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Alec Campbell | NetGrowth Group | @NetGrowthGroup

Alec works with companies to increase their global brand awareness and sales through higher visibility in international search engine results. He has been glued to a computer screen since becoming hooked on the Internet while studying for his MBA at Wharton in 1999. An avid traveler, he has visited over 30 countries with the most memorable (to date) being a trip to Bhutan in 2009.

Think Local. Act Global. How Google Places Fails the Tourism Industry

For location-based businesses, ranking highly in Google Places can be a boon to sales. This is not only true on Google.com, but also on many of the country-specific versions of Google as well. In the tourism and hospitality industries, business can use this medium to promote services to people planning trips to their location. Take for example a search for hotels in New York from various places around the world. In Mexico, a traveler planning a...

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Umlauts, Accents, and Google

When optimizing sites in languages that contain characters not found in the English language, it is important to know that Google will return different results depending on whether the characters (called diacritical marks or diacritics) were used. For example, a search for “Rucksäcke” (the German word for backpacks) on Google.de returns different results than one for “Rucksacke” (which is technically a typo) or “Rucksaecke”, the common form used in German speaking countries when the umlaut...

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Competing in the Global Market for Online Travel

International SEO Case Study: Hotels.com While the online travel market has become highly competitive in the United States, there are numerous excellent, untapped opportunities for companies looking to expand internationally. The internet is global and with over 1.5 billion people now connected. Many of these people are in countries with a rapidly developing middle class who are spending more on travel. Hotels.com is one of the most prominent online travel companies. People use the site to find...

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10 Steps to Website Globalization

There are now approximately 1.8 billion users throughout the world. They are located in many countries and speak multiple languages. Many of them could be potential customers. But how do you reach them? Not only do you have to speak their language, you have to ensure your website appears where they are searching. Website globalization can be achieved through market research, translation, localization and optimization. Following this 10 step process will help you rapidly increase site...

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5 Useful Tools for Conducting International Keyword Research

Have you ever wondered how search engine results change from country to country? If your company is multinational, it is important for you to know how your site ranks for relevant keyword terms in different countries. If your company is seeking to expand into new geographic markets, international keyword research can provide invaluable insight into local country demand and trends. The best way to conduct this research (or at least the most interesting) is to...

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Building a Global Brand on the Cheap

If asked to name a few of the world’s top brands, you might include names such as Coca Cola, Disney, Microsoft, Intel, or perhaps Mercedes Benz, Toyota, and BMW. These companies have been around for many years (35 in Microsoft’s case and 122 in Coca Cola’s) and have spent hundreds of millions of dollars establishing global brand recognition. The Newcomer Interestingly though, sitting at number 7 on Interbrand’s 2009 list of best global brands...

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FIFA World Cup 2010: Did South Africa Miss an Opportunity to Make a Lasting Impression?

Amidst much fanfare, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is underway in South Africa. The tournament is the most watched sporting event in the world with an expected viewership of over 700 million. The estimated economic impact to the country is $12 billion. But has South Africa missed a golden opportunity to increase the appeal of the country for tourists and business investors for years to come? It has been well documented that offline PR generates...