The Italian language is spoken by around 70 M people in Italy but also in Switzerland, San Marino and in North and South America. It is also the second language in Vatican City and in some areas of Slovenia and Croatia. The Italian web is less mature than other European markets, and it has a huge growth potential. To boost your exports, your company should offer relevant content, with a website culturally and technically adapted to meet the requirements of the Italian market.
Why you should have a website in Italian
Italy is the world’s eleventh largest economy, and the fourth in the Economic Union, with a GDP of 1.834 millions dollars in 2012. Italy is the world’s sixth largest exporter, specializing in engineering products, textiles and clothing, motor vehicles, chemicals and food. Italy has a diversified and internationalized industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family owned. Over 46,1 million international tourists visited Italy in 2011, making it the fifth most visited country.
In addition to its role in the European community, Italy is present in numerous international organizations, global business affairs, global decision making organizations, etc. When expanding into the international markets, companies should obviously take into account Italy and the Italian market.
Most of Italian-speaking online users perform searches in their native language, so in order to compete in this growing market, and to internationalize in Italy, your company definitely needs a website in Italian. Italy posted the highest growth in internet users in Europe between April 2011 and April 2012, at 24%, and the fourth-highest growth rate in the world, according to comScore.
Internet Usage and Population Statistics in Italy:
GDP per capita is US$ 30.100 (2012) according to I.M.F.
Country Size (Area):
Italy has 301.323 sq km – Population density is 193 persons per sq km.
Latest Population Estimate:
61,261,254 M population for 2012.
Search engine market share in Italy
Main social networks Italy:
– Facebook : 23 M (social bakers, march 2013)
– Twitter :
62.7% of internet users in Italy will use social media by 2014, according to eMarketer.
Level of social network use in Italy, 2011-2014:
– 2011: 52.5% of internet users
– 2012: 56.9%
– 2013: 60.3%
– 2014: 62.7%
Internet Usage Statistics:
35,800,000 Internet users as of Dec./2012, 58,4% of the Italian population, according to Nielsen Online.
|
Year |
Users |
Population |
% Pop. |
Usage Source |
|
2000 |
13,200,000 |
57,989,900 |
22.8 % |
ITU |
|
2004 |
28,610,000 |
58,608,565 |
48.8 % |
Nielsen Net |
|
2008 |
28,255,100 |
58,145,321 |
48.6 % |
Nielsen Net |
|
2010 |
30,026,400 |
58,090,681 |
51.7 % |
ITU |
|
2012 |
35,800,000 |
61,261,254 |
58,4 % |
ITU |
Despite an economic crisis, ecommerce in Italy is booming. In 2011, only 38.5% of Italian users were buying online (82.5% in the United Kingdom and 74.6% in Germany). There is indeed a huge potential of growth.
The Openvalley’s approach to improve your website rankings in Italy
1SEO for Italian speaking countries
Improve your organic search rankings and digital presence in Italy. SEO is a complex activity that involves various technical aspects (site structure, geolocation,…), multilingual keyword research, website content optimization, link bait…
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2Social media in Italy
Social media should be used to connect with your prospective customers in Italy, which will drive more business. Openvalley assists you in defining the right social media strategy, so as to increase your presence on social networks.
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3Content marketing for an Italian speaking audience
As cliché as it may sound, content is one of the most important factors in any search marketing strategy. It is highly important to ensure that you have content worth viewing in Italian to connect with a German-speaking audience.
4Website translation
The issue of localization and translation of content in Italian is key to connect your customers abroad. Openvalley works with a team of native speakers to ensure web translation and localization is SEO optimized which, will positively affects your website rankings.
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5Website design in Italy
Openvalley design websites that are fully functional, either e-commerce or corporate websites. You can add an unlimited number of pages, update content anywhere, at any time, in a simple way. Our websites are multilingual, which means you can add several additional languages, and smartphone optimized.
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6Paid search
Launching a pay-per-click campaign in Italy is a good way to quickly reach new customers. With pay-per-click, advertisers can efficiently and effectively target customers in a foreign country. We can efectively create paid search campaigns on Google targeting the Italian market.
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