differ between countries?

Absolutely! Words have different meanings in different languages. And colours have different meanings in different languages. Therefore, if words and images communicate different meanings in different countries, then the scent of information differs between countries.

During all of your research, what is the most interesting or surprising fact you have discovered about international usability?

Credibility is an important facet of user experience. I am continually surprised at how people in different countries determine a website’s, and a company’s, credibility. In the United States, there is a directness that is expected and acceptable. In other countries, that directness is unexpected and often perceived as rude, even though it is never our intention to be rude.

Therefore, placement of the About US, News and Testimonials and Case Studies on a site is different in different countries.

You are a regular at the International Search Summit – what value do you think the event offers delegates?

The International Search Summit is one of my favourite, must-see search marketing events. At other events, I often see too much emphasis on the technology behind search and not enough emphasis on the searchers. I always learn something new at the International Search Summit – usually something funny yet applicable to my roles as a web designer/developer, SEO, information architect and usability professional.

Shari, you’ve visited and researched a lot of countries and cultures…do you have a favourite?

My first love is Japan. I did not know that I was drawn to Japanese art, literature, aesthetics etc.. until I was much older but I love Japanese language and culture so much that I got  my Masters Degree in Asian Studies/Japanese.

But I love France too! French was the first non-English language I studies and one of my closest friends is French. I am absolutely fascinated with the differences between US American websites and Parisian French websites.

I have a very soft spot for Germany. My Grandfather spoke German to me when I was growing up. so I cannot help but feel warm whenever I visit Germany. I laugh when US Americans want to expand to German markets but do not consider quality and credibility, which is so important to Germans (and me!).

But I will admit my favourite country is Iceland. Each country and culture has its own beauty and idiosyncrasies. But Iceland? An unsurpassed, unspoiled beauty in the land, culture and people. Then again, I am part Viking. Who knows – maybe a genetic connection?

Early Bird Tickets for the International Search Summit are available until April 30th.

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