The Bla Bla Bla

Broadband, dial-up, or pigeon: This was the main cultural factor everyone talked about when I started in international search because people didn't have broadband in that many places. Now, when thedifferences in many countries are less extreme, it's become just another factor. Actual access to the Internet continues to become less significant -- except that the proportion of web use that goesthrough mobile phones is only likely to increase. Meanwhile, the location where people access the web can be a bigger factor. In many African nations, for instance, a large percentage of web accesstakes place in Internet cafes.

Product distribution systems: In the e-commerce world, how you deliver your product is an enormous consideration. There isn't much point in targeting innermost Mongolia-- if there's no possible logistics solution. Funnily enough, you can actually check the logistics conditions in a market using keyword research!

Color codes and meanings: You don't want to beusing purple on your web pages where that means "death" -- unless that's your field of operation!

Style of government: Democratic, dictatorship, socialist, communist, hypnotist, or right wing, it allcounts to influence how people search and what they search for.

Travel distances: I'm always amazed by how large U.S. distances are compared to what we're used to in the U.K. Equally, in the timeit takes to cross America, I can cross 40 countries and land in Baghdad. Now there's a thought. Looking at a map associated with your search terms, you might miss that eastern part of Russia isactually not hours, but days of travel from Moscow by train (trust me I've done it -- it's a long way...).

Population density: Take a look at the Netherlands or the Bay Area of the U.S. How do so manypeople sit inside their cars on the same roads every day? But having been caught regularly in 20-plus mile traffic queues in the Netherlands, you might find that car searches are either for luxury...