> Blog

We know how popular Facebook and Twitter are in the UK, but what about the rest of the world?

Here’s an atlas displaying some of the most popular social networking sites around the world:

Russian search giant Yandex last week announced that users can now see results from foreign sites only.

As with most local search engines, Yandex prefers locally hosted websites in the Russian language. Foreign websites are rarely shown in the first page rankings, and Yandex have stated that Russian web users prefer sites locally relevant and in Cyrillic script.

However, some users may be looking for something which is particular to another country, or which another country may be able to provide better information on, for example, if a Russian were searching for ‘hotels in London’, a UK website on holiday accommodation is more likely to be of use.

Now, when the global search filter is enabled, yandex.ru will display only the results from other countries. Latin script based enquiries account for 12-15% of all searches on Yandex, but Yandex also understand that just because people may be searching in English (for example) this may not mean they are after an English website. If someone were to search for the term ‘Apple iPhone’, as the gadget is known universally, they may still be looking for a site which sells it in Russia. Therefore, Yandex allows users to choose whether to view local search results or foreign results.

Whether or not Yandex are hoping to take on Google with their global search options is debatable, however the move certainly provides Russian web users with more choice when searching.

By Anna Pearce.

The European Union has developed a plan in order to get half of European households on broadband speeds by 2020, a report by the BBC has stated.

It is part of the European Union’s five year plan for the digital economy.
The plan also aims to have half of Europeans shopping online by 2015.
Neelie Kroes, the new digital affairs commissioner announced the agenda in order to boost Europe technological and digital advancement, helping it catch up with the USA.

As it stands, the US currently invests 40% more in technology than the EU.
Nearly a third of Europeans have never used the internet and only 1% has access to fibre-based high-speed networks.

In order to catch up, EU governments must double their annual spending on research and development to 11bn euros (£9.4bn) by 2020.

The developments in the EU’s digital progression will involve around 30 new laws being introduced, aiming to cut restrictions, increase the use of electronic payments, and make the internet more accessible for everyone, adhering to the European Parliament’s pledge to overhaul telecoms law and establish internet access as a fundamental right.

By Anna Pearce

For those aren’t already following us, Oban have been keeping Tweet-ers up to date with all of the latest international SEO news and info at http://twitter.com/obansem.

And if you’re not all that into Twitter, we’re also on Facebook, with our company page at http://bit.ly/9j1kb4 giving you all the Oban details, and our International SEO News page at http://bit.ly/8XgUyU, which is a bit like our Twitter page.

Make  sure you check us out!

South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) and global internet payment system PayPal announced their new partnership at the end of March. This means that South African internet shoppers can now carry out transactions to and from their FNB accounts, and sell and purchase services and goods with 190 markets worldwide swiftly and safely. The move highlights ecommerce opportunities for foreign markets at a time when, thanks to the World Cup, South Africa is in the spotlight, and reflects the general progress being made in SA to improve and encourage international ecommerce.

Previously, South Africa has been considered an almost ‘no-go’ area for foreign businesses wanting to carry out ecommerce. A low internet population, poor connectivity, and issues with fraud and payment problems being a few of the hurdles they would have been expected to jump. However, the internet is moving forward in SA, and this is opening up windows of opportunity for businesses worldwide.

The 17,000 km SEACOM undersea cable system was launched in July 2009, and is the first in a series of undersea cable systems expected to vastly improve South Africa and neighbouring countries international internet connectivity by linking them to various regions across the world. The cable has increased bandwidth enormously, and the hope is that it will support South Africa’s economic and technological growth. Already, the effects the cable has had on internet usage in South Africa are evident. Between 2002 and 2007, internet population growth never rose above 8% year on year. In 2009, there was a reported 15% growth from 2008, from 4.6 million to 5.3 million, and by 2011 the internet population is expected to be at 11 million. Plans for further cables are underway, and if all are carried out, the international internet capacity of SA will have increased 150-fold since 2008.

The undersea cable has also had a positive effect on internet pricing in South Africa. Before 2009 Telkom held the ISP monopoly in the country. Now, although Telkom still holds the market share, there are a range of competitors, including Neotel, Vodacom and MWeb. With such competition, operators are now working on providing users with the best rates. MWeb and Vox Telecom have just announced plans to provide customers with an uncapped ADSL broadband tariff, and Vodacom offer a 50% off deal for their business customers. In a country where, for many, internet has been inaccessible due to expensive rates, these price drops should open up access for a much wider demographic of the country.

The outlook is promising for ecommerce in South Africa. Statistics show that there was a 7% increase in internet retailing in 2009, and with higher rates of employment and disposable incomes, people will be looking for quicker and convenient ways to shop. Previously, trust in online shopping has been low, however, with some of South Africa’s leading retailers such as Woolworths and Pick ‘n’ Pay opening online stores, trust is expected to increase. The Mastercard Worldwide Online Shopping Survey 2010 showed only 5% of respondents use only offline channels to browse and purchase goods. With these statistics in mind, South Africa could hold a lot of potential for UK businesses. Research into South African ecommerce and internet usage should be carried out in order to develop an international SEO and web marketing strategy. By doing this, businesses can not only expand into a market which holds great potential, but also assist in the economic and technological advancement of 2010’s most celebrated country.

