This document discusses best practices for creating a successful web presence in Germany. It begins by presenting the results of an audit of companies' websites which showed room for improvement in areas like technical tuning, SEO, social media, content, and trust features. It then outlines some key differences companies must consider when expanding their web presence to Germany, including the competitive, technology, socio-cultural, and legal environments. Specific examples are provided of how these environments differ for concepts like butter and mobile phones. The document emphasizes the importance of cultural and language localization for the German market. It provides tips for optimizing the online strategy, domain, SEO, content, and processes to ensure customers in Germany can find, engage with, and do

1. Susanne Dirks
sudirks@evorsprung.com
Ph. 086-2375131
Web presence abroad:
What’s so different and
how to approach it

2. Web Presence Best Practice for Germany
• Handbook for
creating a
successful online
presence in
Germany
• Will be available
from EI website in
due course
e-Vorsprung Consulting

3. Need for action: Unleveraged opportunity
Audit of EI companies for:
• Website Visibility
– 17 criteria across 4 categories:
Technical Tuning, Onsite SEO,
Offside SEO and Social media
• Website Impact
– 17 criteria across 4 categories:
Content & Translation,
Customer Service Support,
Clarity of Website, Trust-
enhancing Features
– Plus 4 additional criteria for
any companies that provided
e-commerce type of
transactions
e-Vorsprung Consulting
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1
Best
Worst
Average score

4. Web presence abroad
means operating in a different environment
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Competitive
Environment
Technology
Environment
Socio-cultural
Environment
Legal
Environment

5. Example ‘Butter’:
Different offline competitors in Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting

6. Example: ‘Butter’
Different online (types of) competitors in Germany
Ireland (google.ie) Germany (google.de)
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Search:
butter

7. Example: ‘Mobile Phone’
Different online competitors in Germany
Ireland (google.ie) Germany (google.de)
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Search:
(in native language):
Mobile phone vs. Handy

8. The impact of a different cultural
environment on web presence in Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Competitive
Environment
Technology
Environment
Socio-cultural
Environment
Legal
Environment

9. The cultural environment directly determines the
(online) marketing approach
• Culture is …
– “a universal orientation
system typical of a
society, organisation
or group”
– Influences the way all
of its members
perceive, think,
value, act :
• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action
e-Vorsprung Consulting
“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 …”

10. Many users only perceive, think, and value
only in their own language
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Considerable country variances !
Question:
Do you use a language other than
your own to read/watch content
on the Internet ?

11. ... and usage of another language is not very
frequent (and not necessarily English) ...
e-Vorsprung Consulting

12. ... and usage of other language(s) online
declines, the more serious the transaction is
e-Vorsprung Consulting

13. Language’s influence on purchasing decisions:
“Can’t read, won’t buy !”
• Real foreign language proficiency (and use) is lower than
you think
• Most people prefer to buy in their own language
– 52.4% only buy from websites in their own language
• Language is particularly important for complex and larger
purchases
• No translation or ‘bad’ translation is not really an option
– First impressions count !
• After ‘brand’, the most important decision factor is
‘language’
e-Vorsprung Consulting

14. At the most basic level, cultural localisation is
about local standards and conventions
• Important conventions for cultural web
presence localisation include:
– Use of colours
– Use of formats
– Use of measurements
– Use of symbols
– Use of icons
– Use of pictures
– Use of currency
e-Vorsprung Consulting

15. But culture goes deeper and impacts thinking
(“value”) and behaviours (“act”)
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
• Power distance
– Attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst its members
• Individualism
– Degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members
• Masculinity/femininity
– Main motivations in people, wanting to be the best (masculine) versus
liking what you do (feminine).
• Uncertainty avoidance
– Extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown
situations
• Long-term orientation
– Extent to which a society shows a long-term versus a short-term point of
view of the future
e-Vorsprung Consulting

16. Comparison: Ireland - US - UK
e-Vorsprung Consulting
PDI = Power Distance
IDV = Individuallism
MAS = Masculinity/Femininity
UAI = Uncertainty Avoidance
LTO = Long-term Orientation

17. Comparison: Ireland - China
e-Vorsprung Consulting
PDI = Power Distance
IDV = Individuallism
MAS = Masculinity/Femininity
UAI = Uncertainty Avoidance
LTO = Long-term Orientation

18. Comparison: Ireland - Spain
e-Vorsprung Consulting
PDI = Power Distance
IDV = Individuallism
MAS = Masculinity/Femininity
UAI = Uncertainty Avoidance
LTO = Long-term Orientation

19. The impact of different technology usage on
web presence in Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Competitive
Environment
Technology
Environment
Socio-cultural
Environment
Legal
Environment

20. Successful web presence abroad requires an
understanding of technology usage patterns
• Preferred search engines
• Approach to search
• Preferred websites / blogs
• Preferred social media platforms/channels
• Preferred online directories
• Preferred price comparison engines
• Online usage patterns
e-Vorsprung Consulting

