Is your domain name good for exporting?

What’s in a name? If its your website’s domain name then rather a lot! It could be holding you back rather than driving you forward.

People in non-English speaking countries search for and surf local and localised websites.

Very logical and understandable, this simple fact has major ramifications for any company trading internationally and wanting their website to be visible in each local market.

As properly localised sites are definitely preferred by users, Google will aim to  deliver to local users the best possible search results. Often, those results will be pages that are localised, for the user’s location and/or in the user’s language.

So the structure and content of your website is critical to being found. And the domain name is the foundation on which your international web marketing will be built.

This blog post from Google analyses why a .com domain is better for international export marketing than a .co.uk, and how to structure your site for multiple regions and/or multiple languages.

Alliance member WSI can advise and assist in building your internet strategy for export marketing. Call WSI Chester today.

Going Global – a new service for technology companies

Technology companies looking to enter international markets should soon benefit from an innovative new service, courtesy of UKTI and UK Technology.

Visit the Going Global website/blog to learn more about what is described as a free peer-to-peer knowledge economy. What it actually delivers is a mechanism for industry peers to share knowledge and experience, with added support from the  UKTI ‘feet on the ground’.

Take a look at the various blog posts and presentations as there is already a wealth of useful knowledge.

Why Spanish?

As your company expands its operations in Europe, Latin America or the United States, one important first step will be translating all of your marketing materials into Spanish.

Over the past ten years, the use of Spanish in business communications has grown by more than 60 percent, making it the fourth most commonly used language in the world after English, Chinese and Arabic. Indeed, according to some sources, it has more native speakers than English, and it is an official language on four continents.

In the past decade Spanish has taken on particular prominence in Europe, owing to the rapid growth of the Spanish economy. Spain currently ranks as the seventh world economic power.

Markets throughout Latin America are also expanding. According to the InterAmerican Development Bank, the region’s seven largest economies—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela—registered an average growth rate of 5.8 percent in 2003-2007.

Finally, Spanish has become the second language of the United States. Although the U.S. Spanish-speaking population was centered in the border states, Florida and New York City not long ago, today more than 36 million people, or roughly 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, use Spanish every day.

At  the UK Export Marketing Alliance, we understand the benefits companies are reaping by going global. That’s why our business Spanish translation specialists go the extra mile to ensure your export sales messages get across to foreign customers and partners. We specialize in getting to know you, your business, and your marketing goals, so we can help ease the transition of your company into the global marketplace. Indeed, many of our clients are wishing they had done it sooner

Automatic translation – good or bad?

Do you want your website to be understood in 51 languages?

At the end of last month, Google quietly announced its website translator gadget which can be added to your site.

Then, when people visit your page, if their language (determined by their browser settings) is different to the language of your web page, they’ll be asked if they would like automatic translation of the page into their own language. If the visitor’s language is the same as the language of your page, no translation banner will appear.

Social Media success for SME exporter

The major social networks – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are not just playthings for the ‘younger generation’ but can be very effective marketing tools for SMEs.

A Devon-based exporter recently posted about his company’s positive experiences using social media on the UK Trade and Investment Blog site. His view is they can be really powerful tools for international trade, especially video which can by-pass the language hurdle. The post includes some practical advice on how to integrate the use of these social media sites into existing sales and  marketing activities.

To find out more about how the  use of social media can help your  export marketing campaigns, please give us a call.

Effective Use of Video for International Marketing

Video can be a very powerful tool for delivering a message to a widely dispersed international audience.

Inspired Film have produced this short film with Staffordshire University to illustrate how UK academic establishments are using video to attract students from overseas.

Your Foreign Customers Judge You by Your Website!

Recent studies show that use of the Internet grew 290 percent in 2008 alone. Indeed, for many, “Google searches” on blackberries have forever replaced traditional hard copy directories. Moreover, in this information age, foreign customers account for more than half of all Internet sales. These clients can and do read your Website, and they want to see what you have to say about your company and your products and services. Studies also show that people are four times more inclined to buy online in their own languages.

Thus, it is rapidly becoming critical for companies to ensure that their Websites are translated into the languages their customers use most. For example, if you are booking a flight on the Spanish version of the British Airways Website, you will find as soon as you click on “Guia de Destinos” or the Destination Guide, that it flicks over to the English text. This not only confuses Spanish-speakers (of which there are more than 400 million in the world) but also irritates them. They report feeling that this implies they weren’t worth the very low cost of translating that part of the Website.

We understand how important it is to have a Web presence that consistently and accurately portrays your professionalism and business values. We specialize in getting to know you, your business, and your marketing goals so we can help leverage the unique selling position of your organization. Our teams of professional native-speaking translators work with clients individually from the initial concept and translation stage through the maintenance stage and keep an eye on your updates to ensure your sales messages get across to foreign customers loud and clear.

We take pride in the fact that our clients increase their sales by 34 percent in the first five years.

Why Blogs are good for your business

Blogs ARE good for your business because:-

• They can increase the number of visitors to your site
• They will help improve your search engine rankings
• They can build your ‘online’ reputation

So what steps can you take to be sure your blog has this impact?

1. You need to post content of value to your target readership. The combination which works for many businesses is a mixture of Industry News (and your comments on it) and Tips, Tricks and Helpful Information. Both of these engage with and are useful to the readership. These should represent the majority of blog posts. You can then inject the occasional posts about your business, products and services. Remember, it must be interesting to your readership – you want them to come back for more!

2. The blog should ideally be part of your main domain and integrated within the site. This benefits both the vistors who can easily move on to explore the main site and also the search engines. The in-bound links generated by a successful blog will count towards the overall site ranking, plus they see the overall site expanding continually.

3. Post regularly, ideally at least once a week. It encourages the search engines and site visitors to keep returning to your site. Make posting a habit, and look out for items to blog about.

4. Don’t forget to use the technology. An RSS feed is a standard part of most blog platforms and allows your readership to be automatically informed when there’s a new post. So it keeps your company visible with them.

5. Make sure you use your ‘target’ keywords within the posts. The more you talk about a subject on the web, the more likely you are to be ranked for it. And the converse is definitely true!

6. Promote the blog and your posts over the WWW. Use social bookmarking to tell “everyone” about your latest posts. This is a subject by itself and deserves its own post in the near future!

Getting YOUR message heard and understood

Two thirds of the world’s population do not speak English as their native language.

Communicating in your customer’s language will build your credibility and can minimise misunderstanding. This is particularly important if you are selling a technical or complex product.

While English is often viewed as the international language of business, it is much less common in the strong export markets of Eastern Europe, China and South America.

Effective use of language can unlock a country’s culture and business code of practice. To find out what you export customer really wants, you need to communicate with them in their language.

The UK Export Marketing Alliance offers a range of services to enable companies to enter their chosen export market, fully prepared with sales and marketing materials in the local language. We ensure your message is not only heard, but listened to and understood.