From International SEO Tips to Local Links Strategy to Baidu and Google Korea, the International Search Summit in Berlin provided delegates with a wealth of information on a range of international online marketing topics.
As well as providing valuable, actionable information to those managing websites in multiple languages, the event also added the list of International Search Summit Medallion Speakers – with Dixon Jones and Massimo Burgio being jointly voted Medallion speakers by the audience.
Here are just a few snippets from the day:
Twitter is a great way to communicate with global customers
KLM are experimenting with Social Media and the airline is finding it a vital way to connect and engage with users. During the volcanic ash cloud disruptions, Twitter played a major role in communicating up-to-the-minute information to customers. KLM has over 17 twitter accounts, in different languages which are managed by in-country teams to provide relevant, localised and timely responses.
Fundamentals of International SEO
Andy Atkins-Krüger shared his 10 fundamental tips for international SEO. His key points included the fact that trust from users/visitors/customers is vital and that this will be gained by the cultural and linguistic relevance and accuracy of your site.
He also advised international marketers to think local – local hosting, local links, local language, local domains all have important roles to play.
“Links are all about relationships”
Dixon Jones recommended using link analysis tools to improve your link strategy – find out where your competitors get their links from, and go after them. But plan your link approach strategy – use compelling offers, localise the approach and don’t spam! And test your links approach – to streamline it, and make it more effective.
Time your tweets
Florian Stelzner suggested that the best times to tweet are Monday-Friday noon to midnight – but remember which time zone you are targeting.
Even Google has begun localising!
Sébastien Monnier used Google Korea as an excellent example of website localisation. With only 3% share of Korean search market, Google needed to act – and it abandoned its simplistic look in favour of a busier page with more links and information on it, making it more similar to other search engines and portals in Korea.
“Google is the world’s biggest pimp”
After opening with the statement that Google is the world’s biggest pimp, Klara Lettavova went on to discuss the importance of Yandex and Baidu in the Russian and Chinese markets respectively. Both are market leaders and a presence in those search engines is vital for success – although as the platforms are only in Russian and Chinese, the input of a native speaker is essential.
Worth noting is that CPCs are often lower in local search engines than in Google – so can be more cost effective – especially as they reach a wider audience.
If an image is worth 100 words, what is a video worth?
Massimo Burgio rounded off the presentations from the day with video optimisation, when he talked about the benefits using video can bring. Videos create buzz, are easy to rank for and have large sharing audience – the same video appears multiple times in results. With 38% of users already being served videos in SERPs, the potential to reach a wide audience is huge.
If you are targeting multiple markets, you need to have your video available in multiple languages. Include keywords in all tags and titles, and include a transcription of the video on the web page, to make it easy for the search engines to find and identify it.
For more information about International Search Summit events, or to book for the next event in London on October 28th, visit www.internationalsearchsummit.com.
Gemma Houghton
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