21. Example:
Different social networks in Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting

22. Example:
Different preferred retail sites
e-Vorsprung Consulting

23. The impact of different legal and/or
regulatory requirements on web presence in
Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Competitive
Environment
Technology
Environment
Socio-cultural
Environment
Legal
Environment

24. Legal considerations for web presence abroad
• Online legal aspects different from country to
country include areas such as:
– Privacy and data protection legislation
– Advertising legislation
– Brand legislation
– Consumer legislation
– Copyright
– Terms and conditions
– Liability
– Domain names
– Website content
e-Vorsprung Consulting

25. Example of legal requirement in Germany:
‘Impressum’
• ‘Impressum’ is a legally mandated
statement of the ownership and
authorship
• Required in Germany for all forms of
web presence as per § 5 of the
Telemediengesetz (2007)
• Needs to be clearly visible and
easy to find, and immediately
and always available
• Needs to contain certain minimum
information, including: information
about the publisher, including their
name and address, telephone
number or e-mail address, trade
registry number, VAT number, and
other information depending on the
type of company
e-Vorsprung Consulting

26. 4 steps for a successful web presence abroad
• Content
• Culture
• Language
• Channnels
• Resources
• Processes
• Domain
strategy
• Search Engine
Marketing
• Social Media
• Target
market
research
• Online
Marketing
Strategy ...getting
ready for
them
...getting
them to
find you
... getting
tehm to
engage
with you
....getting
them to
do lasting
business
e-Vorsprung Consulting
1 2
34

27. Step 1:
Define your online strategy for the new market
• Do target market research
– Offline market
– Online market
• Review and refine your online value
proposition for your target market
– Clear competitive differentiation
• Online content and design
• Online visibility
e-Vorsprung Consulting

28. e-Vorsprung Consulting
Kerrygold Ireland value proposition
as per Irish home page

29. Kerrygold Germany value proposition
as per German home page
e-Vorsprung Consulting

30. The impact of Kerrygold’s
German value proposition on search results
Searching for
“Gesunde Butter”
In www.google.de
=> SERP 1 for
Kerrygold
e-Vorsprung Consulting

31. Aldi Sued Germany value proposition
e-Vorsprung Consulting

32. Aldi Nord Germany value proposition
e-Vorsprung Consulting

33. Aldi Austria value proposition
e-Vorsprung Consulting

34. Aldi UK value proposition
e-Vorsprung Consulting

35. Aldi Ireland value proposition
e-Vorsprung Consulting

36. Step 2:
Make sure your target customers can find you online
• Domain Strategy
– Domain name
– Domain URL structure
• Search Engine Marketing
– Search engine optimisation
– Keywords for the target market
• Social Media for target market
e-Vorsprung Consulting

37. Domain name:
Name that is meaningful and easy for target market
If possible, a search-friendly domain name
• For search engines and target market users
• Meaningful in native language
– Example (Germany): www.franchise-direkt.com
– Example (Germany): www.promobecher.de
• Keyword-friendly in native language
• Easy to remember
• Easy to spell
• No double meaning
e-Vorsprung Consulting

38. Domain URL Structure Options
• Option 1: Country-code TLD (ccTLD)
– Example: www.vitalograph.de
• Option 2: Subdirectory
– Examples: www.combilift.com/de,
www.keenan.com/de-de
– Avoid non-standard subdirectories:/ger,/deutsch
• Option 3: Subdomain
– Example: www.German.hostelworld.com
e-Vorsprung Consulting

39. Search engine marketing for new market
Social Media
Optimisation
Search
Engine
Optimisation
Search
Engine
Advertising
• Keywords for SEO and
SEA for target market
– Value proposition
– Target market
language
– Used by target market
online users
– Differentiating
• Off-page SEO for
target market
• Social Media for target
market
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Keywords !!!

40. SEO and SEA play a key role in attracting
online customers abroad
Example: German e-commerce companies’ approach to
internationalisation:
e-Vorsprung Consulting

41. Good keywords are not only translated, but must
also reflect native language search patterns
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Source: Google Trends on 103372013, Germany, past 12 months
Also watch:
- Language and grammar
- Different thinking patterns
79
1

42. Example Kerrygold:
Good keywords express local differentiators
Keyword Irish search result
(google.ie)
German search result
(google.de)
butter
Page 1 (Place 5) Page 5 *
healthy butter (gesunde
butter)
Not found
(on first five pages)
Page 1 (place 6) **
Irish butter (irische
butter)
Page 1 (Place 1) Page 1 (place 2) **
e-Vorsprung Consulting
•Organic search results only, Google ads shows earlier
** First product in the listing

43. • Create inbound links from reputable websites in the
target market
– Example: www.german.hostelworld.com
• Encourage local links and followers
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Off-page SEO for foreign markets:
The importance of local links

44. Other Off-page SEO for new markets:
Being seen in the ‘right places’
• Locally used generic directories
• e.g. for Germany: www.allesklar.de
• Locally used industry directories
• e.g. for Germany: www.psiproductfinder.de
• Local price comparison websites
• e.g. for Germany: www.geizhals.de
• Social networks
• e.g. for Germany: Xing
• Social bookmarking sites
• e.g. for Germany: www.mister-wong.de
e-Vorsprung Consulting

