Recently, I was browsing through some research on Google and stumbled upon this answer from Google as to why Product Search was renamed from Froogle: “While it was a cute and clever name, it had issues around copyright and trademark, as well as internationalization… The pun (to “frugal”) isn’t obvious.”

For those who got the pun, Froogle was definitely a cute and clever name for the service, which aims to help you find the best deals online. But for those who don’t get the pun, it’s just an odd name and doesn’t convey anything about the function or brand. Internationalizing that name would be very hard to do, which is why Google switched it to a more internationally friendly name: Product Search. Even those with limited English abilities can get a sense of what the idea behind the service is and aren’t put off by a funny name. (Or a name that is accidentally a real word; Google, for example, means “sunglasses” in Norwegian, which gave them a bit of a headache when trying to get a Norwegian domain extension a few years back.)

As evidenced by even Google’s small stumbles, internationalization can be hard to do, especially if you’re branching into several foreign markets. Doing it right the first time isn’t always possible, but a thorough understanding of target markets and cultures can make it easier. It may also require you to refocus your content and approach area by area if necessary. International laws and customs can be a big influence on how you conduct your business. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, where stock market tumbles at home cause stock market tumbles abroad, keeping an eye on the economic situation of your markets is important as well.

If you’re looking for a good refresher on the basics of international marketing, Dr. Lars Perner of the University of Southern California has published a helpful guide to international marketing. It’s a little bit dated and geared towards traditional marketing campaigns (print, tv, product distribution), but the basics of what to consider in an international marketing campaign are still as useful as ever. Understanding how to do international marketing and how to internationalize your brand will give not only your business model a solid footing, but also your SEO. Having a plan of action on how to internationalize yourself and what direction to take your websites in will be a great benefit to your business in general.

Happy reading!

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm and is filed under International Internet Marketing, International Marketing Basics, International SEO, Website Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.