Setting Up Your Business to Trade Overseas
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Every business looks forward to a better reach for creating a strong brand presence. From the big corporate giants to the start-ups, everyone is searching for business development opportunities abroad. There are various business advantages of setting up a business that is accessible from any part of the world. The international business spectrum covers many activities. Apart from the large corporations, the small and medium enterprises are planning to trade internationally and expand their business. The most important factor when it comes to setting up an international business is the business website. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a physical presence in every corner of the world because your website makes up for it.
Here is an insight on the important factors to be considered for setting up a full fledged business website through which you can trade overseas:
Business Logo
The logo of your company is the first impression of your business. Design an attractive logo that people can remember. This logo can be featured on your business website and in your offices as well. A unique logo gives the business a distinct identity and it is something that depicts the professionalism of the company. A company logo is also the critical aspect of business marketing. It is the graphical representation of the company that anchors the business brand and becomes a visible manifestation of the company in the international market. Therefore, it is crucial to get a good professional logo designed.
International Payment System
As you go global, it is important to incorporate various online payment options for the convenience of the people. Accepting payment through PayPal and in multiple currencies is vital. When a customer enters his/her information for making an online payment, the transactions is authorized by your payment service and then the funds are transferred to your account. These services charge a processing fee for every transaction. It is worth the price because the visitors prefer shopping online and with efficient payment gateways, people start trusting your website for online shopping. With any payment gateway, it is crucial to install an SSL certificate on your website so that all the online transactions are secured and the customers can enter their credit card information without the threat of the information getting compromised.
In order to start accepting payments online, PCI compliance has to be done. PCI comprises of the standards set by the Payment Card Industry. PCI Compliance will make your company legally authorized to accept payments online.
Multiple Language And Currency Support
In order to create an international presence, it is important to offer various language options. While designing the website, ensure you provide an option on the home page through which the visitor can select the preferred language in which he/she would like to view the website. Some of the browsers do offer language translation facilities however to be on a safer side, it is important to design your website in such a way so that it can be accessed in multiple languages. If you set up a global website that can be accessed by anyone in the preferred language, you are widening your horizon and creating a strong stand in the market.
Offering with multiple currency support for online payments is also crucial. This can be done by utilizing a content management system. Magento is the best when it comes to creating an international presence. Magento offers with multiple store platforms where you can create multiple stores for the same product. Various currency options will also be supported so that online shopping is simplified for the people. The best thing about Magento is that you can create multiple stores for the same product and they can be monitored through a simple admin panel, thus simplifying the process of online shopping.
International SEO
Search engine optimization is an extremely important part of creating a global presence. There are many challenges in creating international search engine optimization campaigns however if these campaigns are executed successfully, they can yield significant rewards. Before you plan an SEO marketing campaign, it is important to understand your goals and your target market as well. Once you know about where you have to pitch, the process of planning the SEO activities is going to be simplified. Google Analytics is a great tool through which you will get an insight about factors like the country from which you are getting the maximum traffic, the keywords used by the people to search your company, the click through rate etc. Once all these factors are analyzed, the online marketing activities can be planned accordingly for getting the desired results.
Importance Of Having A Local TLD
Another extremely important factor in establishing an international presence is the domain name and the TLD. The domain name has to be impressive, something that people always keep in mind. Instead of having a generic domain, get a local domain with an appropriate ccTLD (country code top level domain) that is specific to your target market. For instance, instead of registering cakesonline.com, if you are based in UK, you must register cakesonline.co.uk. Registering country specific domain name will help you to rank better in the local and national searches. Having a country specific TLD is important because the search engine presents with different results on the basis of the IP address of the person searching. Therefore, it is a great way to rank locally. The conventional TLD’s like the .com, .org and .net are saturated, therefore with a ccTLD, you will also get the privilege of getting the best domain name for your business.
Competition on a global scale has always been tough. However, with a business website that is customized according to the local requirements of the global customers, trading overseas will no longer be a difficult task. Your business has to cater to the ever changing customer landscape for withstanding the competition. With a fully equipped website, the global opportunities can be easily exploited and a strong brand presence can be established.
