Travel enthusiasts visit China to see The Great Wall, to enter The Forbidden City from where emperors ruled the vast land and to experience real Chinese cuisine. Economist admit that China is an economic superpower, still experiencing more than 6,5% annual growth.

In International SEO circles, China is known as the world’s leading e-commerce market. In 2017 it’s expected that online sales will reach more than $5,000.00 billions. Its infamous e-commerce rivalry with US might eventually be won in China’s favour, as the share of online vs. non-online sales is steadily rising. Ebay has failed to conquer the Chinese market. The local Alibaba Group with B2B, B2C and C2C e-commerce websites generates more gross merchandise volume than Amazon.com and eBay combined.

alibaba group overview                           Source: Lazure2.com

The local search engine winer is Baidu which covers 84% of all online searches. Following Google’s example, the company’s goal is not just to be a search engine, but a future all-inclusive digital force.

Because many Western social media companies are banned, there exist similar local versions. Renren use to be China’s Facebook, but in the past years its popularity has rapidly decreased. The main reason is the rise and transformation of WeChat – China’s most popular social media with 889 million monthly active users. It is a combination of Facebook, WhatsApp and includes useful service features such as online payment and taxi ordering. Another powerful marketing tool is China’s favourite “microblog” – Sina Weibo, a combination of Twitter and Facebook. Even Western celebrities and public personas like David Beckham and Bill Gates have their own profile.

When launching your marketing campaign in China, it’s not only necessary to know the local social marketing channels, but also how to communicate the message. AirBnb adjusted its name in Chinese to “Aibiying” – “Welcome each other with love”, to get better accepted. When creating CTA button content in Chinese don’t be afraid if it sounds long. Chinese wish to know exactly what’s going on, be clear and explicit.

How KFC Became China’s Fast Food of Choice

How KFC Became China’s Fast Food of Choice

With its original restaurant located just a stone’s throw from Tiananmen Square in Beijing, KFC became the first American fast-food to set foot in China, all the way back in 1987. The three-story branch, with room for up to 500 diners, was KFC’s largest at the time, and the grandiosity of this move set the tone for the success the chain would find in China over the next few decades.

As the first window into American-style dining for many, KFC was an immediate hit, with lines stretching for blocks even months after the branch opened its doors. A year later, the […] Read more

Walmart & International Marketing: What NOT to Do

Walmart & International Marketing: What NOT to Do

If one were to nominate a poster child for international marketing failures, one would be hard-pressed to identify a candidate more ideal than Walmart. In so many cases over the past several decades, Walmart consistently made the wrong choices when making an entrance into a new market. Walmart’s journeys abroad, whether to China, Germany, Brazil or elsewhere, seem to be met with stumbles at every step — though in many cases, the company has learned and adapted over time.

[…] Read more

Why Is KFC’s International Marketing So Unstoppable?

Why Is KFC’s International Marketing So Unstoppable?

KFC has made wave after wave in the marketing community due to its resounding success in China. Far and away the country’s most popular American fast food chain, the company is seemingly bulletproof when it comes to its performance with Chinese consumers. KFC became the first American fast food chain to enter the Chinese market when it opened its first restaurant just a short walk from Beijing’s famous Tiananmen Square in 1987. At the time, the three-story branch was KFC’s largest in the world — an impressive start which set the tone for the chain’s continued triumphs in the country.

We’ve […] Read more

April Roundup

April Roundup

Spring is here and we’ve kept our blog fresh and fruitful according to the season. We got some help from AirBnB – changing its name in China and all. Also, the Easter holidays were a great opportunity to check for new marketing opportunities. If you’re thinking of traveling during the summer – why not go to Brazil? But make sure your Portuguese is “local” enough. We bring to you our top 4 blog pics posted in April:

[…] Read more

Save Us from Free Speech, Public Hangouts and File Sharing: Internet Censorship Across the Globe

Save Us from Free Speech, Public Hangouts and File Sharing: Internet Censorship Across the Globe

How much a country censors the Internet tells how “free” that country actually is. Internet censorship is a more current and serious issue than one might believe. With social media becoming a powerful tool to raise voices of political dissatisfaction, Internet censorship proportionately rises.

As international SEO experts we’re concerned about restrictions on the web which prevent users from reaching their targeted search. Blocking websites and social media platforms isn’t only “bad for business”. It’s a violation of internationally established human rights such as free speech and freedom of information. This blog post will help you understand how Internet censorship works and […] Read more

AirBnB Adjusts Its Strategy in China by Changing the Name

AirBnB Adjusts Its Strategy in China by Changing the Name

Western businesses have a notoriously bad track record of entering China. Some of them were burning through insane amounts of money while battling local rivals and eventually ceased operations (looking at you Uber). Others were simply banned. However, not all of them has given up on trying to make it. Sharing economy juggernaut AirBnB has announced recently that it is changing its name in China to “Aibiying” (爱彼迎), which can be translated to “welcome each other with love.”

Airbnb is committed to succeeding in China, and we now have a Chinese name, 爱彼迎 (Aibiying), which means “to welcome each […] Read more

Expensive Taste. How Did Louis Vuitton Become #1 Luxury Brand in China?

Expensive Taste. How Did Louis Vuitton Become #1 Luxury Brand in China?

We all know that China is a lucrative market for every international brand. But what does it mean for the fashion industry? Here is a number for you: Chinese luxury demand accounts almost for the 20% of global spend on fancy items. Not bad right? No wonder that there is an ongoing battle between word’s best fashion houses over this piece of the pie. French luxury brand maker Louis Vuitton was first foreign brand to ever set foot there. Today we are going to see what other factors contributed towards the company’s huge success and learn lessons from luxury brand […] Read more

Who Tops The Big 15 Ecommerce Markets in 2017 – China or US?

Who Tops The Big 15 Ecommerce Markets in 2017 – China or US?

2017 is in full swing and so is ecommerce business. Based on research from emarketer.com forecasting  ecommerce sales by country up till 2019, we’ve prepared an overview of the top 15 ecommerce markets in 2017. This way you can still properly re-valuate your annual marketing strategy and focus on the best ecommerce platforms. In 2016 global ecommerce website sales reached more than $22 trillion. This is a 6% yearly increase with sales estimating to reach $27 trillion in 2020.

[…] Read more

12