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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
In 2006 we ramped up on international webmaster issues and particularly tried to support Eastern
Europe. We opened several offices in the region, improved our algorithms with respect to these
languages, and localized many of our products. Should I find only one word to describe these
markets, I would say they are diverse. Still, they have two things in common: their online
markets are currently in a developing phase and a high number of webmasters and search engine
optimizers work there in a variety of languages. We are aware that a certain amount of webspam is
generated in this region and we would like to reinforce that we have been working hard to take
action on it both algorithmically and manually. Since I have seen some common phenomena in a bunch
of these markets, here are a couple of suggestions for Eastern European webmasters and SEOs:
Avoid link exchanges. If a fellow webmaster approaches you with some sketchy
offer, just refuse. Instead, work on the content of your site. Once you have the quality
content, you can use the buzzing blogger community and social web services in your language to
get nice linkbaits. Creating good content for your language community will pay off. Help the
high-quality people in your language community and they will re-power you.
Use regional and geographical domains in line with their purpose. First, a
sidenote for the Western webmasters: some Eastern European countries like Poland and Russia have
so-called regional or geographical domains. Imagine that all the states in the U.S. had their
official second level domain and if you wanted to open your webshop delivering to Kentucky, you
could do it more cost-effectively on eg. ky.us. This could help Google serve geographically
relevant search results. In case you wish to sell organic soaps to people in Szczecin, do open
your webshop on szczecin.pl. If you are from Kalmykia and would like to show the world the
beauty of your area, go ahead and set up your Kalmyki travel site on kalmykia.ru. If you like a
region, support it by hosting your site on the related regional or geographical domain. Be aware
that webspam on these regional domains violates the correct use of them and prevents the
development of your country's web culture.
Say no to Cybersquats! Sneaky registering of strong online brands with
Belarusian, Estonian or Slovak top level domains is just bad. While it will not particularly
help you boost the ranking of your site, cybersquatting often has created disappointed users
and legal actions as side effects.
Think long-term. You have your share of responsibility for the development of
your market. Creating quality sites that target users who search for highly specific content in
your particular language will help you get your market into a more mature status—and
mature markets mean mature publisher revenue too.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eEastern European online markets are developing with many webmasters and SEOs working in diverse languages, facing webspam challenges that Google is actively addressing.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle recommends Eastern European webmasters focus on quality content, leverage social web services, and avoid link schemes for better search results.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUtilize regional and geographical domains appropriately to support local communities and enhance search relevance, while avoiding cybersquatting.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eLong-term success involves creating high-quality, language-specific websites that contribute to market maturity and increased publisher revenue.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["In 2006, efforts focused on supporting Eastern European webmasters, including opening offices, improving language algorithms, and localizing products. Key advice for Eastern European webmasters and SEOs includes: avoid link exchanges and focus on quality content creation, utilize regional/geographical domains appropriately, abstain from cybersquatting, and prioritize long-term market development. These actions aim to improve the online market's maturity and address webspam in the region.\n"],null,["Tuesday, March 27, 2007\n\n\nIn 2006 we ramped up on international webmaster issues and particularly tried to support Eastern\nEurope. We opened several offices in the region, improved our algorithms with respect to these\nlanguages, and localized many of our products. Should I find only one word to describe these\nmarkets, I would say they are diverse. Still, they have two things in common: their online\nmarkets are currently in a developing phase and a high number of webmasters and search engine\noptimizers work there in a variety of languages. We are aware that a certain amount of webspam is\ngenerated in this region and we would like to reinforce that we have been working hard to take\naction on it both algorithmically and manually. Since I have seen some common phenomena in a bunch\nof these markets, here are a couple of suggestions for Eastern European webmasters and SEOs:\n\n- **Avoid link exchanges.** If a fellow webmaster approaches you with some sketchy offer, just refuse. Instead, work on the content of your site. Once you have the quality content, you can use the buzzing blogger community and social web services in your language to get nice linkbaits. Creating good content for your language community will pay off. Help the high-quality people in your language community and they will re-power you.\n- **Use regional and geographical domains in line with their purpose.** First, a sidenote for the Western webmasters: some Eastern European countries like Poland and Russia have so-called regional or geographical domains. Imagine that all the states in the U.S. had their official second level domain and if you wanted to open your webshop delivering to Kentucky, you could do it more cost-effectively on eg. ky.us. This could help Google serve geographically relevant search results. In case you wish to sell organic soaps to people in Szczecin, do open your webshop on szczecin.pl. If you are from Kalmykia and would like to show the world the beauty of your area, go ahead and set up your Kalmyki travel site on kalmykia.ru. If you like a region, support it by hosting your site on the related regional or geographical domain. Be aware that webspam on these regional domains violates the correct use of them and prevents the development of your country's web culture.\n- **Say no to Cybersquats!** Sneaky registering of strong online brands with Belarusian, Estonian or Slovak top level domains is just bad. While it will not particularly help you boost the ranking of your site, cybersquatting often has created disappointed users and legal actions as side effects.\n- **Think long-term.** You have your share of responsibility for the development of your market. Creating quality sites that target users who search for highly specific content in your particular language will help you get your market into a more mature status---and mature markets mean mature publisher revenue too."]]
