This document discusses strategies for expanding a business internationally. It explains that going international requires more than just translating language - cultural factors must also be considered. Countries have different preferences in areas like individualism vs collectivism and power distance. Search engines also operate by country, not just language, so targeting specific countries is important. Laws and regulations vary between countries as well. The document recommends using a strategy tool to determine the best approach for each situation, whether to focus on geotargeting, translation, or both. Testing with customers is also advised to identify the most effective international expansion plan.

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Lost in Translation:
Expanding Internationally
Kate Morris

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Insert
speaker photo
Kate Morris
Principal Consultant, Distilled
kate.morris@distilled.net
@katemorris

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Situation 1

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Image/Graph etc.
$$$$

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Situation 2

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Image/Graph etc.
“We sell Logitech mice. I want to
rank in google.co.uk.”
“Everyone has a domain.co.uk
domain, I need one to rank. “

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Saudi Arabia Fail

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Less Fail, More Confusion

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Going International Requires a
Business-Specific Strategy

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There is no strategy.
Language
Country

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Geo
-
targ
etin
g
Transl
ating
Geotargeting, Translation, Both
Both

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Geotargeting ≠ Translation

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Geotargetin
g
Translation
/Language
Cultur
e
Lega
l
Search
Engine
s
Components

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Geotargeting is
(almost) always best.

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1. Culture Changes

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Meet Nathalie Nahai
@TheWebPsych
Psst … Follow Her
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Image/Graph etc.
http://www.slideshare.net/nathalienahai/mozcon-how-gender-and-cultural-differences-in-web-psychology-affect-the-customer-experience

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Image/Graph etc.
http://www.slideshare.net/nathalienahai/mozcon-how-gender-and-cultural-differences-in-web-psychology-affect-the-customer-experience
Targeting an
international
audience means
more change to your
marketing plan than
just language.

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q
the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed
unequally
Power Distance
q
the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity
Uncertainty Avoidance
q
How the members of a society see themselves, as individuals or as a collective.
Individualism/Collectivism
q
masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism,
assertiveness and material reward for success
q
Femininity stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life
Masculinity/Femininity
q
dealing with society’s search for virtue, black and white versus gray areas of life
Long-term Orientation
Hofstede’s Dimensions

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Individualistic/Collectivistic:
How the members of a society see themselves, as
individuals or as a collective.

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Individualistic Culture Site (UK)
Image/Graph etc.
Focus:
Products

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Collectivistic Culture Site (Japan)
Image/Graph etc.
Focus: User’s
Relationships

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Click icon to add picture
Power Distance:
The degree to which the less powerful members of a society
accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

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High Power Distance (Malaysia)
Image/Graph etc.
Focus:
Professors

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Low Power Distance (Netherlands)
Image/Graph etc.
Focus: Students

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Image/Graph etc.
http://www.slideshare.net/nathalienahai/mozcon-how-gender-and-cultural-differences-in-web-psychology-affect-the-customer-experience
Go check out
the whole
presentation.

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2. Search Engines
Operate by Country

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Google Operates by Country
This is
Google
Estonia
google.ee

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Not by Language
Not
Google
Estonian

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They offer Google Estonia in popular languages of that country.

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GWMT: No mention of language

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BWMT: No mention of language

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Trust the Data

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3. Laws, Rules,
Regulation

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Click icon to add picture
Shipping

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Click icon to add picture
Currency and Taxes

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Rules (ex. Cookies)

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Geo-targeting can be costly.

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Geo-targeting can be costly.
* You may or may not need these things.
Content Creation
Translation
Web Design
Domains*
Promotion Hosting*
Photography
ConsultantsSupport
Development

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Translating only
is an option!

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Language changes are a good
place to start.

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Image/Graph etc.
http://www.slideshare.net/nathalienahai/mozcon-how-gender-and-cultural-differences-in-web-psychology-affect-the-customer-experience
Some site content will
have to be translated
anyway.

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Main Issue:
Confusing Country and
Language Targeting

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Remember This?
Language
Country

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This points to domain.fr
That’s a geo-targeted domain to France only.

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ccTLDs (.fr, .co.uk) are only for geo-targeting.

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French Speaking Countries

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French Speaking Countries
Image/Graph etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_French_is_an_official_language

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Web Citizens of
France make up
49%
of the world’s
French speaking
web users.
France; 49%Other; 51%

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That’s over
56 million
web users
ignored.
Image/Graph etc.

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# Countries per Official Language
Image/Graph etc.
Language World Countries
English 59 India, United States, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Canada …
French 29 France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Canada, Madagascar
Arabic 26 Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco
Spanish 21 Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina
Portuguese 10 Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique, Angola
Russian 8
Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Abkhazia*, South
Ossetia*, Transnistria*
German 6 Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg
Italian
4
Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City
Malay Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei
Swahili Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Click icon to add picture
By translating only, you can
potentially reach a bigger
audience.

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KEEP
CALM
AND
DON’T
MACHINE TRANSLATE

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What Strategy is Right?

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Introducing …
The New and Improved …
Interactive International Search Strategy
Tool
http://dis.tl/15rh9D1
Old PDF
http://bit.ly/14GdPoh
Image/Graph etc.

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Example: Balsam Hill
Image/Graph etc.

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- Go Find Your Strategy
- Don’t Machine Translate
- Test Everything
If in doubt, ask your
customers.

62. @katemorris
Thanks.
Any questions?
Kate Morris
kate.morris@distilled.net
@katemorris