Website Globalization and E Business France

Globalization Partners International White Paper | 2012

Website Globalization and
E-Business France
The Website Globalization and E-Business Series includes a series of brief reports on country-specific
website globalization and e-business topics. The series includes:

• China • Russia
• Japan • Argentina
• Germany • France
• US Hispanic Market • United Kingdom
• Brazil • United Arab Emirates
• India

This series of reports is meant to be a primer on e-Business as well as a collection of language, culture
and website globalization facts by country. These reports are by no means a complete coverage of
these topics. For more comprehensive or customized reports on country-specific Website Globalization
and E-Business topics, please email mspethman@globalizationpartners.com.

No material contained in this report may be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written
permission of Globalization Partners International. The information contained in this White Paper has
been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but neither its completeness nor accuracy can
be guaranteed.

© Copyright 2008 - 2012 Globalization Partners International. All rights reserved.
® All Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The Website Globalization and E-Business paper All graphics used in this report were provided by Flikr, Google Images and other free internet resources
was researched and written by: for pictures.

Martin Spethman
Managing Partner Globalization Partners International helps companies communicate and conduct business in any
Globalization Partners International language and in any locale by providing an array of globalization services including:
mspethman@globalizationpartners.com
Phone: 866-272-5874 • Translation
• Multilingual Desktop Publishing
Nitish Singh, PhD, • Software Internationalization & Localization
Author of “The Culturally Customized Website”, • Website Internationalization & Localization
“Localization Strategies for Global E-Business”, • Software and Website Testing
and Assistant Professor of International Business, • Interpretation (Telephonic, Consecutive, Simultaneous)
Boeing Institute of International Business, John • Globalization Consulting
Cook School of Business, Saint Louis University. • SEO (Global Search Engine Marketing)
singhn2@slu.edu
Phone: 314-977-7604 To learn more about Globalization Partners International, please visit us at blog.globalizationpartners.com.

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I. Market Introduction and Stats

Country % increase in European online Fast Facts Numbers
Ad Revenues in 2010
General Stats GDP $2.14Trillion (CIA World Factbook, 2010z)
France 1.7%
Economy Growth Rate 0.3% (tradingeconomics.com, 2011)
UK 4.6%
Population 65.102 Million (CIA World Factbook, 2011)
Netherlands 1.9%
Internet Internet Population 45.26 Million (Internet World Stats, 2011)
Germany 5.2%
Spain 7.7% Online Spending $50 Billion (emarketservices.com 2011)

Italy 6.5% Summary sheet has been compiled through the use of sources from academia

Source: The European Interactive Advertising
Association (www.eiaa.net, 2009)

L The country name of France originates from the Franks, who were a Germanic tribe that occupied
the region after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. (Wikipedia.org)
L In 2011, France reached 45 million Internet Users, which accounted for 69.6% of the population and
9.5% of the Internet Users in Europe. That same year, France also reached 22.7 million Facebook
subscribers. (internetworldstats.com, 2011)
L In 2009 France was the world’s sixth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of
manufactured goods, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
L Approximately 50% of the French population claims to have a foreign background. This makes
France one of the most diverse countries in the world. (Wikipedia.org)
L 71% of European online sales in 2010 were accounted for by retailers in only three countries, UK,
Germany and France. (retailresearch.org, 2011)
L In France, online sales accounted for 6% of all retail trade in 2010. (retailresearch.org, 2011).
L According to the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP)
and the Conseil général de l’industrie, de l’énergie et des technologies (CGIET), in December 2010,
at least 93% of France’s population age 12 to 39 used the Internet.
L In July 2011, nearly 39.4 million unique visitors in France visited sites in the category “Retail”,
representing a penetration rate of 83% of the Internet users. (www.comscore.com/fre/, 2011)


