If what you are doing right now with your web development marketing for your website is successful on a small scale then you should consider expanding your success with global web development. In today’s internet driven world it is more important than ever to create a global web site in which the content is crafted and adapted to meet the specific regional needs and requirements. A global website is one that has been translated and localized internationally.
If you want to compete on the internet globally then you’ll need to translate your website in order to empower your web presence to most effectively communicate to your audience and conduct and complete business through international e-commerce. The following are some of the steps that need to be taken for global web development to reach those around the world on the international internet:
- Determine and analyze your target market. You will need to consider what region you are planning to target and who your customer there will be. Research what language they speak there and what the market opportunities are for your product or service. Begin to understand the characteristics and needs of your targeted audience and the keywords and content that will connect you to that audience in order to engage and interact with them.
- Research and identify relevant keywords for each of the targeted audiences. Use keyword research tools such as Google Adwords Keyword Tool and Google Insights for Search to help.
- Determine the website structure, will you have a different domain for each country or language, or will you have subdomains for each country, or subdirectories. Will you market to specific countries or to specific languages?
- Create the content for the website. This content may be very similar to the English website however you might develop some new content sections or pages depending on the market. The content you develop and publish should be based on the analysis and keyword research that you have done.
- If you want to take your website global you will want to find a native translator for the regions in which you hope to expand. Looking on freelance websites is one place to find good translators. Native speakers will be familiar with the customs of that particular country or region. They will know how to phrase statements and present ideas to the audience so they make sense. This will allow you to make a better connection with the potential customers. They will feel that you understand who they are and where they are coming from. It is worth the investment for the native translator.
- Just as with any web development, once you have the content written and translated you will need to optimize the site for country specific search engines, Google is popular in the States but not necessarily in other countries. You might wish to employ an experienced SEO expert in the countries that you are targeting to lead the SEO for that portion of the site. They will also be able to head up a linking campaign to gather links pointing to the site from reputable sites in that country.
