There is more to the international market than simply Europe!

What are you doing with your international traffic? Did that question make you turn red? If it did it’s probably because you’re letting it literally pass between your legs.There is more to the international market than simply Europe!

What are you doing with your international traffic? Did that question make you turn red? If it did it’s probably because you’re letting it literally pass between your legs. Before you go running scared into the arms of the European partnership programs, check out what other solutions might be available for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about how the European industry is so much better and seems to be the second coming for the American Webmasters. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that we’ve squeezed all the milk from the American market and yet we’re still thirsting for more. Is there more? Of course there is, but the solution is not only found in Europe – there is a whole world of horny customers waiting out there.

I’m not going to go through the whole rhetoric of telling you how the other industries work, or how they were created. Believe me, I’m saving my breath and your time since they were pretty much built the same way the American one was, with of course, the exception of billing issues. It’s not all that complicated – visitors surf for porn in the rest of the world as they do here. They are horny just like us, and just like us, they will pay for porn.

There are so many articles being published lately trying to make the rest of the world seem more ‘foreign’ than it really is. The international market isn’t as scary as they make it out to be. So they speak a different language than you do, and they have specific billing needs, big deal. Why don’t you just make sites in their languages and cash in on this untapped resource? Because it can get very complicated, and can cost you a lot of time and money, that’s why. Having your sites translated, hiring support staff in the languages you offer, finding content in those languages – the list goes on and on.

So then you decide to start checking out the European partnership programs that have sites and tools in those languages, but which languages do you promote? Should you focus solely on German sites? Spanish? You know, when I can’t decide, I take them all, but it isn’t really an option in this case. You have limited space to advertise in and does your surfer really want to see banners in weird languages that he doesn’t understand? Simply put: No.

Did you just turn your head and say you have dialers? Well don’t get so excited. As much as it is a step in the right direction, you still have a ways to go. Dialers are just one of many payment methods, but if your visitor can’t understand the site how is he even going to get to the dialer? There are also other payment options that most programs overlook, for example high-speed dialers, credit cards in Euros, SMS billing, and Western Union.

I have one question for you: How come no one has asked about the Asian market yet? Are you afraid of the unknown? That’s understandable. No one seems to mention that Asians consume porn too, and a lot of it, at that! The only Asian influence we can see on the market these days are Asian niche sites, but what about the horny Chinese surfer who wants a site in Mandarin? Uh oh, and you went with the European sponsor that doesn’t have Mandarin sites… too bad.

Have you ever thought about filtering your traffic? Believe me, it’s totally harmless to your current sites. Without transforming your English sites that are still converting pretty well into some kind of multi-lingual banner farm, you should focus on what you need. You need a way of knowing what the visitor wants before even he knows it, that’s where the filter comes in. A traffic filter may detect the browser language or use the IP detection method (Geotargeting) to identify your visitor, and then make a banner or popup appear in his language only. No wasted space, and he will be impressed to see the ad in his language.

There are some surfers that still prefer English sites, and so your site stays in the background and he may still choose to continue on it. It’s a non-invasive way of saying “Hey Mr. Japanese visitor, I know you’re there, you’re in Japan, you’re horny, here is a site in Japanese, with Japanese content, but in case you prefer English mine is there too.”

So don’t despair, there is still hope for your site’s future. The key advice that was as true back then as it still is today: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Keep your traffic options open in order to make the most cash from as many countries as possible, with your actual traffic.

Cathedra ~ Andrea F. is the International Marketing Manager for iWorldFilter.com and may be reached at info@iworldfilter.com.