II. France Culture and the Online Consumer

Individualism: French culture values individual goals French Culture and Values
(high Individualism) over group goals. Independence,
individuality and self expression are preferred values. The French culture is extremely rich and diverse. It reflects both regional differences and the influence
Power Distance: A belief in authority and hierarchy of immigration. (Wikipedia.org)
(high Power Distance). Cultures like France that are
high on power distance accept power and hierarchy in The French culture can be described using five cultural values based on the work of Hofstede
society and are low on egalitarianism. In such cultures, (1980). Professor Geert Hofstede conducted perhaps the most comprehensive study of how values
less powerful citizens are accepting of unequal power in the workplace are influenced by culture and is the author of several books including “Culture’s
distribution in society. Consequences” (2nd, fully revised edition, 2001), and “Cultures and Organizations, Software of the
High Context: High context cultures like France, have Mind“ (2nd fully revised edition 2005).
close connections among group members. Everyone
has a similar, intrinsic knowledge base. There is little Hofstede demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behavior
information that is explicit. High context cultures use of societies and organizations that are very persistent across time. Hofstede’s research showed that
more symbols and nonverbal clues to communicate, cultural values like Individualism-Collectivism, Power Distance, Masculinity-Femininity,
with meaning embedded in the situational context. High-Low Context and Uncertainty Avoidance can be used to categorize various national cultures.
Uncertainty Avoidance: This is the importance of
predictability, structure and order (high uncertainty A country’s culture is made unique based upon which of these five values are incorporated into daily
avoidance), versus a willingness for risk-taking and life and the emphasis it puts on each. For example, France rates significantly on Individualism, Power
an acceptance of ambiguity and limited structure Distance, High Context and Uncertainty Avoidance.
(low uncertainty avoidance). People from cultures
high on uncertainty avoidance, like France, tend
to have low tolerance for uncertainty and avoid Insights into French Consumer Values:
ambiguous situations, view conflict and competition as
threatening, and value security over adventure and risk. L Culture: The French are very proud of their national culture, history and traditions. In order to
connect with French consumers, it is important to thoroughly localize content to French culture.
(Hofstede, Geert. Culture’s Consequences, Comparing Values, L Environment: French consumers tend to be very environmentally conscious. They prefer products
Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001)
that are natural and environmentally friendly. (Martin, 2005)
L Humor: Research has shown that the French are receptive to messages that are delivered using an
appeal to humor. For example, Tetly Herbal Tea uses the signature line, “Finally, an English product
that is good for you.” (Biswas et al., 1992; Martin, 2005)
L Heritage: The French are very dedicated to preserving their heritage and are at times, reluctant
to embrace foreign brands. For example, major American brands like Coca Cola, McDonalds and
Disney have felt the unwillingness of the French consumers to embrace Pan-American culture.
L Communication: While the French tend to be individualistic in their work orientation, they tend to
be relational in their communication and information societal roles. (Overby et al., 2004)
L Product Attributes: French consumers prefer to rely on abstract attributes and relational
consequences of a product, whereas cultures like the U.S. and Germany may emphasize the
functional consequences and concrete attributes of a product. (Overby et al., 2004)
L Traditions: The French tend to be deep thinkers and seek to embrace creativity and beauty in every
day representations. This may be part of the long established traditions of art, gastronomy and
The McDonalds Example: McDonalds has used French architecture.
cultural symbols and icons in an attempt to hit the sweet spot
of French consumers. Advertisements of McDonalds have
carried the classic comic icons Astérix and Oblélix to promote
their products. (Singh)


II. France Culture and the Online Consumer

French Consumer Decision Making:

Based on theoretical and applied research in academia, the following are some unique insights into
the French consumer’s viewpoint:

€ Familiarity: Once French users buy online and feel comfortable giving their credit card numbers,
they are more confident about future online shopping. (Médiamétrie)
€ Language: According to Overture France, the French consumer will look for information on the
web in the French language approximately 94% of the time. They are not attracted to English
advertisements.
€ Common Items: The items most commonly researched or purchased online in France include travel
tickets, holidays, electrical goods, books, clothes, CDs, properties, music downloads, DVDs, mobile
phones, home furnishings and concert tickets. (www.eiaa.net)
€ Online Activities: The most common activities of French online users are information searches,
banking services and e-mail. In addition Skype, interactive media , online community sites, blogs,
online radio, music downloads and social networking are gaining popularity in France according to
an Ipsos profiling survey.

French Consumer Segments:

Market segmentation is an exercise in carefully identifying profitable and accessible consumer
segments based on socio-demographics, geographics and psychographics. Segmentation is unique to
each company and product.

