Website development in Russia. SEO ranking on Yandex and Google.ru

One of the biggest difficulties for European companies that wish to penetrate a market as big as Russia is to quickly reach potential customers, have their products known and found at low cost.
And one of the simplest and most effective ways to overcome those difficulties is surely to create a website then make the most of all the tools that the internet offers.

However a website is of little use if it does not appear in the first results of local search engines or if it is not attractive and interesting for visitors. In case you already have a website, the literal translation of the texts into Russian and their discovery by search engines generally throws up real difficulties.

Russian SEO

In Russia the main search engine is Yandex.ru. Google.ru is not far behind. Importantly Yandex uses very different algorithms from Google and an in-depth understanding of this is a pre-requisite for those who want effective SEO. Yandex offers a ‘Direct’ service similar to Google Adsense. But the settings are different. To set the parameters correctly and optimize the budget-results ratio requires considerable familiarity with the system.

Factors that influence Russian SEO:

• Search engines give more relevance to local domains.
• A server hosting with a local IP has a faster response and is more likely to be found.
• If the site is essentially in Russian then it site takes precedence over others in foreign languages.
• Google.ru looks for host location. And, even if the site is translated into Russian, if it is hosted elsewhere then it is penalized.
• Russian search engines favour some platforms and certain plugins over others. Even good Russian copy needs to be optimized to make it SEO-friendly and effective.
• Keywords must be consistently dense and appealing to different search engines.
• For effective SEO it’s best to employ a SEM (Search Engine Marketing) campaign. Russian social networks profoundly influence user behavior and purchases. A SMM (Social Media Marketing) campaign is likely to be cost-effective.
• Creation-websites in Russia

The process to create a successful website in Russia and have it found

We start with an audit. Before designing or promoting a website it’s vital to know the site-owner’s aims and objectives. These must be considered alongside the realities of the Russian market. And, from that, emerges a targeted strategy.

For effective results it’s insufficient to translate an existing site and flag it up for Russian search engines. We also need to know the market and how Russians think. Because their buying-behaviours are not typically European.

European companies, even very capable ones, cannot easily create functional sites for Russia without good market intelligence. Indeed a website that sells in Europe may prove to be ineffective in Russia for a variety of reasons.

• The Russians attach great importance to presentation. They are attracted by elaborate graphics and often prefer visual information (such as photographs, charts and videos) to long copy.
• Pages must interact with social networks.
• Communication must be simple, clear and direct.

Accordingly Online Russia advises you, even if you already have a website, to create a separate one specifically for the Russian market that is not a clone of the original. You are best with a domain that is designed and built to meet a specific need, to generate leads and be readily found by Russian search engines.

Russian domain registration

It is not easy to register a domain .ru  from Europe because the authorities require a personally-signed contract. Online Russia is accredited by the Russian domain authority and can sign registration procedures on behalf of clients.

Russian website hosting

It is important, to comply with Russian privacy laws, to choose a local host with a dedicated and certified server. This lets companies collect and save sensitive visitor data. We can provide copies of the law on this, with a translation, if required.

Online Russia, collaborating with the best Russian webfarms, offers its customers a professional hosting service with dedicated and legally compliant servers.

E-commerce legislation in Russia

Russian text

Content is crucial to communicating with clients. It is one thing to speak Russian. But another to write professional copy. And another thing altogether to optimize Russian copy for search engines. This is why Online Russia employs professional copywriters.

SEO, SEM Campaigns

SEO is vital because a static site, without the periodic contribution of new content, is destined to lose visibility and rankings very quickly. So contents must be constantly updated, optimized and indexed. This requires the attention of a dedicated manager.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and targeted advertising can utilize both Yandex and Google.ru, harnessing paid-for tools like PPC (pay per click) campaigns, text ads and banners.

Targeted advertising, via SEM campaigns or targeted newsletters, and using selective filters, is reliant on knowing the customer profile. Properly conducted, there is usually a high conversion rate and big savings compared to generic campaigns that bring random visitors who are unlikely to buy products or services.

Filters

If a company sells tourist services to Russians in Europe, for example, we can choose the target by applying selective filters. These might include, in this instance, the following:

• Geographical area of ​​origin.
• Age.
• Profession.
• Frequency of completed trips.
• Times that visitors have been in Europe during recent months or years.
• Purchase behaviour.
• Online Russia has access to a large, up-to-date and reliable database that allows interested companies to effectively select and reach their customers with newsletter and SEM services.

Creating micro website and landing-pages.

Creating an isolated landing page, regardless of a well-structured site, makes sense only if it is connected to a SEM or SMM service. Even then it’s not usually effective at promoting key terms. It is only usually effective as a sales-tool when it contains a substantial amount of relevant content.

Meanwhile a single page placed outside a site won’t attract search engines. So if you have particular and limited needs it is a good idea to start with a microsite that, in the future, can be expanded with new pages and content.

E-commerce

Using your website to sell directly online in Russia is usually ineffective unless you invest heavily.

E-commerce in Russia needs promotion and management that is likely to cost 3000 Euros or more a month. But Online Russia can help you, as a European, to affordably reach Russian marketplaces.

To receive more information on our website, SEO, SEM and targeted advertising services, contact us using the appropriate form.

Contacts