Buyers often search by product name, specification and destination. On the export sites we studied, some found suppliers through Google and others followed links from AI assistants.
How a foreign buyer looks for a supplier
- By product, in English. Try the terms buyers use, such as “MTU marine engine parts”, “bulk birch charcoal” or “turnkey aeroponic farm”.
- On Google and ChatGPT. Google accounted for 92% of IWH’s search traffic in this snapshot. Of 53 visits from ChatGPT, 37.7% triggered a contact goal.
- By checking the supplier’s credentials. The buyer looks for an address, supply terms, documents and a clear way to get in touch.
What did we learn from the three sites?
IWH (parts for marine and industrial diesels): 208 contacts from 1,394 visits, buyers from Türkiye, the UAE, India, Azerbaijan and Europe. Drova Nevy (firewood and charcoal): after the English version, contacts from Lebanon, Germany, the Netherlands and Türkiye. AEROPONICS.FARM (turnkey aeroponic farms): 3 enquiries from companies in three countries.
What an export site needs
- Start with the language your buyers use. For the B2B exporters in our examples, that was English. Add other languages as demand becomes visible.
- Give each product a page that explains which destinations you can serve.
- Facts a buyer checks: volumes, packaging, Incoterms, lead times, documents.
- Indexing in Google and Bing.
- A short quote form. At IWH, 30.4% of visits to the quote page triggered a contact goal.
Questions and answers
Which language should an export site use?
Check which language buyers use in their searches and quote requests. English is a practical starting point for many exporters. Add local languages where your own data shows demand.