The Big Wave Blog

Yesterday I had the opportunity to address a group of international dignitaries on behalf of the US Department of Commerce. My audience comprised government officials and business owners from several Eastern European countries, including Russia, Georgia, and the Ukraine. The day proved to be highly educational for all of us.

I have to admit that being translated into 4 languages while speaking was possibly my favorite part, and definitely a new experience for me. However, I also enjoyed this group’s receptiveness, and their thirst for basic knowledge about search marketing. I was able to give them simple strategies to take home and implement in their businesses. At the same time, I shared with them why fast growth makes search engine marketing in Europe and Asia so exciting and profitable.

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• Opportunity Abounds. There is tremendous opportunity for growth in Europe and Asia in the field of search engine marketing. While internet marketing is still in early stages, there is a huge population of consumers steadily migrating to the online marketplace. Now is the perfect time to enter and dominate the market.
• Competition… Not Really. In international (non-US) markets, the lack of competition in search marketing is a major strategic factor. Delivering this message to a group of Eastern European business owners was sheer pleasure. I got to see that light bulb go on above their heads: “Every small effort I put into the search marketing is bound to generate a great return on investment.”
• Choices, Choices. International marketing presents the opportunity to work with search engines outside the US search trinity of Google, Yahoo and MSN. For example, the Yandex search engine in Russia takes Google.ru’s lunch every day by securing 70% of the national market!
• Learn From Our Past. Trends in US internet marketing provide very good foresight into what international marketers can expect as search engine marketing and online consumerism begin to take off in eastern countries. While it’s not entirely safe to assume that search trends are moving from West to East, businesses that learn from US companies’ past successes and mistakes are bound to flourish online.

It’s great working for Uncle Sam, and even more fun to get paid for it.:) (Although, tax season is here, so I’d better refrain from celebrating too much.) Even better than cash, though, is the feedback I’ve been receiving from the attendees. Because my main passion is educating, I was gratified to hear that they found my session to be the most informative and exciting of their two-week-long US-DOC program.

Now that is what makes all this flying around worth it. An educated group of people walking out of an Evision seminar with a list of things to do when they return home. Mission Accomplished!