SEO in Malta

Malta is a tiny country, and has the distinction of being the smallest EU member state. Its population is slightly over 0.5 million citizens. Due to its location in the middle of the Mediterranean as well as its long, rich history, the country is a popular holiday destination among European and global holidaymakers.

Internet penetration in Malta is extremely high, and matches that of the most developed European economies. It is as high as 88% and is clearly set to increase even further. Since 2015, the number of internet users in the land of colourful balconies has increased by as much as 10%.

While planning positioning activities there, you should pay attention to the devices the Maltese use most often to browse the web. Of all the devices, they seem to favour desktops and laptops most. However, their dominance is far from absolute. Only 13% less browse the web using mobile devices. The overall percentage breakdown is as follows:

• Laptops and desktops (55%),
• Mobile devices (42%),
• Tablets (3%).

As a consequence, your store’s website will have to be optimised for both device types. Just as importantly, a significant percentage of the population uses both device types interchangeably, and you can never be completely sure which they will use to access your website.

Another notable aspect of Maltese online behaviour is the locals’ disproportionate interest in social media. If we analyse the statistics, we’ll see that Malta has more social media accounts than citizens. As such, we can say that Maltese newborns receive social media logins and passwords along with their names and surnames.

Obviously, what we are really dealing with is artificial account multiplication which makes it difficult to determine the actual number of genuine, unique users.

This digression aside, it is important that the most powerful social media platform in Malta is Facebook, favoured by as much as 81% of the local users. This is consistent with its dominant position in Europe as a whole. Curiously enough, Pinterest is the runner-up, followed by Twitter. The breakdown as a whole is as follows:

• Facebook (80.9%),
• Pinterest (6.6%),
• Twitter (4.9%),
• Instagram (4.3%),
• YouTube (1.4%),
• Reddit (0.8%).

Since we are dealing with a powerful social media user base (especially active on Mark Zuckerberg’s platform), you should consider a social media ad campaign (stressing especially FB ads) as you attempt to penetrate the Maltese market.

Malta’s economy seems conducive to business growth. Importantly, it is one of few countries to emerge from the crisis of 2008–2009 practically unscathed. The island’s unemployment level is low, and the inhabitants’ income quite impressive. The Maltese citizens’ sense of financial security may well translate into their shopping habits.

However, you should keep in mind that a substantial percentage of the Maltese still enjoy traditional shopping, although research suggests that many of them first check out the products of interest online. This situation presents you with an opportunity to encourage your online store visitors to purchase the given product online, as this tendency grows ever more prominent every year. Why?

First of all, the online offer is substantially more diverse, which the Maltese find attractive. Just as importantly, it is less pricey, which may convince them that e-commerce is the way of the future. Likewise, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic cannot be overstated, as it forced the picturesque island’s inhabitants to do much of their shopping online.

We should base our speculations about the future of e-commerce in Malta on hard, scientific predictions. These estimate that the island’s overall online income for 2022 will be USD 392 million. The corresponding estimates for 2025 come up to as much as USD 611 million!

E-commerce market in Malta

To succeed in our online activities, we must understand that the historic vehicles that drive on Maltese streets stand in stark contrast to the islanders’ modernity, especially as it relates to online shopping awareness and online banking. There is a lot to talk about!

Particularly notable is the high percentage of the people who own an account in any financial institution. It is estimated to be over 97% of people aged 15 years and older, which demonstrates the country’s high development level. Out of this number, as much as 86% of account owners possess and use debit cards. The percentage for credit card users is almost 47%.

Online financial operations achieve impressive results, as well. As much as 89% of account users declare making or receiving electronic payments. Over the course of the last year, over 46% of local users have paid online for purchased items, and 41% have paid bills this way. According to relevant data, online banking users constitute 43% of the whole user base.

Another factor that has contributed to the growth of Maltese e-commerce is the online sales transparency rules introduced by the Maltese government. Thanks to those regulations, more and more internet users are embracing online shopping. Another beneficial factor was the e-commerce market development strategy, implemented in the period of 2014–2020. As a consequence, in 2021 as much as 76% of the users did their shopping online.

What goods do the Maltese find most appealing?

First of all, they favour the following categories:

• clothing,
• sports items,
• electronics,
• tickets.

Global shopping platforms enjoy dominance here. As we analyse the below breakdown of the most popular online shopping outlets in Malta, we should not be surprised that the locals most eagerly buy British, Chinese and American goods. Above all, it is a direct consequence of their reasonable prices. As such, only 1/3 of Maltese shoppers favour local stores. The complete breakdown is as follows:

• Amazon.com,
• Missguided.eu,
• Klikk.com.mt,
• Dealtoday.com.mt,
• Theweddingsite.com.

All of the above websites permit numerous payment methods. The islanders are most eager to pay via PayPal (80% of the users), credit card (65% of the users) and debit card (16% of the users). 6% of the clients choose payment on delivery.

Why should you begin to promote your business in Malta?

Malta – in spite of its small size and population – is the second EU country in terms of the sheer volume of sales via electronic data exchange. The market’s dynamic growth can translate into a spectacular increase in sales. The local society is quite prosperous and enjoys considerable disposable income, but pays attention to prices all the same.

General near-future estimates for the Maltese e-commerce market are optimistic. It is said that the local annual growth rate will be almost 16%. This means e-commerce income will increase to USD 611 million by 2025. If you want a share of this significant opportunity, you should definitely consider business expansion, especially since 2/3 of local online buyers prefer foreign sellers!

Link building in Malta

While coming up with a Maltese link building strategy, you should base it on standard assumptions containing the following elements: SEO-related store website optimisation, Content Marketing activities, and modern Buzz Marketing.

To optimise the website in terms of SEO, all key elements have to be accounted for, such as meta-titles/meta-descriptions and headings usage. You must also create sub-category sites along with relevant descriptions, as well as the descriptions of specific items on offer. You must remember to use set key phrases and external links.

Content Marketing itself should be conducted following accepted good practices. The articles have to be thematically relevant to the given industry, and contain key words and links directly connected to the store’s website. Quality is paramount here, as outstanding articles will be better received by search engine bots and the users alike, especially since the latter (as mentioned before) tend to search for relevant product information online. The texts should be published on consolidated, historically respectable sites. Their quantity should be determined individually by an SEO expert. If you do that, you will be able to collect strong, valuable links that will positively affect your search engine results.

Balanced Buzz Marketing activities are a reliable complement to the above. Essentially, it comes down to posting recommendations containing store links on thematically relevant forums.

Depending on the recommendations and key words, all of the content should be available in the local languages. As a consequence, you will need the assistance of a native-speaker copywriter.

An intelligent promotional strategy can bring you success.