SEO: The International Language of Success

Mike Phillips — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:00:00 GMT

If there's one characteristic that all cultures share it's the quest for information. So, it should come as no surprise that the most heavily trafficked websites across the world are search engines. Whether your business is one of providing information (such as a news site or blog), a service provider (software or app developer) or e-commerce (selling tangible products), it is important to appeal to searchers and the search engines by capitalizing on the information that people want. This means finding trending topics and searching for the right keywords -- whether for use in blog post titles, social media updates, or marketing and advertising copy.

As Web professionals we have great opportunities in international markets, as the Web has few borders. In addition to standard keyword research as it applies to your industry, addressing those topics of interest to audiences worldwide can place your brand in front of potential consumers across the world. With that in mind, below you will find a few websites where the world goes for information. These are valuable resources for finding what's buzzing on the Web and the information people care about. With this information, we can craft our content and products to relate to anyone, anywhere.

Use these resources to find possible keywords, content ideas and inspiration for expanding your business across borders. Each of these websites provides information relating to world news and politics, finance, entertainment and sports, and more. When crafting content, remember that searchers are not just looking for text -- videos and photos are among the most visited sources of content online, worldwide.

Twitter.com: Alexa Rank 9

Twitter is one of the most popular websites in the world and provides an excellent opportunity to find the most current worldwide trends. Take advantage of the "Trends" option that can be sorted by country and region.

Percent of site traffic
US 36.8%
Japan 10.4%
India 6.1%
China 5.1%
UK 4.2%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Nigeria (80)
US (98)
Canada (110)
Japan (131)
UK (145)
South Africa (151)
Egypt (161)
Venezuela (171)
Australia (196)
Italy (222)

BBC.co.uk: Alexa Rank 40

The BBC does an outstanding job of covering world news. Of course, most of the traffic comes from the UK but the BBC also attracts audiences from all over the world.

Percent of site traffic
UK 34.1%
US 15.7%
India 4.7%
Canada 2.5%
Japan 2.3%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
UK (5)
Ireland (12)
Nigeria (13)
Pakistan (16)
United Arab Emirates (18)
South Africa (20)
Finland (22)
Canada (33)
Australia (34)
Sweden (36)

CNN.com: Alexa Rank 48

CNN is most widely used in the United States and Canada but spans across other countries as well. The CNN International edition is handy. CNN's Facebook integration can show what those in your network find interesting.

Percent of site traffic
US 61%
Canada 3.8%
India 3.0%
Japan 2.3%
UK 2.1%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
US (16)
Canada (22)
Nigeria (35)
South Africa (36)
Philippines (39)
Malaysia (56)
Netherlands (65)
South Korea (67)
Thailand (68)
Australia (71)

Reddit.com: Alexa Rank 143

While Reddit is decidedly bent toward the offbeat and humorous side of the Web, it does provide many sortable categories (such as world news, politics and technology) that can be useful for finding trending topics. Reddit also has a sizable international audience.

Percent of site traffic
US 46.2%
India 12.2%
UK 5.0%
Canada 4.8%
Pakistan 3.1%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Pakistan (51)
US (54)
Canada (54)
UK (94)
Philippines (102)
India (103)
Australia (113)
Romania (129)
South Africa (158)
Bangladesh (184)

Reuters.com: Alexa Rank 220

Reuters is another news site that provides many different editions, accessible through an easy-to-use drop-down menu. Choose a section then use a translation tool to discover what's trending in that particular part of the world.

Percent of site traffic
US 36.8%
Japan 10.4%
India 6.1%
China 5.1%
UK 4.2%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Nigeria (80)
US (98)
Canada (110)
Japan (131)
UK (145)
South Africa (151)
Egypt (161)
Venezuela (171)
Australia (196)
Italy (222)

Finally, if you have time for some browsing and/or blogging, don't forget about Blogger.com (Alexa Rank 7) and Tumblr.com (Alexa Rank 59). It can be difficult to drill down to find what you want in these sites but they are both extremely popular with the international community. Also, while not yet as respected as sources of content by search engines, they provide some opportunities to network and to get content in front of a very large and diverse audience. Setting up blogs through either of these sites is very easy and practiced by some very large media properties, including The Economist.

