Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 3

Staking a Claim in Europe

In This Chapter

• Succeeding in the European Union
• Knowing the legal issues in the EU
• Working in the United Kingdom
• Discovering France
• Operating in Germany
• Understanding the Netherlands

Across the pond from the United States lies the European Union (EU). The countries that belong to the EU are subject to certain laws and regulations, and all those countries are actually located within Europe itself.

Succeeding in the EU isn’t as simple as copying and pasting your website into German or French and then hoping the traffic comes to you. You have to consider legal and cultural differences, along with the technical issues that come from running a website in another country. In this chapter, we talk about how to succeed in the European Union, some legal issues you should be aware of, and some specific facts about doing business in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands that should give you a little more insight into the search markets in the European Union.

Succeeding in the European Union

You might think that getting started with the European Union would be pretty easy. It’s actually not. For one thing, you have to remember that Europe comprises different countries with their own languages and customs, and their own markets for search engines. You can’t create one website for the whole EU and then call it a day.

First, you need to figure out what countries you want to target. This is important in terms of tailoring your marketing ...