Best practice website globalisation for sme's | Susanne Dirks - eVorsprung Consulting

Going global – Best practices for
website globalisation
for SMEs
SUSANNE DIRKS
E-VORSPRUNG CONSULTING

e-Vorsprung
Consulting
Helping Irish SMEs to reach,
enter, and grow in export
markets …
... by leveraging the web for
international sales and
marketing
E-VORSPRUNG CONSULTINGwww.evorsprung.com
Typical activities:
▪ International (e)-marketing strategy
▪ Export market research and analysis
▪ Competitor research – online and offline
▪ Refinement of value proposition for export market
▪ Website design guidance for export markets
▪ Website internationalisation and localisation
▪ Content development for markets (German market)
focus): Translation, trans-creation, content editing
▪ International SEO
▪ e-marketing for international markets
▪ Skills transfer and mentoring

Susanne Dirks MSc BSc
Academic background:
▪ Qualified Translator
▪ MSc, BSc (Hons, 1st) – Information
Technology, Artificial Intelligence
▪ Diplomas/Certificates: e-Marketing, Web
Technologies, International SEO, Business
Development and Innovation
Experience:
▪ 15+ years as international management
consultant working with large companies
across Europe
▪ Since 2013, working with Irish SMS,
helping them use the internet to reach and
grow in export markets

The bad news
▪ If you don’t localise your website, you seriously limit your growth
opportunities
▪ Translation is only one of several parts of website localisation
▪ It’s a big and often complex project – requiring commitment from
senior leadership, resources, and stamina

The good news
▪ It can be done step by step, with quick wins along the way
▪ There are opportunities for cost savings and synergies
▪ It gives you a real chance of success in export markets
▪ It typically brings additional benefits for your home market
(website)

Best practices for website globalisation
1. Align with business objectives: Start with global strategy
2. Strive for efficiencies: Internationalise before you localise
3. Get ready internally: Examine the impact on the internal business environment
4. Prepare for your new external micro environment – new competitors, different RTMs
5. Get local by-in: Localise for your new external macro environment
6. Rise and shine: Do SEO and e-marketing for your new export market website

1. Start with the Global Strategy
WHY HOW
WHERE
& WHEN
WHY WHAT HOW WHO
Internationalisation strategy?
Market entry approach?Drivers?
Countries? Schedule?
Market fit, USP,
Differentiation
Which
offering?
RTM?
Op. model?
Resources?
Global:
Per country:
Target
audience?

International web presence for SMEs:
Walking a fine line in the global/local dilemna
 BUT (Irish) SMEs are different:
▪Constraints: Budget, People, Skills
▪Operating model varies between
countries
▪Home market vs. export markets
Source: ByteLevel Research

2. Internationalise before you localise
Globalisation
Inter-
nationalisation
Localisation
Internationalisation is a design process that ensures a product/website can
be adapted to various languages and regions without requiring engineering
changes to the source code.
Localization is the process of adapting a product / website / content to a
specific locale or market. Translation is only one of several elements of the
localization process.Source: Gala

Planning with a global website in mind:
A little work goes a long way
KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR
INTERNATIONALISATION:
▪ Global design template
▪ Software technology choice
▪ Domain strategy
▪ Simple language
▪ Pictures & text
▪ Date/time/address format
BENEFITS

Example, internationalised design:
Planning for different word/text length
Allow for extra word length
Source: IBM
Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhaupt-
betriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft

Example Facebook: Consistent and modular design
accommodating different language requirements
FACEBOOK, ITALY FACEBOOK, ISRAEL

Example, internationalised design:
Tackling different word order
Not good for internationalisation Internationalised, ready for localisation

3-5.Prepare for a new business environment
Macro
environment
Micro
environment
Internal
Company

3. Get ready internally:
Examine the impact on the internal business environment
Macro
environment
Micro
environment
Internal
Company
• Value proposition / USP
• Brand and credentials
• Sales and marketing
• Routes to market
• Resources and skills

