Randburg is a International, Multi-language, Business, Database bringing together a number of parties with a common interest in international marketing. After pooling their resources and extensive experience in fields covering international book publishing, international marketing, the Internet and computer technology, we decided in 1996 to establish an international database on the Internet.
The aim at Randburg is to create an international commercial medium offering all comers a chance to advertise their products and/or services in whatever manner and in whatever language they choose: every language on earth is available. In the same way, anyone is able to examine the advertisements at Randburg without charge and to use them to make commercial contacts all over the world. There can be no simpler or cheaper way. It is the company's goal to make use of the latest technology to give advertisers and those seeking their services the cheapest and simplest means of achieving their aims.
Marketing one's company through Randburg and the Internet is similar to advertising in an international newspaper, magazine or television station, but with the difference that many more people examine advertisements on the Internet, they are far cheaper and they can be set up in many languages.
Maryland, USA was chosen as the site for the Web server because this location gives the best Internet connection with all other countries in the world. With current Internet technology, this location gives the shortest connection time to other websites. Randburg's web server is connected to the Internet with a T3 connection, which handles 45 megabytes per second.
The website http://randburg.com was chosen, incorporating the name of the company. It is based on Dutch elements, but has an international flavour and is easy for most people to pronounce and remember; the "burg" element means "city" and is thus linked to the company's aim of being a sort of capital city of international commerce on the Internet.
Randburg contains no amusements or entertainments of any type, and the server is not open for access to other parts of the Internet. Thus, visitors to Randburg are those who are looking for commercial contacts, and its traffic consists of those who are advertising and those who are looking for goods or services, whether in their own country or beyond its borders. Currently, over 7,000 individuals visit randburg.com every day and read about 35,000 company pages or announcements. This has produced quick results, and Randburg has already played a part in many commercial agreements.
Randburg offers individuals, companies, institutions and organizations an opportunity to advertise themselves and their goods and services. Each advertiser wishing to use Randburg as his medium is free to choose his text, number of pages, pictures and language. Links to other websites can also be included, e.g. to the advertiser's own homepage. In such cases, Randburg is used to increase traffic to the advertiser's own homepage. Naturally, e-mail can be sent direct from the appropriate page in Randburg.
The process is simple. Purchasers submit the material that is to be published (text and graphics), and Randburg sets it up, places it in randburg.com and has it translated into the languages desired by the purchaser. Minimum publishing periods are one year at a time. Advertisements are ready only a few days after the purchaser decides to advertise through Randburg and submits his materials.
In Randburg, advertisers are arranged according to country and the type of product or service they advertise. This makes it possible to search by country and category, in addition to which a good search engine is available for those who use randburg.com to search for particular words or combinations of words in the database. Every effort is made to make the categorization user-friendly, simple and understandable.
Randburg's main strength is the great volume of traffic through the database; in terms of traditional printed book publishing, this is the equivalent of having a large print-run. Every effort is made to have more and more people use Randburg to obtain information on goods and services. One of the methods used is to have information on all new participants in randburg.com registered and made available to all of the many search engines available on the Internet. At present, some key words from each participant are registered in more than 2000 places in the Internet; these are the same places that the ordinary user uses to ask questions on the Internet. Special moves are also made to publicize the company itself and its functions, both on the Internet and elsewhere. Thus, Randburg's special position is due not least to the special knowledge we have of the Internet's search engines and methods of registration.
The first registrations with Randburg were offered in May 1997, since then the numbers of participants have risen steadily, as has the volume of traffic through the database. There are now more than a thousand firms advertising their products and services with Randburg, and the number is rising rapidly, as is the number of countries represented. All this brings Randburg steadily closer to its goals of being a marketplace of commerce on the Internet - its commercial capital. There is no cheaper way of advertising all over the world.
The aim is to establish a presence in all countries of the world; hence we offer a unique opportunity for marketing. Anyone is able to publicize themselves with Randburg, irrespective of where in the world they are or the language or languages they want to use.
The owners of Randburg look with confidence to the future. Our main aims have already been achieved through the establishment of this international database, and the response, both by those who have registered with Randburg and those who have used it to find what they are looking for, has been greater than they ever expected. In the world of the Internet, the way leads ever onward, and the aim is to achieve still further increases in the numbers of both advertisers and other users of Randburg's services.