45. Step 3:
Make sure your target market customers
buy into you online
• Appropriate and local language content
• Cultural adaptation of web presence
• Making your web presence looks local
• Legal requirements for web presence
e-Vorsprung Consulting

46. Kerrygold content for German products page
e-Vorsprung Consulting

47. Different countries prefer different formats of
content
e-Vorsprung Consulting

48. Website translation is more than just translation
• Translation quality
• Translation scope
• Translation updates
• Style of translated text
• Formatting of translated text
• Consistency of translation
• Keyword focus on translated text
• Quality assurance
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Avoid:
- Google Translate & Co!
- Unqualified translators
- Mixed-language approaches

49. Examples of translation considerations
• Video content:
– Keenans – fully dubbed
– Combilift – ‘silent’ movie
• News section:
– Franchise Direct
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Franchise Direkt

50. Tackling ‘uncertainty avoidance’ online
e-Vorsprung Consulting
• Customer service: FAQs, customer service options,
customer help/contact
• Guided navigation: Site maps, well-displayed links,
forward/backward navigation
• Tradition theme: Emphasis on company history, phrases like
‘company legacy’, ‘for generations’ etc.
• Local stores: Contact information for local dealers, shops etc
• Local terminology: Use of country-specific metaphors, local
touch of the website
• Free trials or downloads: Free stuff, free downloads, free
product trials, free memberships, free service information, toll-
free numbers
• Transaction security and testimonials: Customer
testimonials, seals of trust, ethical business practices from
third parties

51. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Customer service support in forms of FAQs
e-Vorsprung Consulting
3DIssue
Keenan
*

52. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Different forms of customer service support
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Vitalograph
e-Vorsprung Consulting

53. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Sitemaps for website clarity and structure
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Multihog

54. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Breadcrumb navigation for website clarity
and structure
e-Vorsprung Consulting

55. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Scientific/academic evidence helps build trust
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Keenan
Kerrygold

56. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Displaying seals of quality
• Online seals of quality recommended by
D21 initiative for Germany
e-Vorsprung Consulting

57. Tackling uncertainty avoidance:
Tradition and trust go hand in hand
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Vitalograph

58. Making your web presence look local
• German domain name and/or German ccTLC
• Providing local payment options
• Local contact options, e.g. Address/phone
number
• Local case studies
• Seals of approval by local organisations/bodies
• List of local events
• List of local websites
e-Vorsprung Consulting

59. e-Vorsprung Consulting
Germans’ preference for payment options
Preferences for payment on the Internet (averaged):

60. Example:
Country-specific payment types
Country Country-specific payment type
Benelux Bancontact / Mister Cash
IDEAL
France 4etoiles, Carte Bleu, Carte Aurore,
Cofinoga
United Kingdom Maestro UK
Italy Carta PostePay,
CartaSi / Sipay
Austria Eps-Online-Überweisung
Paybox
Switzerland myOne,
Postfinance Card / e-finance
Scandinavia eDankort
e-Vorsprung Consulting

61. Looking local:
Local contact options and/or local presence
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Keenan

62. Looking local:
Local case studies have more relevance
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Kingspan

63. Looking local:
Local approval of quality counts more
e-Vorsprung Consulting

64. Looking Local: Listing local events
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Keenan UK

65. Looking local:
Listing links to locally relevant websites
e-Vorsprung Consulting
www.vitalograph.de

66. Looking local:
Meeting legal requirements and conventions
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Vitalograph

67. Step 4:
Make sure you can do business with the your new
target market customers
e-Vorsprung Consulting
• Channels
• Communication
• Resources
• Skills
• Processes

68. Channel strategy for new markets
• New channel created due to web presence in new market
– Where does this fit in overall channel strategy for new market?
• New web channel will lead to increased communications
– What are the implications for channel strategy, resources, skills,
response speed/format ?
– How to best deal with your new communications: Planned and
unplanned as well as incoming, outgoing, ongoing ?
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Source: Alex Osterwalder: Business Model Canvas

69. Question: How to you provide telephone
support to non-English speakers ?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
EU-27 Sweden Germany France
At least 1 language
At least 2 languages
At least 3 languages
No foreign languages
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Languages spoken well
enough to hold a
conversation

70. Question: How do you deal with foreign
language enquiries or comments ?
e-Vorsprung Consulting

71. Language strategy is worth the effort
e-Vorsprung Consulting
Source: European Commission PIMLICO Report: Language Management Strategy and Best Practice in European SMEs (4/2011)
74.7 % say availability of after-sales support in
own language influences their buying decision

72. Next steps
• Planning web presence for new market
– Online value proposition for new market
– Monitoring
– Strategy
– Quickwins
• e.g. Domain registration, homepage
• Improving web presence for new market
– Checklist
– Quickwins
• E.g. FAQ, Certification, QA, Audit
e-Vorsprung Consulting

73. THANK YOU
For more info, contact:
sudirks@evorsprung.com
e-Vorsprung Consulting