Look inside:
Examine the ‘new you’
Key questions:
▪ How strong is your brand ?
▪ How strong is your network ?
▪ How good is your list of references ?
▪ What RTMs are you using ?
▪ Who are you marketing to ?
▪ How are you marketing ?
▪ What is your call-to-action ?
▪ Who are you up against ?
Ireland
Strong
Strong
Strong
Direct
End customer
Team: Offline, online
Buy
Few competitors
Export Market 1
Weak
Weak or N/A
Weak
Distributors
Customers & Distributors
?
Sell my product
Lots of competitors

… and what impact does that have on your web
presence in your selected export market?
?

4. Prepare for your new external micro
environment – new competitors, different RTMs
Macro
environment
Micro
environment
Internal
Company
• Suppliers
• Distributors
• Competitors
• Customers
• Partners
• Industry

Find your new (online) competitors
Google.de Google.co.uk
Example, search for:
‘steam trap’

Different organic competitors:
“Nebuliser” (“Vernebler”)
Top 5 results on
SERP 1
Google.de –
316k results
Google.co.uk -
5.9 MIO results

Learn from your new competitors
TYPICAL AREAS TO EXAMINE
Weaknesses and strengths of competitor
Specific business aspects, e.g.
◦ Terms and conditions
◦ Pricing
◦ Value proposition / USP
Specific web presence aspects, e.g.
◦ Keywords
◦ Content strategy
◦ E-marketing tactics
◦ Social media strategy
◦ Customer support
◦ Best practice
EXAMPLE: BENCHMARKING AGAINST NEW COMPETITORS
C
O
M
P
E
T
I
T
O
R
S
Content, SEO, e-marketing

Distributors
?
?
What is the impact of
your local distributors
on your new local
website?
What is the impact of
your new local website
on your local
distributors?

Industry – and digital presence
➢ How does your industry operate in the chosen market ?
➢ Who are the influencers ?
➢ What are the key events ?
➢ What are the key publications ? – offline, online
➢ Who are the key agencies and other organisations, and their role, their
websites ?
➢ What are the key websites for information exchange ?
➢ What are the ‘digital meeting places’ for your industry in your export market ?

5. Get local by-in:
Localise for your new external macro environment
Macro
environment
Micro
environment
Internal
Company
• Economy
• Demographics
• Cultural forces
• Social factors
• Legal structure
• Political structures
• Technology
▪ Language
▪ Culture
▪ Technology

Provide locally relevant content
➢Articulates your value proposition in …
➢Differentiates you from competitors in …
➢Meets the content needs of …
➢Uses standards and conventions in …
➢Uses content formats preferred by …
➢Uses design, colours, graphics used in…
➢Builds trust with local users in…
➢Speaks the ‘language’ of …
Your
Target
Market

Speak the ‘right’ language
Search
Read
Listen
Evaluate
Order
Ask
questions
Write
reviews
Less than ¼ of
Internet users are
English speakers

Question asked:
“Do you use a language other than
your own to read/watch content
on the Internet ?”
Considerable country variances !
English language proficiency is lower than
you think: No translation, little reach
Top 25 global websites
(2015) support an
average of 30
languages!

Google Translate is not the solution
Food for Thought:
1.Who had the 2nd most
globalised website in
2018 ?
2.Did they use Google
Translate ?
3. How does a poor
translaton like that
make you feel about
the company?

