In the first BAC Q&A we catch up with speaker Jon Murphy from OBAN Multilingual ahead of his session on international SEO for different search engines and territories. Read on to get some tips on how to learn which search engines rule in territories around the globe and hear specific tips for optimising for Google alternatives:

As a Senior Account Manager at OBAN Multilingual, an international search and online marketing agency specialising in language and localisation strategies, can you say tell us a little more about what you do and who you work with in the iGaming industry?

OBAN runs global search campaigns across a wide range of industry sectors – however, one of our fastest growing arms is the iGaming industry. As internationalization grows among gaming companies and the online market place gets ever more saturated… as has the need to find tactful and innovative ways of approaching global search marketing. In particular the need to look at international engines is ever more important and in fact… in some markets should be the way operators have gone anyway… but it’s often the case that this is an area very misunderstood. At OBAN we operate everything from a local level, which we believe is key in driving the best results… we’re 100% anti translation and replication… and our work centralizes around taking at each market individually and creating a unique strategies based on the local environments. In addition, we look at the differences from culture and country in how users react to webpages – the fact that darker colors are preferred is some markets and lighter in others… the fact that by increasing the size of a call to action button will boost results in the UK… but damage them in France. This is done through cultural multivariate testing via our tool GlobalMaxer. Clients we’ve worked with in the iGaming sector include 888.com, JackpotCity, Smart Live, 32Red Plc and many more…

Does Google really have global domination of the world’s search landscape? And if, not what alternative search engines are worth investigating and are these country specific?

Not at all, whilst overall Google is the world’s most dominant search engine… certainly as you move further east from C. Europe, the landscape is far more diverse. As well as local engines, Yahoo! does very well in markets such as Taiwan and Japan and has been the long standing leading search engine there. If you are targeting  a market such as Russia… you have to focus on Yandex, which holds a 65% market share and is in fact the world’s fastest growing search engine. In China, you have to look at Baidu, which has a 75% market share. Naver, the world’s 5th biggest search engine is the leader in South Korea and Daum sits behind that… so you wouldn’t even consider Google or Yahoo! in this market.
Another point to consider is the usership of these search engines, dependent upon the audience you’re targeting you need to understand what local search engines there might be that draw in a particular audience, and this can be critical in developing the best search strategies. So it’s not always about ‘who’s the biggest’.

If you were advising on how to plan an international SEO strategy, what three things would be top of your list for people to consider?

1. Research each market individually. Don’t assume that there is a ‘one size fits all’ strategy to global SEO. People from different markets use the internet vastly differently and you need to embrace this.
2. Understand how local search engines work. Different engines have different rules for links, PPC pricing etc… and you should to have a grasp of this to develop the best strategy
3. Conduct work locally… use local people to do research, copywriting etc… not someone that just speaks the language – getting into the mind set of searchers is key.

What would be your advice to affiliates on how to drive new acquisitions and build brand awareness internationally?

Ensure your affiliate is in sync with your own campaign strategy, try and avoid cannibalising effort, and to take ownership of a region/approach. Like with your own company, ensure the affiliate is aware of the regional differences and how they relate to the global approach. To be protective of your brand in everything they do, make sure that how they represent you is appropriate for that particular market as well as the brand in general.

Regarding your presentation at the Budapest Affiliate Conference - “International SEO: Optimisation for Different Search Engines & Territories” – who should attend and what five points will delegates take away from this session?

Anyone that is running or considering to run search campaigns in non-UK markets, that wants to learn more about developing the best SEM strategies per market.

1. An understanding of international search… how it works and what the top considerations should be
2. An understanding of non-Google Engines, where they are… and how they operate
3. What kind of social media is present in markets such as Russia and China and how that differs from the UK
4. What some of the leading searchers are per market in the gaming industry. I.e. What are gamers in Scandinavia interested in and how that differs from areas such as Japan and Indonesia…
5. What good ways there are for learning more about non-UK markets and getting insight

If you were a member of the audience, what three intelligent questions would you ask following your presentation?

1. Do you see Google becoming more dominant in the Far East…? Or is it the other way around Is it the other way around… are we more likely to see local engines cropping up in Europe?
2. Due to laws on PPC gaming advertising – what markets do allow advertising and for those that don’t, is there a way around it?
3. We’ve tried getting in touch with local engines and it’s hard! How can you best manage them?

And finally, what's your tip for making the most out of an industry event like the Budapest Affiliate Conference?

From just a quick look at the speakers list… it’s clear to see the caliber of people at this event. Don’t just ‘mosey around’, speak to these people, ask lots of questions and get some useful contacts!

Jon will be presenting on Day 2 - Saturday 9th October
13.00 - 13.30 in Room 1, Advanced Affiliate Marketing
International SEO: Optimisation for Different Search Engines & Territories