Russia

Web trends in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine: stats

The demographics and technology adoption section of our Internet Statistics Compendium is probably the biggest single report of updated-by-month internet data you can get your hands on. 

It’s a mixed bag too, covering top-line web usage trends as well as user habits across many markets and down to different demographics.

This month, the report saw a wealth of best bits collected from some fantastic Gemius research published in the summer (and available in full here).

It’s their research into the Russian-speaking internet markets of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine I wanted to focus on today.

Eight factors to consider when growing an ecommerce business to Russia & the CIS

The growing list of ‘back and forth’ economic sanctions between the West and Russia has brought into popular focus just what a key market this has become for some of the world’s largest commercial brands.

What is often lost in this conversation however, is the growth and development of the surrounding CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region as an online marketplace.

The region is often known for its complex geo-political relationships but in fact, these countries share a lot of cultural and linguistic patterns that are particularly visible in online search.

Are links dead for Yandex?

Yandex back links as a core ranking factor; it’s a dirty trick that’s been played for years in the commercial web landscape, especially in Russia.

However, back in December 2013, Yandex’s head of web search Alexander Sadovsky announced a shake-up in its algorithm, confirming that Yandex will no longer use back links as a ranking factor for commercial search queries.

This led to a lot of speculation. How is Yandex going to deal with such a major change? What are the repercussions? Which verticals will be more seriously affected by this change?

With this in mind, this article aims to shed some insight on how the update has affected SERPs and how Russian website owners should really deal with it.

Six challenges and opportunities of Russian search marketing and conversion

Many retailers and pure-plays have expanded into Russia despite some difficulties stemming from changes to import laws.

I’ve previously shared some detail on Russian ecommerce, and the Econsultancy Russia Digital Market Landscape report is well worth a look.

In this post I thought I’d offer some thoughts on search in Russia, shared with me by Hannes Ben, EVP International at Forward3D and founder of Locaria.

Fashion is growing quickly in Russia, with a 42% year on year increase in revenue across clothing, shoes and accessories. In turn, the SEM strategies of these retailers have to be adapted.

So what are the challenges and opportunities of search in Russia?

What you should know about ecommerce in Russia

Russia is currently in the spotlight, preparing to host the Winter Olympics, with all the associated negative press for its government.

But whatever the irregularities of Vladimir Putin, Russia has the third highest economic growth rate in the world.

Although online sales in Russia account for just 2% retail sales, this is estimated to rise to 5%, or $46bn, by 2015 according to Morgan Stanley.

And Russian internet users are in thrall to overseas brands. In 2013 the top 25 brands searched for on Yandex, the top Russian search engine with 61% share, were all overseas fashion brands.

So what are international ecommerce outlets waiting for? Shouldn’t everyone be importing into Russia?

One new hurdle to expansion into Russia is increased complexity in shipping since new import laws were implemented in December 2013.

What do you need to know about Russia, who’s already taking advantage and how can you follow suit? This post and our Russia Digital Market Landscape report can help.

For new markets, when’s best to begin your email campaigns?

At Hotels.com, email plays a key role in our marketing mix. We have localised websites around the world and run email programmes in 85 countries in 35 different languages utilising newsletters as well as triggered and transactional initiatives.

Many of these markets can be classed as mature but, for emerging markets, one of the first questions to address is when to introduce email into the frame?

What criteria should be used to judge the optimum moment to begin and how should the programme develop?

Search and ecommerce in Russia [infographic]

According to our recent Digital Landscape Report, Russia has the highest number of internet users in Europe, and represents a potential growth market for ecommerce. 

In addition, just under half of Russia’s 61m web users are buying online, though a mistrust of the finance industry means that cash on delivery is the prevelant payment method. 

There are barriers though, such as mistrust of retailers, and the risk of parcels going AWOL due to the number of people living in communal apartments. 

However, as our report, and this two part infographic from Search Laboratory shows, there are many opportunitues. 

Stats and insight: The Russian digital landscape

Our new Russia Digital Market Landscape Report is the third in a series of trends briefings on the BRIC markets.

Like the Brazil and China editions released in 2012, this new report offers an overview for marketers and investors looking to Russia for new opportunities by bringing together direct input from those with knowledge of the market as well as a range of secondary sources.

There is much in this emerging market which is sure to appeal to marketers and investors…

Russia open its doors to homespun and foreign entrepreneurs

Behind Lenin’s Tomb in Moscow there is a small door embedded in the Kremlin Wall where Soviet rulers used to duck through on their way to presiding over the annual May Day Parade.

The door is small and, according to a Russian soldier I met there a decade ago, it was deliberately so because of Stalin’s diminutive stature.

After all, if he was about to acknowledge the size of his huge army, the last thing he needed was to be reminded of was his lack of height.  

Rather like Stalin’s door, the, er, window of opportunity for Russian entrepreneurs has been similarly narrow. Inventors and creators were employed by the State and any resulting IP or patents would be owned by the State.

How can UK businesses improve their SEO in Russia?

Russia’s government last month announced possible plans to launch a national search engine, their aim being to have tighter control over filtration, and to ensure the ‘safe access of information’.

The venture would set them back around $100m (around £65m), and it would be a long and lengthy process to overtake the market leader Yandex, who currently holds 62.8% of the market share in Russia.

Despite the plans being questionable, the announcement does bring to attention certain aspects of the Russian search market.