Translation and other localisation options
Translation
Trans-
creation
Copywriting
Translation is 90%
word-matching and
10% invention
Transcreation is 60%
word-matching and
40% invention
SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO SEO
Copywriting is
creating content
from scratch –
100% invention

Considerations for localising text content:
The importance of content planning
Decide
at start
Scope
Translation or
Transcreation
Messages
Style
Ensure
always
Quality & consistency
Keyword focus
Fresh content
Standards & conventions
Avoid
here
Think
carefully
Keywords
Taglines
Ads
CTAs
Non-text content
Google Translate & Co
Translator wannabes
Mixed-language approaches
Creating
valid, fresh,
persuasive,
locally
relevant
quality
content
for local
users and
search
engines

English-speaking markets:
The ‘right’ English for readers and search engines
Website text and SEO text needs to reflect the ‘language’
used by your target market
◦ Spelling
◦ Words
◦ Usage patterns
Search:
UK: 77%, US: 14%
Search: UK: 23%, US: 86%

Tune into local culture
CULTURE INFLUENCES HOW ALL
OF ITS MEMBERS:
Perceive
Think
Value
Act
E-marketing aims at getting
peoples’:
A ttention
I nterest
D esire
A ction
“The web is not a culturally
neutral medium … a website has to be designed
for a targetted customer segment … Local
adaptation should be based on a complete
understanding of
a customer group’s culture …”

Hofstede’s 6 cultural dimensions:
Power distance
Individualism
Masculinity/femininity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term orientation
Indulgence
Can and must be addressed via:
Web design, content, language,
features/functionality
Cultural dimensions as a guide
Ireland in comparison…

KEY PRINCIPLES
Minimal ambiguity
Clear navigation
Structured information
Predictable user journey
No pop-ups
No non-essential info
Explicit language
Clear images
EXAMPLE:
Example Russia:
Website design addressing uncertainty avoidance

Example Alibaba: Adapting colours and overall design
to cultural preferences
ALIBABA.CN ALIBABA.COM

Checking your pictures to make sure they work in the
target market
Draft for German market
Final version for German market

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

Special days for sales and marketing
Example: 11th November

Avoiding mishaps, leveraging cultural-
related opportunities
Lidl Ireland, 1.3.2018
Lidl, Germany,
1.3.2018

Aldi Ireland value proposition:
Buy Irish quality and support Ireland

KPMG – Ireland, UK, Germany

Germany
Ireland
Target market focus:
Locally relevant content for local appeal

Target market focus:
Add local appeal for buy-in
Content localisation by Bull:
Examples of Irish and French site

Trust building content
Contact data
◦ Address, phone number, email, fax etc.
Provide information about company
◦ About us
◦ History
◦ People
◦ Achievements
Provide locally expected or legally mandated
information
◦ E.g. Germany: Impressum
Brand and trust considerations are very
important to engagement as well as
acquisition

EI Electronics (DE)

Examples, localised content for trust
Edelmann Trust Barometer
2014
L
O
C
A
L

Be tech-savvy
➢ Different hardware / IT infrastructure
➢ Different software platforms
➢ Different usage patterns
➢ Different rules

Different technology infrastructure
AVERAGE MOBILE CONNECTION SPEEDS MOBILE SHARE OF WEB TRAFFIC
Source: Statcounter, Q1/16 / wearesocial.com

Google is not Number ONE everywhere
Differences
in software
platform
preferences
SEO / SEM implications
especially for:
- China
- Hong Kong
- Russia
- South Korea
- United States

Example: Germany Example: China
Different countries,
different social networks
Example: Russia

6. Shine and rise: Do SEO and e-marketing for
your new export market website
• Give local signals for search engines
• Optimise your website for local search engine/s
• Select best keywords for search engine marketing: SEO and PPC
• Be seen in the ‘right places’ online
• Decide, where and how to ‘socialise’
• Combine offline and online marketing

Local signals for search engines
➢ Domain URL and domain strategy
➢ Webmaster Tool settings
➢ Sitemaps and hreflang tag
➢ Server Location
➢ Website – content and metadata language
➢ Currency and address formats
➢ Inbound links

