A Guide to International SEO: Set Yourself Up For Success

The Ultimate Guide to International SEO: Your Roadmap to Global Success

Congratulations on growing your business domestically—now it’s time to take it to the next level. Expanding internationally is an exciting step, but it can also be challenging. The good news? International SEO is one of the most effective ways to overcome these challenges and gain a competitive edge.

Having helped numerous businesses, both local and global, succeed with international SEO strategies, our experts are here to share their knowledge and insights with you in this comprehensive guide. By the time you finish reading, you’ll be equipped to expand your reach beyond borders and tap into international markets successfully.

Grasping the Essentials of International SEO

International SEO is significantly different from local SEO, and it requires a deeper understanding of several key factors. From hreflang tags and keyword research to choosing the right URL structure for your global expansion, there’s a lot to consider.

Are you ready to dive in? This guide will walk you through the process and empower you to grow your business internationally. Let’s get started!

What Does It Take to Set Up a Website for International SEO?

Before we dive into the technical side of international SEO, let’s give you an overview of what to expect in this guide:

Strategic Keyword Research: Learn how to target the right search terms in various languages and regions.
High-Quality Content: Creating detailed, engaging content that resonates with local markets is essential, especially in competitive sectors.
Language & User Experience Optimization: Find out how to create a seamless experience for international users, considering cultural differences and preferences.
Translation & hreflang Tags: Implementing the right translation and hreflang strategies to ensure accurate indexing and better user experience.
Subdomain vs. Subdirectory: Discover the benefits of each option, with real-world case studies.

We’ve packed this guide with valuable insights drawn from years of SEO experience, all designed to help you succeed on a global scale.

When Should You Start Thinking About International SEO?

If your local business is already attracting significant traffic from other countries, it might be time to consider expanding your SEO strategy internationally. Transitioning from local SEO to international SEO is a big move, involving more complex coding, fresh content targeting specific international users, and ensuring your site is technically sound.

Before making this leap, make sure you have a clear international SEO strategy in place. Evaluate your target markets and decide where to focus your efforts. It’s crucial to ensure that investing in a particular country or region aligns with your overall business goals.

We’ve outlined several practical tips to guide your thinking and help you expand your global search visibility.

What Makes an Effective International SEO Strategy?

Successful international SEO requires a comprehensive, “divide and conquer” approach that combines solid technical foundations with high-quality content and user experience. Here’s how to approach it:

Conduct In-Depth Market Research

If you want your business to succeed globally, you need to understand your target markets. Identifying the right countries to focus on is key. Not every market will be a good fit, so ensure your product or service resonates with local needs and preferences.

Once you’ve identified potential markets, consider running paid campaigns (e.g., PPC) to test the waters. Ads can give you valuable insights into which regions are most responsive to your offering. From there, you can refine your content strategy and decide which landing pages to optimize and translate.

Prioritize the Right Keyword Research

When conducting keyword research for international SEO, avoid country-specific settings unless you’re targeting a specific region. Use broader, international parameters to capture a wider audience. Focus on long-tail keywords that incorporate terms like “online” to ensure they appeal to users worldwide.

When considering different language variants or subdomains/subdirectories, tailor your keyword research to the specific country you’re targeting. This ensures relevance and alignment with local search trends.

Understand Language and Cultural Differences

Keyword research for international markets can be tricky, as direct translations are often not enough. Inaccurate or irrelevant keywords can lead to missed opportunities and alienate potential customers. It’s essential to invest in proper language translation and hire experts who understand the local culture, idioms, and search behavior.

Is Search Volume Always the Key Metric?

While high search volume can be a good indicator, it isn’t the only metric to focus on, especially when entering new or developing markets. Instead, relevancy should be your primary concern. Do your research to understand the nuances of the target audience in each market.

In some emerging markets, word of mouth plays a significant role in driving traffic. As early adopters discover your business, their recommendations will lead to a snowball effect, increasing your website’s search volume over time.

Focus on Quality Content

Quality content is the backbone of any successful SEO strategy. When expanding internationally, it’s even more important. Craft detailed, informative, and culturally relevant content that speaks directly to your target audience.

A user-friendly website with well-structured content helps both visitors and search engines navigate easily. Google values clean, organized sites that are easy to crawl and understand. Properly formatted URLs, a clear site structure, and intuitive navigation will enhance both your user experience and SEO rankings.

How to Optimize Your URL Structure for International SEO?

URL structure plays a vital role in international SEO. A messy or overly complex URL can hurt both user experience and search engine crawlability. Keep your URLs clear, simple, and relevant. Avoid adding country or language codes directly into the URL, as this can make it look cluttered and unprofessional.

Pro Tip:

Ensure consistency in your URL structures across your website, so they’re easily readable, trustworthy, and SEO-friendly.

Choose the Right URL Structure for Your Business

When it comes to structuring your website’s URLs for international expansion, there’s a key debate: Should you use subdomains or subdirectories?

Subdomain URL Structure

In this setup, your main website might look something like www.example.com. For a country-specific version, such as for Spain, you would create www.es.example.com and translate the content from English to Spanish.

SEO Tip:

This method can be highly effective for SEO, but it’s crucial to assess whether it fits with your business model and goals. A subdomain structure can offer strong ranking benefits, but its suitability depends on the specifics of your business.

Subdirectory URL Structure

With this approach, country-specific content resides within a subdirectory of your main domain. For example, a Spanish version of your site would be www.example.com/es.

There are two main advantages to using subdirectories:

External Links Benefit the Main Domain: Links pointing to the country-specific subdirectory contribute to the authority of the main site rather than a separate subdomain.
Better Trust in Target Countries: Users in your target country are more likely to trust a local domain than a generic or international one (e.g., example.co.uk vs. example.com).

