Search engine marketing is one of the marketing activities, which in most cases, is relatively easy to expand to other markets. Marketing in Europe is one of those cases where it’s not so easy. Why not, you ask?  The answer is because there is no Europe when applying any type of marketing strategy.

There is No Europe?

This was outlined in a great post by Mikkel de Mib Svendsen on SearchCowboys. I definitely recommend reading it. Among other things he states: “There is a politically united Europe. There is a geographical Europe. But from a marketing point of view the fact remains that there is no Europe and there are no Europeans!”

Mikkel continues: “We (in Europe) don’t speak the same language, we don’t hear the same music, we don’t have the same laws, we don’t follow the same norms, we don’t laugh at the same jokes and we don’t share the same religions.”

Search is Pull Driven

Why is this important? This is important because it outlines the central and key approach of search engine marketing. Search stands out as one of the most pull driven media. Therefore, search engine marketing is most effective when you adapt to your target market in the best possible way.

The people who search have the power. They express their intent and tell you what they want. It doesn’t get easier than that. Adapt to that intent of your target market best, and you’re a winner.

If you want to market your product or service to Europe, and if you approach Europe as one target market, then you will fail. You will fail because you won’t be adapting to local language, culture, law, religion, etc.; and that is exactly what search engine marketing is all about.

Case: SEO in Western Europe

Based at Outrider’s Amsterdam office, where we work for both local and international clients, I am facing this challenge daily. For example, we are doing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for an international client in Western Europe.

Just like Mikkel describes in his article, there are a couple of countries in Western Europe which are close to each other and seem to be alike. There are even countries like the Netherlands and Belgium or Germany and Austria where people speak the same language. But mind you, there can still be huge cultural differences between those countries, let alone differences in law and religion.

For example, our client wanted to do link building in several countries. While the coordination is done centrally – the clients headquarters are in Amsterdam – we used the local expertise of our SEO consultants in every country. We made each country develop their individual link building strategy to adapt best to the local market. Eventually, this resulted in a successful overall link building strategy with local expertise being key to the success.

Translation is Not Enough

As you might already conclude from the stated differences, translating your web site to the local language is not enough. You need to adapt to the local culture, law, etc. to get the most out of the SEO efforts.

Therefore, we have used our local SEO specialists in the countries. They know their local market best, and combine that with their SEO expertise, aligned with the overall SEO strategy.

The Results

In the end, it’s all about the results. The differentiated approach works best when targeting Europe, because search engine marketing works best when it’s differentiated. And that ensures the best results for our clients.

Is it worth the effort? Definitely! Countries in Europe are among the countries with the highest internet broadband penetration. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to reach 1 million search visitors monthly, even in smaller countries like the Netherlands.

Of course the U.S. cannot be targeted as just 1 market, but the differences in language, culture, law and religion are even bigger in Europe. Do you want to expand your products or services to Europe? Adapt to the local markets as best as possible and you will succeed. You’ll see it’s definitely worth the effort.

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