Google recommendations for language use on
multi-regional or multi-lingual sites
▪ Make sure the language is obvious
▪ Google decides on language based on text – not code level information such as lang
▪ Single language for text and navigation of each page
▪ Hide automatically translated text from search engines: “Automated translations don’t always make
sense and could be viewed as spam…a poor or artificial-sounding translation can harm your site’s
perception”
▪ Make sure each language is easily discoverable
▪ Cross-link different languages sections of site and consider global gateway approach
▪ Avoid automatic redirection

Internationalisation:
Don’t confuse Google with your domain strategy
CLIENT EXAMPLES
▪ Client example 1:
▪ Target markets: 4
▪ Domain names: 2
▪ Generic top-level domains: 2
▪ Country code top-level domains: 5
▪ Country subfolder: 1
▪ Client example 2:
▪ Target markets: 3
▪ Domain names: 2
▪ Generic top-level domains: 1
▪ Country-code top-level domains: 2
▪ Country sub-folders: 2
DOMAIN STRATEGY
Domain name
▪ Meaningful
▪ Works internationally
▪ Available internationally
▪Approach:
▪ Consistency is key: Country-code OR subfolders
▪ Decision criteria:
▪ International strategy – countries
▪ Domain name availability
▪ Resources for SEO
▪ Domain history of company
▪ Target market – countries, audience

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
health shoes (IRL)
gesunde schuhe
bequeme schuhe
extra breite schuhe
weite schuhe
Monthly search volume
0! Search volume for the Google Translate term
Search terms are thinking patterns
that often DO NOT translate one-to-one
Example: Selling “wide fitting shoes” in Germany

Germany
Austria
Switzerland
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Ackerschnacker
Händy
Natel
Handy
Mobiltelefon
Example: “Mobile Phone” in German speaking markets
Same language does NOT guarantee
same search pattern
Official translation
Colloquial term
Local Swiss term

Competitive differentiation of keyword
varies between markets
Keyword Irish search result
(google.ie)
German search result
(google.de)
butter
Page 1 (Place 5) Page 5 *
* Organic search results only, Google ads shows earlier
** First product in the listing
Example: Kerrygold in the search engine results

Google Adwords: Keywords for PPC
▪ Simple translation rarely works –> keyword research needed
▪ Word meaning and word usage varies
▪ Example: Nebuliser:
▪ EN: Nebuliser – no real synonyms, mostly used in (semi)-medical context
▪ DE: Vernebler – used in various contexts, negative keywords important to narrow down to medical context
▪ DE: Many others terms used, e.g. Inhalators, Inhalationssystem, Inhalationsmaschine etc.
▪ DE: Different usage patterns of German words based on target audience
▪ Search volumes and price vary considerably between countries
▪ Different language patterns result in different requirements for match types and negative keywords
▪ Different keywords per market mean different adgroups
▪ Ads: Don’t translate – word length issues, different USP, different competitors
▪ Settings and Adwords structure provide good framework for localising campaigns

Plan for the long haul
74.7 % say availability of after-sales support
in own language influences their buying
decision
 Web presence in export markets requires time, budget, resources
 Initially – localisation, on-page SEO, e-marketing for launch
 On an ongoing basis – off-page SEO and other e-marketing tactics
A website is for life, not just for Christmas
 Fresh content
 Internet is a 2-way channel
 Enabling and answering incoming queries

2. e-
Marketing
localisation
1. Website
localisation
Successful
web presence
in export
market
International web presence involves addressing two
main requirements: Local impact & local visibility

Alternative next steps: Testing the waters
➢ International strategy and market research/prioritisation
➢ (Foreign market) Website audit
➢ Mini website for foreign markets
➢ Adwords campaign/s for foreign market/s
➢ Localised approach using external platforms
➢ Local presence on Social Media
➢ Joint distributor e-marketing initiatives

Susanne Dirks
e-Vorsprung Consulting
www.evorsprung.com
sudirks@evorsprung.com
Ph. 086-2375131
Thank You

Best practice website globalisation for sme's | Susanne Dirks - eVorsprung Consulting

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