” Catalog Segment: This segment takes a recreational approach to shopping and is predominantly
older shoppers. They shop for enjoyment and look for convenience, as well as strong factual
information. In addition, this segment is very interested in unique merchandise with high quality.
This segment is very loyal to brands and stores.
” Store Segment: This segment is a relatively younger and predominantly female segment that
view shopping as recreation. This segment is concerned about the look and feel of the shopping
experience, so aesthetics and providing high quality, unique merchandise are extremely important
to this shopper. This segment is not loyal to brands or stores, but will change if the experience or
merchandise is viewed as better elsewhere.
” Apathetic Segment: This group is not brand or store loyal and only shop on an as-needed basis.
They are not worried about selection, merchandise quality or uniqueness.
” Relationship Segment: This segment prefers to build a relationship with a store or brand, and
remains extremely loyal to them. They are also concerned about the return policies of a company.


III. The French Language

Language Facts/Tips French is the third-largest of the Romance languages in terms of the number of native speakers, after
Ì Language Use: Use clear, formal language Spanish and Portuguese. French is spoken by 120 million people either as primary language, or fluently
with proper articles. This helps to ensure that as a second language. It is also an official language in 29 countries. (Wikipedia.org)
the translators are able to fully understand
the original meaning of the text. Additionally,
avoid slang or colloquialisms that may not French is written using the Latin alphabet. In
culturally relevant like “get all your ducks in
addition to the 26 standard letters, French also
a line”.
uses five diacritics: The circumflex accent, acute
Ì Diacritics: A few diacritics may be included accent, grave accent, dieresis and cedilla, as well
in certain language keyboards, but including
all of them would not be possible. The as the two ligatures æ and œ. (Wikipedia.org)
simple way to place the diacritics into a All diacritics are included in the ISO 8859-1 and
document is to hold the ALT key (in Windows)
Windows 1252 character sets.
and input the numeric code assigned to a
particular character.

Ì Text Expansion: When some languages
such as English are translated into French, the
text can expand up to 25-35%. This means French has had a major influence on the English
the text takes up more physical space on the
language, as arguably half of all English words
page and the words inside the graphics, tool
bars, tables, etc. can all expand. originate from French. French is the second most
commonly-taught second language in the world
Ì Vowels: French vowels can either be
accented or unaccented, serving to (after English).
differentiate between otherwise identical
words. The vowels can be accented in
several ways and commonly include: a, e,
i, o, u. The letters h and y are sometimes
considered vowels. (http://us.penguingroup.
com/static/html/cig/toptips/frenchtips.html)

Ì Articles: There are three primary article
groups that are used in the French Language,
definite, indefinite, and partive and each
group has 4 articles. The usage of an article
is determined primarily by the gender of the
noun with which it is associated, as well
as whether the noun begins with a vowel.
The definite articles are similar to the word
“the” in English and are as follows: singular
articles are la, for feminine nouns, and le
for masculine nouns, the plural is les and if
the article is before a vowel or mute h it is
l’. (http://french.about.com/library/weekly/
aa112299.htm)
Example of Text Expansion: The French website of Chuzzlewit Borthers Chocolates with both English and French translations
Ì Gender: Although, articles can be used to side by side. (www.adobe.com)
determine gender, the ending of a noun can
also be used to determine its gender. Classic
feminine endings include, but are not limited
to: -ade, -ance, -ence, -ette, and -ie. Classic
masculine endings include, but are not
limited to: -acle, -al, -eau, -ier, and -isme. In
a group of mixed gender, the masculine plural
is always used. (http://us.penguingroup.com/
static/html/cig/toptips/frenchtips.html)


IV. Website Globalization

Whether you are trying to launch a multilingual website in order to expand the markets for your
products and services, or you are trying to increase your company’s global operational efficiencies by
developing multilingual extranets and intranets, Website Globalization is a requirement to make either
a reality. In order to enable your web presence to communicate, conduct and complete international
e-Business, you need to translate (globalize) your website.

Website translation is also known as “Website Globalization”. In order to truly “translate” a website
into other languages you may need both Internationalization (I18n) and Localization (L10n) services.

+

Internationalization (I18n) involves enabling the backend of a website to handle different
languages, character sets, currencies, submit form data, site search capabilities, etc… and involves
understanding what database and content management systems you are using to author, store and
publish your site’s content.

