| Foreign Traffic Part 2: Turning International Surfers Into Buyers |
If you are new to the arena of international traffic and you have not already done so, it would be a good idea to first read the previous article on foreign traffic: Understanding and Attracting International Surfers. Part 1 of this series focused on the diversity of and languages spoken by foreign surfers and also how to attract them to your site. What we need to consider next is: How will we convert this traffic into memberships?
The first thing that needs to be understood is that no two surfers are alike and this is especially true for international surfers. What turns a non-English speaking person from France on may not have the same effect on someone from Japan. Therefore, you must consider who is visiting your site, what they are looking for, and how you can give it to them. In the last article, we looked at the demographics of Internet surfers as a whole, but now we have to treat each surfer individually. The simplest way to recognize where your surfers are coming from is to use IP detection software on your site. This type of software is widely available and very useful. However, one mistake that often can be made is thinking that just because a person comes from a foreign country that they do not speak English. There are many English-speaking people situated all over the world, myself included. There are now scripts available that can detect what language of browser a surfer is using. So, whether there is an English speaking person from Finland, or a German speaking person from China trying to access your site, you will be able to redirect them in the appropriate direction. By using a combination of IP detection software and a script that determines browser language, you will be powered with the knowledge to redirect the surfer to a more appropriate destination.
Once you detect where the surfers are coming from, you do have a couple of options on places that you can send them to. The best way to accommodate all of your international and non-English speaking surfers is to have your tour translated into various languages. This option is also very costly as the only way to do it effectively is to hire a translator. The online and software translators are just not reliable enough to translate a whole tour. Translating your tours enables you to keep the surfers on your site and allows you to keep the revenue generated from their membership purchases. Another option that you have, and most definitely a less costly option, is redirecting the surfers to another site tailored towards the language that they speak. To do this, you need to sign up for various Webmaster programs that feature sites in non-English languages. While you may not be making 100% of the revenue generated from converting the surfers, you will still make more than you would if you chose not to redirect them at all or ignored the fact that they did not speak English.
Whether you keep international surfers at your own site, or redirect them to another site, you must ensure that there are appropriate billing solutions in place for your foreign members. Outside of North America, very few people have credit cards, so this really is not a viable billing option for your international traffic. Though many European and Asian Internet surfers do not have credit cards, this does not necessarily mean that they do not have money to spend. In fact, they may be even more willing to part with their money compared with North American surfers, because their porn market is just not as developed. Therefore, you must ensure that you have a means for this market to purchase memberships. To compliment your credit card billing, the best alternate options would be dialer, cell phone, and SMS. These may be critical in converting international traffic.
While taking the steps to understand, attract, and convert your foreign traffic may seem like a lot of work and a risky endeavor to partake in (if the rewards just are not there), if done properly it will almost guarantee some increase in your revenues from foreign traffic. The best idea is to set aside a little time and do some research into the foreign markets prior to taking on the large project of submitting to foreign search engines, translating your site, and adding in new billing options. You can visit the top porn sites in every country and/or language to get a feel for what works for them. You should also visit international message boards and chat rooms to see what turns people from different cultures on. Lastly, you could even engage in some discussion with foreign webmasters to get an idea of what their customer base is like, what billing solutions work best for them, and what niches seem most successful in their particular country or culture. Once you better understand what drives the foreign markets, you will be in a better position to capitalize upon them. |
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| Article Details |
| Author: Muffy |
| Date Posted: April 28th, 2004 |
| Topic: Adult Search Engines |
| Reader Rating: 0.0 / 5 |
| Comments Posted: 0 (see below) |
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