Multi-national companies are on the rise, and India is at the forefront of the expansion, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has announced. Over 2200 Indian companies are set to develop their operations outside of India in the next 15 years, highlighting the importance for UK businesses to forge relationships with businesses from overseas.

Some businesses in ‘emerging’ countries such as Russia, Malaysia, India, and parts of Eastern Europe, are finding it hard to establish themselves due to rising levels of competition, and are looking to set up camp outside of their home countries in order to secure resources and build better relationships with foreign markets.

It’s important for UK businesses to form alliances with these multi-national businesses in order to secure their own place in the market.

“UK companies need to work hard to interact and deal with the new players and also to expose their own goods and services to rapidly growing markets around the world. Companies that are able to build early alliances with emerging market multi-nationals will be safeguarding their business models for the future.” said Chris Hemming, Global Head of Corporate finance, PwC.

Anna Pearce, Oban Multilingual, International SEO

International online retail giant ASOS have announced they are to launch an online marketplace, allowing users to sell their new and second hand clothes at a fixed price via the ASOS site to buyers in all of it’s markets.

The global success story that is ASOS will advise sellers on how best to present their clothes in order to help them maximise their sales, and will also allow independent retailers to set up their own stores, similar to the marketplaces of Amazon and EBay’s fashion outlet.

The company, who saw a massive 102% growth in overseas sales last year up to March 2010, and a 35% growth in overall revenue, are keen to pursue the same successes for 2010, and chief executive Nick Robertson has highlighted the company’s plans to focus further on its international players by launching country-specific sites in Germany, France and the US.

ASOS have said they are in the ‘advanced stages’ of launching the marketplace and it is expected to arrive later this year.

It looks like 2010 could be another exciting year for the company, and also international fashion etail.

By Anna Pearce, Oban Multilingual SEO

Today is an historic day for internet users across the globe, a report by the BBC announced on its news site earlier, as it marks the day that non-Latin web addresses have gone live.

Net regulator the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have switched on the long awaited system which allows full web addresses to feature no Latin characters. This means the arrival international domains which can be written in scripts such as Arabic, Chinese and Cyrillic.

More than 20 countries have requested approval for international domains from ICANN in 11 different languages. In some parts of the world, such as Russia (where the ICANN approved Cyrillic IDNs in November last year), the registration of native character based domains has been going on for a while, and the launch means that millions of people will finally be able to type web addresses in their own language.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are the first counties to have Arabic country codes that will look like this:

• Egypt: مصر
• Saudi Arabia: السعودية
• United Arab Emirates: امارات

“All three are Arabic script domains, and will enable domain names written fully right-to-left,” said Kim Davies of ICANN in a blog post.

When ICANN first announced its plans for non-Latin web names it said it was the “biggest change” to the net “since it was invented 40 years ago”.

“Over half the internet users around the world don’t use a Latin-based script as their native language,” said Mr Beckstrom at the time.

“IDNs are about making the internet more global and accessible for everyone.”

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10100108.stm

By Anna Pearce, Oban Multilingual.

The world’s top fashion designers and luxury retailers are looking to Asian markets to increase sales, a Reuters article has reported.

Singapore, which has the highest density of millionaires in the world, last week hosted the Audi Fashion Festival, a showcase of some of the world’s leading designers. Singapore hopes to join cities such as Paris and New York as a renowned fashion capital, and it could easily achieve this, as the city’s abundance of luxury malls attract people wanting to spend big from all over Asia.

“Western designers have realized there’s a great deal of money to be had in Asia and they can see that customers in China and India are moving very quickly toward becoming consumers of the very highest level,” Colin McDowell, creative director of the Audi Fashion Festival, told Reuters.

Consumers in prosperous Asian markets such as China and Singapore haven’t slowed down their spending on luxury goods since the recession unlike other parts of the world, and in a culture fixated on branding and image, the prosperous demographics are determined to spend on designer labels. Some designers have even reported that their biggest markets are in China.

With Asian markets showing so much potential, and with reports stating that the West are still slightly reluctant to splurge on luxury goods, designers and high end retailers might want to think about heading East, and with the Asian internet market being so promising, what better way to do this than online?

By Anna Pearce, Oban Multilingual SEO

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63S0TL20100429

The internet savvy youth of China are going gaga for English words and phrases, an article in The Times reported yesterday.

According to the article, the phrase ‘Oh my Lady Gaga!’ is popping up all over Chinese blogs and forums, replacing their past fascination with the English phrase ‘Oh my God!’.

Other examples of English phrases creeping into China’s forums and blogs are the acronyms ‘LOL’ (Laugh out Loud) and ‘IMAO’ (In My Arrogant Opinion).

The trend is causing debate amongst linguists and government figures, some of whom believe that the influx of English terms on the internet could result in diminished use of the Chinese language. Others argue that taking on words and phrases from other cultures is a sign of being culturally aware and in touch with the modern world.

Certain English acronyms and words have already been restricted on television and in newspapers in China. The acronym NBA (National Basketball Association) now has to be pronounced in a Chinese ten syllable phrase, a bit of a mouthful for the sports commentators who follow Yao Ming, the Chinese basketball player who’s one of the NBAs biggest stars.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7103634.ece