Blogger.com: Alexa Rank 7

Percent of site traffic
US 19.5%
India 10.0%
Brazil 5.6%
Indonesia 5.1%
Spain 3.6%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Indonesia (4)
Malaysia (4)
Bangladesh (4)
Greece (5)
Nigeria (5)
India (6)
Spain (6)
Pakistan (6)
Philippines (6)
Venezuela (6)

Tumblr.com: Alexa Rank 59

Percent of site traffic
US 36.1%
Japan 6.0%
UK 5.0%
Brazil 4.4%
India 4.0%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Philippines (13)
Singapore (26)
US (32)
UK (37)
Canada (37)
Brazil (41)
Chile (42)
Mexico (45)
Australia (45)
Venezuela (49)

MSN Jumps Aboard the Redesign Bandwagon

Mike Phillips — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:21:00 GMT

Several major media properties have undergone redesigns within the past year or so; including a handful of Tribune properties, CNN.com and ESPN.com. Now you can officially add MSN to the mix. And all of these redesigns share some commonalities; including simplicity, clean design, bright and large imagery, and a focus on the user and their evolving Web savvy.

Let's take a look at some of the changes. The top image is the old MSN.com and the bottom image is the new redesign. What you will notice first is the addition of white space, or the removal of MSN's trademark blue, depending on your view. Immediately, the site feels much more relaxing and easier to scan, much like the redesign of the LA Time's website. "MSN blue" has not disappeared entirely, however. You can still see it above the Bing search bar, between page sections, and outlining tabs. And speaking of tabs, many redesigns are switching from simple links to a tabbed browsing style. This makes it much easier for the reader to understand where they are on the page. It also limits downward scrolling -- something of which advertisers should take notice, when considering ad placement above or below the fold.

A few more observations:

Images are huge -- figuratively and literally. Every redesign these days includes large, bright images to capture the user's attention and entice a click. MSN even uses a slider, something traditionally reserved for blogs. However, MSN is known much more for entertainment than news, so the slider is appropriate. Either way, websites are evolving to reach out to the user, instead of forcing the user to dig for what they want. On that note ...

Links are fewer. Again, like the LA Times, the amount of links has been drastically reduced. Above the fold, the new MSN design has about 37 different places to click. The old design featured more than 60 clickable links. Fewer links not only makes the page easier to read and digest, but also focuses user attention on important parts of the page.

Blue links are dying. We saw this trend with the LA Times' redesign. On many websites, traditional blue links are being phased out. Web readers already know that just about every headline is clickable. Instead, text is now being formatted to better fit the look of the website and to not distract readers from their scanning behavior.

Online video is ubiquitous. On the old MSN.com, you will notice a section to the left titled "Video Highlights." There is direction for the user ('click to play') and the video is framed in a video player. Today's Web user is intimately familiar with online video. Now, the only indication of video is a simple "play" button - either on an image or next to a link itself. You will also notice that video highlights are integrated with regular, text links. There's no stronger indication that video is expected and demanded by users. It is no longer a luxury item.

Airing it out. As mentioned previously, MSN now has much more white space. And they are not the only ones. Most redesigns are headed in this direction. The focus is (as it should be) on the user. Web pages are becoming easier to read and less chaotic. The availability of information online is forcing websites to rethink how they deliver that information and to make the user experience comfortable and inviting. When you look at the old MSN, it resembles search engine results. The new site is a destination.

Thinking about a redesign? Don't miss Website Magazine's upcoming May edition, where we address the criteria and strategies of a website redesign.

Read about CNN's redesign (where we talk about some below-the-fold issues) and the LA Times' redesign.

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SEO: The International Language of Success

MSN Jumps Aboard the Redesign Bandwagon