If you’re based in America, then the odds are good that most of your efforts up to this point have been focused on appealing to Americans.  That’s fine - there are 300 million of us, after all.  But new info from Hitwise should help you catch the eye of our neighbors to the north, as well.

Heather Hopkins took a look at how Canadians spend their time online.  About 15 percent of it goes to search engines, which should act as a tip that search engine optimization is important as ever.

The next most popular category is that of “Social Networking and Forums,” with a reading of almost 14 percent.  So don’t give up on whatever Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace presences you’ve established.  “Entertainment” is at the same level, too, meaning you might get ahead with Canadians by not focusing exclusively on business items all the time.

Then come “Email Services,” “Business and Finance,” “Adult,” “Portal Homepages,” “Shopping and Classifieds,” “News and Media,” “Lifestyle,” “Education,” “Travel,” “Sports,” “Government,” and “Music.”  Relate them to what you do as best you can.

The Internet is the Internet, after all, and traffic can net you advertisers’ dollars regardless of its origin.  Shipping companies can take packages across borders, too, so there’s little point in ignoring folks outside America even if you sell physical products.

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