Localization (L10n) involves translating and localizing the front end of your website into different
languages ensuring all content (text and graphics) is translated in an accurate and culturally correct
manner.

The next two pages detail the steps that may be performed in a typical website globalization project.
The tables list the team members, tasks and standard quality assurance steps utilized in translating
a website.


Subject Matter Cultural Translation,
Source File Project Glossary Localization of
Training and Correctness Editing and
Review Kick-Off Development all Graphics
Research Assessment Proofreading
GO!
• Account Manager • Account Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager
• Project Manager • Project Manager • Lead Translators • Lead Translators • Lead Translators • Lead Translators • Lead Translators
• Localization Engineers • Lead Translators • Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers
Team

• Internationalization Engineers • Localization Engineers • Desktop Publishers
• Web CMS Specialists • Internationalization Engineers • Localization Engineers
• Web Designers • Web CMS Specialists • Web Designers
• Web Developers • Web Designers
• Global SEM Specialists • Web Developers
• Global SEM Specialists
• Companies wanting to translate • A Project “Kick-Off” includes • A Globalization Services • Translation teams develop • Before the actual translation • Translation is performed • All embedded translatable
their website put together all of and confirms the following: Team (GST) will review/study and maintains client specific begins, the source web by a base translation/copy text commonly found in
the source files from their site any reference materials glossaries leveraging any content and overall site writing team, and editing/ navigation buttons, web art
(called a”Localization Kit”) for a
9 The project team provided, including source existing client glossaries design and feature set proofreading by a second and other web graphics are
globalization services provider
to analyze. 9 Project schedules files, demos and general and the latest industry- is reviewed for basic linguistic team. pulled from graphics and
• The files are prepared in order 9 Project specifications client information. specific dictionaries. cultural correctness and translated using the standard
to utilize a translation memory 9 Workflow requirements customizations that may • All translations are completed translation workflow.
tool workflow and preserve Communication • In addition, there may be be required. by human translators,
Tasks

9
any mark-up/formatting code channels client-specific training for utilizing translation • The translated text is then
in order to save time and costs translation teams related • An array of issues are memory technologies that incorporated into the
9 Review & approval
with desktop publishing the to the subject matter of reviewed ranging from the ensure an efficient and original graphic, adjusting as
language versions. opportunities
9 Review current the website. need to culturally customize consistent translation. required, to create a language
• A proposal is generated based on
graphics and adding or “localized” version of
an array of factors including word web authoring and
counts, localizable graphics, local phone numbers to the graphic.
publishing workflow.
target languages and any content comprehensive customization
management systems and of website features based on
workflows to be used. locale specific cultural values.
GPI follows a comprehensive,
customizable and fully
Assurance

documented Quality Control
Quality

Process. Each step in our
translation workflow includes
a series of checklist-based
quality audits to ensure the accuracy of the
translation and desktop publishing. Our client’s
QA and workflow processes can also be easily
Clients are given an opportunity to Clients are given an opportunity to
incorporated into our workflow. review and approve at several stages in review and approve at several stages in
the documentation translation process. the documentation translation process.
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Formatting of
Localization of Delivery Final Edits and SEO and Internet
Language QA / Testing
Multimedia to Client Archiving of Files Marketing
Documents
• Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager • Project Manager
• Lead Translators • Lead Translators • Lead Translators • Desktop Publishers • Lead Translators
• Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers • Editors & Copy Writers • Localization Engineers • Global SEM Specialists
• Desktop Publishers • Desktop Publishers • Localization Engineers
• Localization Engineers • Localization Engineers • Internationalization Engineers
• Web Designers • Web Designers • QA-Testers
• Web Developers • Web CMS Specialists
• Web Designers
• Web Developers
• Many websites have an array • Many websites incorporate various • GPI provides basic Online Localization • After the website and all components • Client provides any final comments for • GPI recommends the client plan on and
of linked documents which may multimedia components which may Quality Assurance (QA) as a standard have been localized, final draft sets of the translation and formatting. conduct some form of global internet
require localization. require localization. line item for all website projects. the source files in all target language marketing (IM) and/or search engine
versions are provided to the client. • Comments are incorporated and final marketing (SEM) in order to drive traffic
• Formatting or desktop publishing (DTP) • Multimedia must be analyzed • This QA checks the language versions websites and documents are produced. to your new language sites.
of these documents includes formatting individually for numerous items. These of your site under selected browser-OS • Client may review and approve all web
the target language documentation to items range from determining word combination for any cosmetic or content for both translation accuracy • GPI ensures the client’s Translation • This may include global search engine
match the original source documents counts in screen text, audio scripts and linguistic issues, and will help identity and design correctness. Memories and Glossaries are updated optimization of the localized web
in terms of layout, fonts, graphics, and graphics, to the analysis of the types of basic functionality issues as well. with any final linguistic changes and content, submission of pages to key
overall design. assets and how they were digitized and • Another round of QA is performed once the final project folder, including all country (locale) search engines and
included in your multimedia. • Typically all testing is client-driven and language versions of a website are in source files are securely stored for pay-per-click marketing campaigns
• Adobe PDF’s can be created and GPI’s professionals can work side by their final hosting environment future revisions if required. through services like Google AdWords
optimized for screen or print and linked • All multimedia can be localized and side with your expert users to perform or Overture.
off of the new website. tested to play in any target languages. Internationalization (I18N), Localization
(L10N) and/or Functionality Testing,
onsite or offsite.
Clients are given an opportunity to review and Clients are given an opportunity to review and
approve at several stages in the documentation approve at several stages in the documentation
translation process. translation process.
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V. French Cultural Correctness
and Web Customization

