Global online marketing is the marketing of products of services to international customers using the Internet. Some of the techniques and tools include global email marketing, global search engine optimization (SEO), and global advertising online. Business owners or marketing agencies working for businesses have to coordinate marketing activities across the globe and not just a few individual country markets. The goal of global online marketing is to use a common marketing plan to reach customers in foreign countries in ways that are effective based on culture, language, and other considerations. It’s slightly different from international marketing, where the online marketing plan is adapted for each country, but the global online marketing plan is often more standardized.
There is a small difference between global online marketing and international marketing, but the two terms are often used interchangeably. For example, a marketing manager may target three or four countries for the company’s international Internet marketing efforts. The manager can order the development of websites with the web copy written in the language for each country as part of the marketing strategy and design email marketing campaigns in each of those languages. A global online marketing plan is often not so individualized, and the focus is on a worldwide customer base. A marketing manager who wants to implement a global plan may order one website that gives visitors the option to select a language of their choice, but the marketing addresses the global community.
One of the main aspects of global online marketing is a global SEO strategy, and it’s often the first step in designing an Internet plan. SEO is the process of making websites rank higher in search engines so that customers and visitors can find it when they conduct searches. It’s often a challenge to design a global SEO plan because web visitors in different countries use different search keywords and terms to find products and services. The solution is often to study language trends and use alternate spellings or phrases on the website to attract international customers and clients. Another tactic that’s popular is to use country extensions so that visitors from different countries can easily access the website and also find web copy written in their language.
The main challenge of global online marketing is overcoming the barriers presented by each country. These barriers include culture, language, and different competitors. Some companies lean more toward an international marketing strategy where they can see the best return on their investments rather than a standardized global plan.