International SEO means optimizing a website for search engines to identify the countries you would like to target and the languages you use for business. International SEO becomes crucial in cases where you know that a large chunk of your website traffic is originating from outside the country, and your international audience speaks a different language. In such a scenario, it is wise to make changes to your website and enhance it in a way that your website caters a seamless experience for your international visitors.
The world International SEO may seem like a rather complex concept at first glance, but it is simple. Think of it as geotargeting, but instead of doing so for states or cities, the same is being done for specific countries.
When optimizing your site for international SEO, this broad 3 level to-do-list is what needs to be considered to accomplish the said goals
- Define the target country with an international-friendly URL structure for country / region targeting
- Define the language your pages are targeting with the use of language tags
- Create content on your site in the target users’ language. This is the key ingredient to help you rank.
The right International SEO strategy and the ability to execute is all it takes to taste success in this rather unique domain.
Here is a checklist to help you in your end to end planning in International SEO.
- Potential market research: Identify the markets you intend to target with International SEO. Bank on data to sketch the exact traffic coming in from various regions thereby identifying the most feasible regions to target for International SEO.
- Targeting strategy: When setting up a targeting strategy, consider the three global architectures and identify the one best for your business.
- Multiregional sites target: Users in different countries who speak a common language.
- Multilingual sites: Targets users in various countries who speak different languages to users in other targeted countries.
- Multiregional and multilingual sites: target users in different countries who speak the same language as users in some, but not all, other targeted countries.
- Website structure: The way a website is structured determines the potential visibility in multiple regions. Pick a structure that best suits your business and domain for maximum efficacy.
- International keyword research: Generating content for an International site begins with keyword research, most certainly on an international level. You will need to conduct keyword research keeping in mind your target audience.
Some tools you can use for International keyword research
- Google AdWords Keyword Planner
- Bing Ads Keyword Planner
- Yandex Keyword Statistics
- Baidu Index
- Localising content: Adapting content previously translated to languages specific to a region. When localising content, ensure that you are localizing the following
- URLs
- Title
- Meta Description
- Navigation
- Headings
- Text
- Images
- Currency
- Address
- Phone number
- Time
- Geo-targeting
When geotargeting, there are plenty of ways to target your site to specific countries, including
- Website Structure
- Using local IP addresses
- Google Search Console
- International link building
When building links to your international content, take into consideration the following
- Link building skills of your international competitors
- Different link sources
- Different languages and dialects
- Consumer profiles, trends and behaviours are often different to domestic markets
The key to tackling this is to hire an agency who understands International SEO in and out and can help you overcome these challenges in a seamless manner. Contact us today and get your International SEO in place minus all the hassle.