Cultural Customization: Key Issues
The basis for cultural customization of websites is a theoretically sound, empirically validated
framework built on five unique cultural values that account for similarities and differences across
global cultures. Research indicates that attitude towards websites, the sites’ interactivity and
usability, as well as purchase intentions of users are enhanced when sites are congruent
with the target users’ cultural predispositions.

The cultural customization framework is drawn from established research and is based on five unique
values: Individualism-Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity-Femininity,
and Low-High Context (See page 4 of this report).

These five predominant cultural values can be represented in a country-to-country comparison using
the maps below:

Masculinity - Femininity vs. Uncertainty Avoidance Power Distance vs. Individualism - Collec vism
100
Ì France 100

Ì France
Individualism - Collec vism Index
Uncertainty Avoidance Index

50 50

Masculinity - Femininity Index Power Distance Index
0 0
0 50 100 0 50 100
Arab World Argen na Australia Austria Brazil Arab World Argen na Australia Austria Belgium
Canada Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia
Czech Republic Czech Republic Denmark East Africa Ecuador Colombia Costa Rica Czech Republic Denmark East Africa
El Salvador Finland France Germany Greece El Salvador Finland France Germany Guatemala
Guatemala Hong Kong Hungary India Indonesia Hungary Hong Kong India Indonesia Ireland
Iran Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Iran Israel Italy Jamaica Japan
Japan Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway
Norway Pakistan Panama Peru Philippines Pakistan Panama Peru Philippines Poland
Poland Portugal Russia Singapore South Africa Portugal Russia Singapore South Africa South Korea
South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey
Thailand Turkey U.S. Hispanic Market United Arab Emirates United Kingdom U.S. Hispanic Market United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay
United States Uruguay Venezuela West Africa Venezuela West Africa

Cultural Maps for France

Tables and section based on the book, “The Culturally Customized Website: Customizing
Websites for the Global Marketplace” – by Nitish Singh and Arun Pereira. Cultural maps are
from Hofstede, Geert. “Culture’s Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and
Organization Across Nations” Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001)



The Cultural Customization Scorecard
Once we have identified the country’s predominant cultural values using the cultural maps, the next step in customizing a website is to evaluate it on the
relevant cultural values. We do this in the form of the Cultural Customization Scorecard. The scorecard is produced by analyzing the features on the site that
conform to the cultural values of that market.

The cultural values of interest for France are Individualism, High Context, Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. These are carefully derived
based on the cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society (For a detailed cultural analysis of your website please contact
mspethman@globalizationpartners.com).

The Cultural Customization Scorecard™ - France
Grading Scale:
Values Individualism Collectivism Uncertainty Power Masculinity Low High
Avoidance Distance Context Context > 90% Excellent Customization on Cultural Value
Cultural 70-89% Good Customization on Cultural Value
Scores
< 70% Poor Customization on Cultural Value

Cultural Customization (Examples)

Â Individualism-Collectivism: France tends
to be individualistic in professional or formal
settings. Therefore when designing websites,
it is ideal to emphasize independence and
self-reliance. For example, Garnier Fructis
emphasizes personal improvement and
Cross Medias showed self-reliance and
independence in both the choice of a single
model and their activities.

