Presentation on Seo Tips for the Online Dating Market in Key European Countries (as presented at iDate 2010)

1. SEO tips for the Online Dating Market in Key European Countries

8. Localization and technical issues (Why things can go wrong) 2) In English, the adjective preceeds the noun it refers to , while in Italian, French and Spanish, it usually follows it . Example: Meet Russian Girls  Incontra Ragazze Russe ...but not always! Meet Beautiful Girls  Incontra Belle Ragazze A single <title> may not be able to handle this...

10. .fr , /fr/ or fr. ? (What TLD to use and when) Top Level Domain: .it - .fr - .es Use it if you plan to focus on the local market in a proper way (long term strategy) Pros: More trust from users = higher CTR from results pages Local TLD = more trust from search engines than .com/.net/.org Allows local hosting = more local trust in SEs + possibly faster Not necessarily connected to main .com site (reduces cross-market penalization risks) Cons: No domain authority inherited from .com site = slower start May be harder to obtain (can be fixed with a proxy solution) Possibly more legal implications (talk to your lawyer about local legislations, disclaimers, privacy policies, etc.) Note: If you do not have a strong brand, consider a local domain name .

11. .fr , /fr/ or fr. ? (What TLD to use and when) Folder: /it/ - /fr/ - /es/ Use it to piggyback on existing authority (quick cash strategy) Pros: Keeps existing domain authority = quicker indexing and rankings Can be geotargeted in Google’s WMT (keep home /fr/ , not just /fr ) Easier to hide whois info via proxy solutions (if you want to) Cons: In the long run you will have to campete with local TLDs Can not be hosted locally Directly connected to main .com site (in case of penalizations, etc.) Possible TLD theft for type-ins (make sure to get the TLD anyway and redirect it)

12. .fr , /fr/ or fr. ? (What TLD to use and when) Subdumain: it. - fr. - es. An ’in-between’ solution , which I generally do not recommend. Pros: Allows local hosting = more local trust in SEs + possibly faster Gets some domain authority (make sure to interlink properly) Can be geotargeted in WMT Easier to hide whois info (if you want to) Cons: In the long run you will have to campete with local TLDs Connected to .com site (in case of penalizations, etc.) URL will look ”strange” to some users Possible TLD theft for type-ins (make sure to get the TLD anyway and redirect it)

13. Hosting ( Stuff to check with your Sys-Admins) Host locally, if possible. If you can host locally, make sure you are REALLY hosting locally (many resellers, check IP location of servers. Several good plugins: e.g. Flagfox : https ://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5791 ). If not possible, no big drama - it wont prevent you from ranking.

18. An example from Facebook... Are you single? Try XXXXX, where ___________________ girls are waiting for you! Free! SHOULDER BLADES (Source: http://www.nerdgranny.com/ragazze-scapole-facebook/ )

20. Search Engine and Social Media Use ( Stuff to keep in mind) Google and Facebook are kings: stick to them. Penetration of Social Media in Italy and Spain is now higher than in the US.* Twitter use in Europe doubled since last year : still low penetration but relatively high penetration on smartphone users**. Alternatives to FB in France : Copains d’Avant, Trombi, Skyrock Alternatives to FB in Italy : Badoo (bending more towards dating) Alternatives to FB in Spain : Tuenti (younger audience) *+106% june 2009 to june 2010 - source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/social-media-accounts-for-22-percent-of-time-online *source: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/8/Indonesia_Brazil_and_Venezuela_Lead_Global_Surge_in_Twitter_Usage