Lead Generation and Internet Marketing in Italy

Italian Lead Generation

The Italian internet is a vibrant and active industry with more than 30 million users and the benefit of a population with a GDP per capita of $29,418. Italy is located in the south-central region of Europe and officially known as the Italian Republic. Italy comprises of an Italian exclave in Switzerland (Campione d'Italia) and the independent states of San Marino and Vatican City as enclaves within. The territory of Italy covers an area of 116,347 sq miles and borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia to the north. Italy has a high gross domestic product (GDP) and is one of the members of the group of 8 industrial nations or G8. Italy is also a member of the European Union and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Italian Internet Users

A report has indicated that Italian households with children under 18 are the most likely to have internet access and broadband services installed. Around 81.8% of these households own a PC and 74.7% have internet access. A broadband connection can be found in 63% of households with children under the age of 18. There are a few percent more male internet users in Italy than females in terms of reach and this trend increases with age until the difference between the percentage reach is at its maximum of 4% between males and females (14% male reach compared to 10% female). This trend only starts after the 15 to 24 age range in which the reach of males and females shows a slight reverse trend in reach percentage of 9% and 10% respectively. Coupon sites were used by 15.2% of Italian internet users during 2010 which showed a 15 point rise on 2009 figures. This trend shows a rapid increase in the maturity of the Italian internet shopper to further drive down the cost and increase the value of their shopping carts.

Social Bookmarking and Ecommerce

Sharable offers via social bookmarking sites were spear headed by Groupon and suggest a huge potential for internet marketing and ecommerce in Italy. Content and ecommerce should always be sharable using such sites as Facebook and Twitter to increase brand awareness and drive new sales. Without this social bookmarking presence, lead generation campaigns in Italy can not be fully optimized and failing to recognize the importance of social bookmarking in ecommerce and internet marketing in general would be a mistake. There are more than19.6 million Facebook users in Italy which represents 65.3% of the internet population and 33.79% of the total population. A total of 43 billion page views a month are received by Facebook in Italy and Italian Facebook visitors spend more time than the worldwide average on the site at 28 minutes per visit. The worldwide average is 25 minutes per visit. 68% of Facebook users in Italy are between the ages of 25 and 44 with 47% of users on the lower income range of below $18,000 a year. Music, song lyrics, video sharing and mobile apps are amongst the most popular interest groups. These suggest the potential effectiveness of video marketing and the free supply of song lyrics to promote products and services to help increase brand awareness.

Internet Search Economy

Italy is considered as one of the world’s most industrialized nations and reported by the International Monetary Fund to be the fourth-largest economy in Europe. Although Italian searchers only represent around 6% of internet search users in Europe, they collectively perform more than 120 searches per visitor which is higher than Germany at below 100 searches per visitor. Germany represents 15% of European internet searchers, more than double the number of Italian searchers. Search intensity in Italy is huge and those internet marketers considering on entering the Italian online industry, should focus on search engine optimization, social media and the utilization of real time messaging such as Twitter. Read more on the Italian internet and advertising by visiting the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Italy.