Â High Power Distance: The French are
high on Power Distance. Some ways to
customize a site for this value is to emphasize
certifications, awards, and company
and employee recognitions. In addition,
highlighting a company’s mission and values
can also be beneficial. For example, see how
Médé prominently displays and explains the
importance of their awards.



Â Uncertainty Avoidance: Cultures with
high Uncertainty Avoidance want to avoid
risk. There are several ways to design a
website for risk adverse cultures like France.
These include having a clear navigation and
a secured site when transacting business
online. Furthermore, emphasizing history and
tradition can also help to increase confidence.
For example, see how Voyages-sncf.com has
a clear navigation and Air France emphasizes
their history through a pictorial timeline. Both
emphasize tradition on their websites.

Â High Context: Using color and imagery is one
way to customize your site for a High Context
culture. For example, EnjoyFrance.com uses
soft images and clear navigation on their
website and Printemps uses an interesting
shot of their stained glass dome in their
main store in Paris on Boulevard Haussman,
as well as a unique navigation menu that
utilizes pictures, on the right-hand side of
their website.



Website Customization Considerations
Symbols and Icons

The French culture is extremely rich and diverse.
It has been shaped by immigration and reflects
the regional differences of France. It is important
to be aware of the nuances of the French Culture
to avoid any cultural blunders and inadvertent use
of cultural symbols.

Some examples:

L The number 13 is considered a very unlucky
number. For example, having 13 people dine together is unlucky, as it is believed that one of the
attendees will die within the next year. They often invite 12 or 14 people, and even have people
“on-call” to attend, if 13 people show up.

L Singing brings rainy weather.

L It is considered bad luck to cross a stream while carrying a cat.

L Handing someone a loaf of bread with the split-top or decoration side down means that they are
either trying to kill you, or they think you are a killer.

L Knives given as wedding gifts will curse the marriage to failure, if the couple does not give a little
money to the person who gave the gift.

Colors

In French, certain colors carry specific meaning and symbolize aspects of their culture.

€ Black: It is the color of grief, death and hopelessness, as well as formality.
€ Green: It is the color of nature, spring and rebirth. It also has a negative significance for packaged goods.

Spatial Orientation

Spatial orientation refers to how web content is structured. According to Wendy Barber and Albert Badre, authors of “Culturability: The Merging of Culture
and Usability”, spatial orientation has a direct effect on website usability, because it affects visual perception. Manipulating the orientation can change the
user’s comfort level. What is user-friendly for one country may be vastly different for another.



Text Length

When translating a document or website, it is important to take into account how the length of the text will change after translation. There are a variety of
reasons why text expansion occurs. Equivalent phrases in a target language may have more characters or words than in English, and some cultures prefer
using a more formal style than other cultures, avoiding abbreviations, for example. Additionally, for both documents and websites both line and page breaks
may be different in the localized version than in the English version. Finally, the layout of the document or website itself may change depending on the
direction of the text. For example, Arabic is a bi-directional language and is read right-to-left, which will not only switch the layout of the text, but also the
graphics, the tool bars, the navigation bars, and the binding of the book, etc... Similarly, some languages like Chinese and Japanese can be displayed either
in left-to-right character rows or vertical character columns, and the choice influences how document elements such as graphics, figures, tables, call outs,
etc. are arranged in the final document or webpage.

There can either be text expansion or compression when a document or website is translated from English into a target language. For example, French can
expand up to 35% when translated from English. With document localization, there are several steps that can be taken to help preserve the integrity of the
look and feel “layout” of the document. These include:

L Using a larger font in the original language, if it is expected the language will expand during translation. This will help to develop a better feel for the
final size of the document and how the document elements will be laid out relative to the text. If the text is expected to shrink, use a slightly smaller font
for the same reasons.
L Tables and graphics may need to be resized or changed. Some, like the vertical Chinese or Japanese layout, will require more finessing than others.


