Do People in Foreign Countries Use their Native Language for Searches?

[Peachesbackwards]

I was intrigued at someone selling a Spanish Name for dollars on here & would appreciate any input on the following: Do people where English is not the prime language use their native language for searches? For better clarification,
if the majority of German people also spoke English, would they still do their searches in German or American? Suppose they were doing a search on American Women. Would they use the German wording or the American?

Are domain names in a foreign language like German worth say 10% of what the word is in English? Is there any kind of general rule on this? Same also with Google hits? I put a German Phrase of a popular American term that has 363,000 hits and there were only 8 hits. Please advise!!!!!!!

 

[Fixhotep]

I'm also interested in the answer to this... though I am hesitant of getting into this niche as I don't speak any language other than English (Unless you count Orc, is there a country that speaks Orc?).

For Germany, I would assume german words with a .de extension.

 

[Peachesbackwards]

I used Google translators but that's a good point you made about a country domain like, .de, that I hadn't considered. For simplification right now, let's just assume we're dealing with Search Engines, not putting words blankly in a URL and adding .COM or a country extension.

 

[garptrader]

I was intrigued at someone selling a Spanish Name for dollars on here & would appreciate any input on the following: Do people where English is not the prime language use their native language for searches? Are domain names in a foreign language like German worth say 10% of what the word is in English?

There is a natural tendency that individuals will search for content in their native tongue even if they speak another language. I speak Spanish rather well but I much prefer to do my banking, stock trading, and online purchases in English. On the other hand, English is the language of international business and no doubt there is more developed content and ecommerce in English than any other language. So bilingual individuals may still utilize both languages to some extent.

English domains are worth more than foreign language domains. But I believe there is potential in foreign language domains just as many international companies establish ventures in emerging markets. Note a few high-dollar sales on DNJournal - exito.com $121k, viajes.net $90k, arzte.de $79k, veiling.nl $66k, apartamentos.es $40k, maklare.se $39k, weiber.de $35k, etc...
http://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm

Common phrases in one language don't always translate literally. Translate the phrase, "It's raining cats and dogs" literally and a foreigner will look at you funny. Keep in mind also that many words have multiple meanings and uses and some synonyms are more common than others. So if one is translating travel or sports or entertainment phrases, one would have to be careful and confirm they are common phrases in the other language. This can be done by typing the phrase in quotes. For example, "cheap+air+fares" or "five+star+hotels" A common phrase still may not be particularly valuable if it is not searched for much and advertisers aren't bidding on that keyword or phrase. Check out Google adwords rates and average search volume for the phrase in question. It is much easier to find common phrases in Spanish which are unregistered than in English but the demand for Spanish domains is much lower.

 

[DNWizardX9]

They search in their native language. You can type Japanese words/chinese words etc into the google estimator or international ovt tool. Some are searched for hundreds of times a month.

 

[domain newbie]

they use native language if they are looking for a local stuff, but if they looking for a foreign stuff and speak english they use english

 

[Flying Dutchman]

I think Germany is a bad example cause they are very keen on there own
language. They generally use german words for everything.
Can't speak for other european countries but I do know that many French
people don't speak english at all, maybe the younger generation does.

I think here in holland we use many english words but ofcourse all depends
on what your looking for.

 

[DNWizardX9]

they use native language if they are looking for a local stuff, but if they looking for a foreign stuff and speak english they use english

say what?


I think your logic is a bit off.

 

[Stinos]

I think most of them use native language.

I, for instance, use my native language when i'm looking for information although I can speak/read english.

And keep in mind that many people don't speak english, or maybe just a little. Most of the youth learn some english in school, but the older people rarely speak decent english.

 

[cyber_deeze]

Hi,

This is a very good question.

I know that up here in Canada it may depend on what part of the country you are from.

In the province of Quebec up here, French is the Primary Language, So many people from that province will search In French. For example, If someone from there who is a francophone was looking for a convenience store they would more than likely type in Depanneur vs Convenience store.

I guess it all depends on the language and the populations of the people who use that languge as their mother tongue.

cyber_deeze

 

[tassos]

in greece we use the same greek and english in search
for domains, most are english words or greeklish (eg mousakas ,kalimera etc)