Germany

Online marketing in Germany

Due to the large German-speaking population and high competition, Germans are used to searching and shopping in their own language, on their own platforms. Amazon.de is one of the most popular online stores, followed by Otto and Zalando. There is also a German B2B social platform, similar to the business platform LinkedIn, called Xing (with many users all over Europe) that can certainly offer added value. And of course don’t forget the other payment methods: Paypal, invoice, Sofort Uberweisung and Giropay (kind of IDeal).

In other words: the 8x larger Germany has many challenges for you. You have to work in a different language, with a different culture and of course different online marketing opportunities. So make sure you have a solid strategy.

Cultural differences

Unfortunately, simply translating your website is not enough to succeed in Germany. Your unique German target group has its own culture: they attach great importance to reliability and ‘German’ solidity.

Have your website translated by a native German who speaks the right tone or voice, knows the German market well and knows which search terms are important. Make sure you know the German rules and legislation for your business. Above all, do not tutoyate of your own accord, but use the correct personal pronoun (‘Sie’ or ‘Du’).

Tip: as said, authority and reliability are extremely important. Therefore, first work on your branding, obtain official and relevant quality marks and focus on obtaining positive reviews. Because these reviews are an important consideration for the Germans, they are therefore invaluable.

Working together

Germany is a hugely important market for companies with international ambitions. Germany is a large European country that accommodates a very large target group that can offer you as an entrepreneur or marketer a lot of online opportunities.

For almost 20 years, we have been advising, guiding and supporting entrepreneurs and marketers on marketing issues in Germany. The coordination is based in Tilburg, but what makes us truly unique are our native German marketing colleagues on the shop floor in Tilburg. We also have German colleagues who live and work in Germany. Our local specialists can be deployed from the local market for activities such as: professional translations, qualitative local link building, support for performance campaigns, local keyword analyses, obtaining the right online authority and of course carrying out social advertising and Google Ads campaigns for better findability on the German World Wide Web.

Think global, act local: because that’s the only way to make marketing effective!