One of the most common misconceptions that I deal with is keywords, particularly where travel and related services are involved. If you seek international success it is absolutely vital to think outside the confines of this country.
You have probably done extensive research into the most important destinations relevant to your business and you may even have extended this research beyond the UK to your target countries. So all done, yes?
No! What you need to do now is think yourself into each of your target countries and find out what destinations are most popular there. I know that a sizeable proportion of UK travel related services involves business travellers moving around within this country. It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that in other countries the same applies. While your top destination on the UK site may be London it is surely not reasonable to assume that Monsieur le web searcher in Paris is going to London. He may well be a business traveller on a trip to Toulouse or somewhere else within France. Similarly one of your top French destinations from the UK may be Disneyland Paris, but will the same hold true for native French search?
If you really want international success then you need to think internationally. Part of this thinking is that every country has a unique domestic market as well as a unique way of searching. Acquiring this knowledge is painstaking and sometimes quite difficult but it really is worth the effort. That extra bit of understanding can be the edge that you need in getting your product or service that critical position in the search results. The benefits of good keyword research for PPC campaigns are, I trust, self explanatory.
Tags: international, language