Selling one range in many countries tempts every operator to write a listing once and translate it. We do share a great deal across markets: product data, images, specifications, compliance information. What we never share is the language of demand.
What is shared
- One master catalog. Every product has one record holding dimensions, materials, identifiers, compliance data and approved claims.
- One method. The way we research, cluster and test search terms is the same everywhere.
What is local
- Search terms. Shoppers in Germany, France, Japan and the US describe the same bag in different ways, and not as translations of each other. We research each market's terms with that market's search data, from scratch.
- Demand groupings. How products cluster into customer needs differs by market. A use that leads in one country can be minor in another.
- Claims. What a listing may say depends on local rules. In Japan, for example, plastic food-contact materials are regulated under a positive-list system, so we do not describe products as safe for food contact there unless the evidence for that market is in place.
How it works in practice
Listing content is written by people who know the market, from that market's keyword research, and checked against the master record for facts. Advertising keywords come from the same local research, so the listing and the campaigns speak the same language.
It is slower than translation. It is also the difference between a listing that exists in a market and one that is found there.