A key component to establishing a web presence is choosing a Universal Resource Locator (URL) and a domain name (i.e., www.computersrus.com). As with URLs aimed toward the domestic market, a URL for an online exporter's website should be short, simple, descriptive and memorable to customers in the target market. ICANN Accredited Registrars will concurrently register your URL and domain name for each country in which you register.

Using Country-Level Domain Codes

Every country (and a few territories) in the world has a reserved, two letter country code domain (e.g, The United Kingdom has the domain .uk; see http://www.thrall.org/domains.htm ). An online exporter might want to choose domain names localized for their target markets. Locally branded domain names can increase brand awareness, website address recall and even impact brand sales and loyalty. In addition, most local search engines only display locally relevant content by filtering the search results to include local country-code domains only... something to consider when deciding whether to localize or internationalize your site. Companies that want to have a local domain name must research the rules for the particular country, as registration requirements vary. (See www.iana.org , which lists domain name databases, and http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld.htm , which includes information on country code top-level domain names.)

Internationalizing Your Domain Name

Companies seeking foreign customers may also consider an "internationalized" or "multilingual" domain name. Such domain names are web addresses written in characters other than the Roman alphabet. For example, a company called "Bright Light Bulbs" wishing to sell in China could have a domain name that would use the Chinese characters for Bright Light Bulbs in its website address. Internationalized or multilingual domain names allow customers to search and access sites in their native language. Again, most ICANN Accredited Registrars can assist you in researching domain names in various countries.

Register at Search Engines

Most people use search engines to find information on the Internet, so website registration with multiple search engines is key to visibility. Search engines range from global in scope to search tools focused on small areas of information. There are a number of international search engines, some in native languages and characters (i.e., http://www.aaa.com.au/ or http://www.nomade.tiscali.fr/ ) or popular English search engines with international links (i.e., http://br.cade.yahoo.com/ ). Online exporters should register with search engines popular with the target audience in their target markets.

U.S. Commercial Service officers in your target market can help you identify popular local search engines. See also, research on the Top Internet Markets FAQ at left.

Choose a Web Host

A web host is a company with a server that maintains the files of websites. There are a variety of free and subscription based web host services available, including those offered by many Internet Service Providers.

Web hosting services often go beyond website maintenance to include domain name registration, website design, and search engine registration. For some online exporters, it may be most feasible to use a web host in their target market to take advantage of all of these localized services. The location or nationality of the website host does not impact accessibility of the site; however, when choosing a host, companies should ensure thatthe host servers reside within a stable infrastructure and are maintained to ensure optimal reliability.

As with domestically located web hosting services, agreements should be clear and enforceable about ownership of intellectual property, performance specifications and warranties, security, the right to transfer the site to a different host, and contract termination.

The U.S. Commercial Service officers in your target market can help you identify professional local web hosts. See also, research on the "Top Internet Markets FAQ " at left.

Website Content - Localize & Internationalize

Companies seeking foreign audiences with their websites will want to either localize or internationalize their site, or provide a mixture of both processes. Forrester Research notes that "visitors linger twice as long [on international sites] as they do at English-only URLs; business buyers are three times more likely to buy if addressed in their own language; and customer services costs drop when instructions are displayed in the user's language."

Localization consists of adapting one’s website to meet the linguistic, cultural, and commercial requirements of a targeted market. Internationalizing a firm’s website enables the company to be multilingual and be sensitive to cultural conventions without the need for extensive redesign. Localization or internationalization must be part of the online exporter’s corporate strategy for website and business development. Features that should be considered include:

• language
• cultural nuance, such as differences in color association and symbols
• payment preferences
• pricing in the appropriate currency
• web metrics and visitor reports
• regular maintenance and updating

More information on localization and internationalization can be found at the website for the Localization Industry Standards Association, www.lisa.org .

Execute Orders

Guidelines for order execution and after-sales service are similar for offline and online transactions. Companies planning to export via the Internet should be knowledgeable about the topics discussed in the Payment & Taxes, Pricing Tariffs & Shipping.

Identifying Your e-Markets

Deciding which markets to target is one of the most important decisions a potential exporter can make. It is important to learn how to research foreign markets and tailor your products to regional tastes. U.S. Commercial Service trade specialists in your target market can help you identify market research needs you should consider for cross-border e-commerce. See also, research on the "Top Internet Markets FAQ."

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