VI. Internet and Search Engine Marketing
in France

The key to promoting a website internationally is to create localized content and keywords, register
local domains and then promote them through local search engines, affiliate marketing, online and
offline branding and promotions.

AFNIC (Association Francaise pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération) is the registry of domains
names for.fr (France) and.re (Reunion Island). Until July 2006 there were 586,799 domain names
recorded under.fr and 841 domain names recorded under.re.
It is recommended that firms plan on and conduct some
form of global search engine marketing (SEM) in order
to drive traffic to their new language sites. The AFNIC is now allowing all adults with postal addresses in France to register domain names ending
in.fr. Until now, only professionals, associations or public bodies have been able to register.
This may include global search engine optimization of
your localized Web content, submission of pages to
key country (locale) search engines, and a pay-per-click
marketing campaigns through services like Google Reasons for registering your site under the.fr domain name
Adwords or Overture.

For more information on Global SEM Services, see L The.fr domains are easy to register. The AFNIC has automated its registration procedures.
www.globalizationpartners.com/SEM
L 72% of French Internet users would prefer French companies registered under.fr, according to a
survey completed by SOFRES for AFNIC (www.afnic.com).
L Making your website accessible through a.fr domain name instills trust in users by showing them
that your organization is legally identified in France (www.afnic.com).
Broadband Access in France L Search engines look at both the IP addresses of websites and top-level domains like.de,.fr, and
France is the third largest broadband many others. It does not matter where the site is hosted. If it has the.fr domain, it will be included
subscriber in Europe. As of 2010, DSL was in search engines as a page from France.
still the most frequent means of French L Local French search engines will be inclined to favor a site if it is French, hosted in France, and has
broadband access. Fibre optic cables are the.fr in its domain name.
swiftly becoming a substantial alternative. L Setting up a French site with the.fr domain should be seen by search engines directories and other
sites as a new website. This will help you get additional listings in local directories and also the
As of 2010, 40% of the French population Yahoo! Directory, which enhances SEO efforts.
had access to fibre optic broadband L If local French websites view your business as complimentary to theirs, they will be more inclined
connections. Due to projected investments to link with you.
from the government, 70% of the French L It is impossible to have a.fr domain name deactivated or fall back by mistake to the public domain.
population is expected to have access to Every.fr domain name is renewed by default and is only deleted in the case of an explicit request
broadband with a minimum of 100Mb/s from its registrar. (www.afnic.fr)
service via fibre optics. (www.newstouse.
org/internet-statistics-france, 2011)
Main Search Engines Used in France

Â www.google.fr Â www.toile.com Â www.kagibi.net
Â www.bing.fr Â www.voila.fr Â www.pagesjaunes.fr
Â fr.yahoo.com Â www.lycos.fr (yellow pages)
Â fr.francite.com Â fr.altavista.com Â www.francite.com

References available upon request.


Resources

Search Engines

ß Kagibi: ß Lycos France: ß Breizhoo:
www.kagibi.net www.lycos.fr www.breizhoo.fr
ß Google France: ß Francité: ß Ezilon:
www.google.fr www.francite.com www.ezilon.com/php/fr.php
ß PagesJaunes: ß Orange: ß France Surf:
www.pagesjaunes.fr/ www.orange.fr www.francesurf.net
trouverlesprofessionnels/index.do ß Alsannuaire:
ß Yahoo! France: www.alsannuaire.com/alsannuaire
fr.yahoo.com ß Best of Corse:
ß Altavista France: www.best-of-corse.com/annuaire/annuaire.
fr.altavista.com php

Useful Links

ß www.networkeurope.org ß www.emclab.umr.edu/emceec.html ß searchenginewatch.com

ß www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural- ß www.eurunion.org ß www.1ere-position.com
business-communication/tool.php
ß www.franceguide.com ß www.activis.net
ß www.kwintessential.co.uk/cross-cultural/
currency-converter.html ß www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/fr ß www.multilingual-search.com

ß www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global- ß www.discoverfrance.net ß www.multilingual.com
etiquette/france-country-profile.html
ß www.infoplease.com
ß en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_France
ß www.countryreports.org/country.aspx?country
ß www.getcustoms.com id=83&countryName=France

ß www.ce-mark.com/cedoc.html ß www.oecd.org

ß eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm ß www.economist.com/topics/france

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