Although a subdomain URL structure uses a country extension, the country code appears at the beginning of the URL, linking back to the root domain.

This option is particularly beneficial if your site requires a high level of local trust or if you anticipate significant external linking to your content. For instance:

If your company is offering a groundbreaking product or service likely to attract press.
If you run a content-heavy site, like a magazine, that produces fresh material regularly (e.g., VICE).
If it’s important to present your site as a “local” version of your brand, similar to how McDonald’s adapts its menu for different regions.

There’s no one-size-fits-all for URL structures, so be sure to choose the approach that aligns with your business goals. Always conduct thorough research and gather data to make the best decision from the outset.

Content Is King

While a solid technical SEO strategy is essential, your content ultimately determines the success of your site. If the content doesn’t resonate with search engines and users, even the best SEO efforts can fall short. High-quality content is key to driving traffic and engaging visitors. Here’s how to nail it:

Focus on Originality, Even in Translations

International SEO requires unique, high-quality content. Avoid duplicating content, even when translating it into different languages.

Also, never rely on machine-generated translations. They lack personality, are difficult to read, and can result in higher bounce rates. Opt for manual translations, ensuring content feels natural and engaging in each language.

Pro Tip: Use local proverbs, idioms, and cultural references relevant to your target audience. For example, in Spanish, “tu” is informal, while “usted” is formal. These nuances can significantly affect how your brand is perceived.

SEO Tip: Ensure your copy is visible. Google values transparency and indexing, so avoid hiding content. Clear, accessible copy will help your site rank better.

Using Hreflang Tags

Hreflang tags are a critical aspect of international SEO. These tags tell Google which country and language your pages are targeting, helping search engines serve the most relevant version of your site to users.

What Happens If You Skip Hreflang Tags?

If Google can’t properly match content with the intended language or region, your pages may not get indexed. This can significantly hinder your SEO efforts.

How to Implement Hreflang Tags

Hreflang tags are signals—not directives—telling Google which version of your page corresponds to a specific language or country. For example, if you have an English version of a page for the UK, you’d use:

For Australian English, it would be:

This system helps Google understand the relationship between different versions of your site, improving your ranking in each region.

Adding Hreflang Tags

You can implement hreflang tags in three ways:

In the header tags of your HTML.
Within the HTML code itself, as shown in the examples.
In XML sitemaps.

Each method has its merits, so choose the one that best suits your site’s needs. Many find using XML sitemaps the most straightforward approach, ensuring consistency across all pages.

The Role of “x-default” Hreflang

The x-default hreflang value tells Google that a page is not targeted at a specific language or country. This is useful when you want a single URL that dynamically adjusts based on the user’s language settings.

For instance, if you’re working with a global brand like Google, the root domain (e.g., google.com) would serve as the authority for all regional variants. The x-default value ensures users are redirected to their appropriate region (e.g., google.com.au for Australian users).

While the x-default approach can work, it’s not always recommended, especially if you’re targeting specific countries. Google prefers clear, verified domains, particularly when the server is based locally.

SEO Tagging in Google Search Console

If you’re aiming for global SEO success, Google Search Console (GSC) is an invaluable tool. It lets you specify both the languages and countries you’re targeting, ensuring that Google crawls and indexes your site appropriately.

Sitemaps for International SEO

To help Google understand how to index your site for various countries, ensure your XML sitemaps are set up correctly. You can check if a sitemap exists by appending sitemap.xml to your site’s URL.

For WordPress users, tools like the Yoast SEO plugin automatically generate sitemaps, streamlining this process.

If you have more than 500 pages, you may need to manually create or purchase a sitemap tool. Be sure to remove irrelevant pages from the sitemap to avoid increasing your bounce rate.

Overcoming International SEO Challenges

Expanding your website globally can come with hurdles, including:

Root Domain vs. Location-Specific Domains: For example, www.example.com may outrank a location-specific version like www.example.co.uk, leading to confusion.
Indexing Issues: If you haven’t told Google Search Console about new, country-specific variations, your site might not get indexed.

Server Location Impact: Google factors in server location when determining relevance. Make sure to update Geo Settings in GSC to match your target region.

Best Practices for International SEO Performance

To maximize your global reach, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

Use Pop-Ups for Language Selection

Offering language selection through pop-ups can significantly enhance user experience. This is particularly helpful for global brands with a diverse audience, ensuring that visitors don’t leave due to language barriers.

International SEO Tip: Pop-ups improve user engagement, a key ranking factor for Google. Keep them simple, with at least one click prompt to boost interaction.

Encourage Local Reviews

If applicable, build a presence on Google My Business and gather reviews from customers in each target country. These reviews contribute to your SEO rankings, and authentic feedback boosts credibility.

Regularly Update Your Content

Keep your content fresh and relevant. Regularly update translated articles, blogs, and product pages to reflect the latest trends and information. This not only helps with SEO but also signals to visitors that your brand is active and trustworthy.

Create Shareable URLs

For consistent international SEO, ensure your URLs are shareable across all regions. Avoid using automatic redirects, which Google dislikes, and instead opt for a banner or link on the page to guide users to their preferred language version.

Conclusion: Taking Your Business Global

Expanding into international markets requires a comprehensive, strategic approach. From URL structures to content translation, hreflang implementation, and beyond, there are many moving parts.

The key to success lies in assembling a knowledgeable team, investing in thorough market research, and maintaining a consistent focus on quality content and user experience.

Whether you’re expanding into a new region or going global, international SEO will open up new opportunities. And remember, you’re not alone in this journey. Our team is ready to guide you every step of the way, helping you navigate the complexities of SEO and achieve international success.

Ready to take the leap? Get in touch with us today and let’s make your global expansion a reality!