Managing a Global SEO Campaign was an interesting session with some highly informative tips. Here is an overview of what was discussed:

Speakers:

Ian McAnerin: CEO, McAnerin Networks Inc.

Crispin Sheridan: SES Advisory Board & Sr Director of Search Marketing Strategy, SAP

Michael Bonfils: International Managing Director, SEM International

First up was Ian McAnerin who methodologically explained some key points to keep in mind while strategizing for a Global SEO campaign. His presentation revolved around 3 main ideas:

• Plan Centrally
• Synchronize Globally
• Execute Locally

Some common issues while optimizing a site on a global scale include:

• Translation and localization issues
• Spellings
• Wrong local terms
• Misrepresentation of popular culture

Remember to:

• Figure out what’s best for each market
• Avoid using generic ethnic images while localizing
• Avoid using text elements for sizing: Translations are never the same size as original

Final Advice:

• Sell in mature markets and promote brand in emerging markets
• Never geo-locate a search engine
• Flags are for countries, not for languages
• “English Site” should go to Home Page and “English” should go to the same page in English

Crispin Sheridan’s tips explained how to:

• Use country flags in Google Webmaster Tools
• Use canonical tags to differentiate authoritative content from duplicate content.
• Emphasize on local building

And finally Michael Bonfils presented his ideas with the help of a fictional case study on Tom Whortons, a coffee company that is planning to expand on a global scale. His main pointers included:

• Defining Target Market: Local competition, technical factors, web analytics and keyword research data
• Evaluate Content: Look at e-commerce and payment options in different countries, local contact information on all pages
• Create Translation Strategy: Find a localization specialist NOT a translator, third party proof-reading, keyword research specialist

A global keyword development strategy should keep in mind:

• Plural vs Singular
• Dropped accents
• Common mistypes caused by keyboard layout
• Broken compounds
• Alternate characters
• Inflections
• Linguistic dialects/diversity (country language different from native language)
• Linguistic grouping