One look at the latest (June 2008) World Internet usage statistics (www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) and you’ll see that having an aggressive global Web presence should be a priority for your business. Only 17 percent of the world’s Internet users live in North America. The rest are overseas, with the greatest concentrations in Asia with 39.5 percent and Europe with 26.3 percent. Businesses are competing in a world that is globally wired, and you need to look beyond our continent when it comes to Internet marketing. How can we help? We offer a few simple suggestions that you can print and review.

List your Web site with foreign search engines

The Web site www.searchenginecolossus.com lists dozens of search engines by country, and it distinguishes whether the search engine uses English or the native language. The site searchenginewatch.com/links is another useful resource, listing search engines by country and specialty.

Register your site in the countries where you plan to do business

To protect your Web address, register your site with the appropriate country extensions, as well as other extensions like.com, .net, or .org. You can find country extensions and registration contact information at www.iana.org/domains/root/db/.

U.S. Commercial Service overseas offices often have specific information, written in English, regarding Web site registration requirements for their native countries. Some governments require that companies have a presence in the country before they can register their domain names there. In many cases, a company’s local law firm address fulfills that requirement.

Localize your Web site or host the site overseas in the local language

The Localization Industry Standards Association Web site (www.lisa.org) provides a free primer on localization and several best practice reports on subjects like “How to Improve International Customer Support Web Sites” and “Managing Global Content.”