{"id":141205,"date":"2020-06-03T11:15:02","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T11:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=141205"},"modified":"2020-06-03T11:22:25","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T11:22:25","slug":"six-must-know-international-seo-tips-for-expanding-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/06\/03\/six-must-know-international-seo-tips-for-expanding-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Six must-know international SEO tips to expand business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Achieving online visibility on an international scale can be tricky, particularly when you factor in differences in language, culture<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and search habits. It\u2019s not a cookie-cutter approach where one size fits\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">all across<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0all regions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Chief Executive at Go Up Ltd, Edward Coram James shares a strategy to tackle the challenges of international SEO.<\/li>\n<li>Right from picking an effective domain strategy to implementing localized link building, there&#8217;s more to discover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The start of international expansion is an incredible milestone for any business, and gearing up to take your venture around the world will be one of the most exciting moments of your career. But just because your business is thriving at home doesn\u2019t mean that it will be a success abroad. To achieve that, you\u2019ll need to give attention to your international SEO strategy. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Achieving online visibility on an international scale can be tricky, particularly when you factor in differences in language, culture<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and search habits. It\u2019s not a cookie-cutter approach where one size fits\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">all across<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0all regions. However, you\u2019ll be more than ready to tackle the challenges of international SEO once you\u2019ve followed these six must-know tips, and should soon see your business soaring in search rankings across the globe.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">1. Pick an effective domain strategy<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A .com TLD is usually considered the cream of the crop when it comes to domains and the authority afforded to them by search engines. But this can be far too generic to attract international customers. Instead, your domain should clearly target your country of choice and show users around the world that your website is catered specifically to them.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A ccTLD (for example, <\/span><em>cocacola.fr<\/em><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) is often popular because the country code immediately shows users and search engines what the target country is. However, if you have multiple locali<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ed versions of the website across\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a number of<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0ccTLDs, search engines will treat these as separate entities<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0meaning each domain will need to build up backlinks and authority from scratch.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A subdirectory\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">( like<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">nike.com\/<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">fr<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) maintains all your pre-existing SEO efforts as you\u2019re simply adding a\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">localized\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">folder to your current domain. However,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">this risks<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0causing internal cannibalization if different international landing pages are optimi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ed for the same keywords, such as a US subfolder and an Australian subfolder where the language is largely the same.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A subdomain (such as\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">fr.airbnb.com<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) is often the default for CMS tools, but users are less likely to associate your site with their country as the country code comes first rather than last, meaning click-through-rates could take a hit.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">All domain strategies have pros and cons, so it\u2019s important to ascertain how each option would work for your business specifically. Matthew Finn, one of the SEO specialists at Go Up, highlights several points that could determine your\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goup.co.uk\/technical-seo\/learn\/best-domain-strategy-for-international-expansion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">international domain strategy<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0decision. Budget obviously comes into play\u2014ccTLDs can be particularly expensive\u2014and your branding could be a factor too. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As they explain: \u201cIf your company has a logo which features your domain, or brand guidelines which stipulate talking about your business as YourBrand.com, then a ccTLD wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d You also need\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to consider possible limitations of your CMS and current domain. For instance, subdirectories and subdomains only work with an existing generic top-level domain like .com. Look at the domain structures of competitors in your new target countries to see what Google<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0favors<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. You might decide to use a combination of all three strategies to target different markets.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">2. Conduct locali<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ed keyword research<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You may feel like you have a good understanding of your current audience\u2019s search habits, but these keywords may not be popular across the board. Conducting locali<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ed keyword research will help you judge the online queries likely to serve you best in each country.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This isn\u2019t so difficult when you\u2019re targeting other English speakers, though you still\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">have to<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0take slang and regional variations into account. For example, if you\u2019re a shoe business going after an Australian audience, you would probably be better off targeting \u201cthong\u201d rather than \u201cflip flop\u201d keywords. This is especially relevant to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/01\/03\/voice-search-impact-seo-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">voice search<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Of course, things become more complicated when dealing with entirely different languages. You may not understand the words themselves\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and also<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0need to consider how cultural context can impact intent. Findings from\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Webcertain<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0showed significant differences between the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.webcertain.com\/how-to-do-international-keyword-research\/21\/05\/2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">search habits of US and Chinese users<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Roughly 60% of US searches about chairs related to style and shape, yet only 20% of Chinese searches had the same intent. In fact, 5% more Chinese searches were action-based\u2014what to do with the chair. Culture can hugely influence how people formulate their online queries and you can\u2019t ignore this factor when choosing location-specific keywords.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">3. Don\u2019t assume one language means one culture<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One size does not fit all when it comes to international expansion, especially considering the diversity of languages. There are many differences in Standard Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese, while there are plenty of Spanish variations spoken across North America, South America and the Caribbean, let alone the many regional dialects in Spain itself. You may think that translating your website into a \u201cstandard\u201d language will enable you to connect with all relevant markets, but you risk alienating millions of potential customers if you don\u2019t tailor your content to each target location.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">First of all<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, remember that idioms or colloquialisms may make sense in one place but not in another, even if the same language is spoken. If an Ireland-based furniture business used the word \u201cpress\u201d, it\u2019s highly unlikely any English-speakers outside the country would reali<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">e this referred to a kitchen cupboard. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Similarly, some words, images<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and practices are accepted in one place but offensive in another. Though Arabic is the official language of both Morocco and Saudi Arabia, references to alcohol would only be permissible when targeting the former as drinking is forbidden in Saudi Arabia. You also need to use the correct measurements, currencies<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and other details, which may vary from country to country regardless of language. French-speaking Canadians would be puzzled to see prices in euros rather than Canadian dollars.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Errors like this could deter users and damage a business\u2019s trust, authority<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and click-through-rate. Therefore, it would be a huge mistake to focus on accurate translations without considering the unique historical and cultural factors making every place unique. Consulting people familiar with the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">nuances of each target location will ensure your content is suitable for all the potential customers living there.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">4. Think beyond Google<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Google is normally the holy grail when it comes to all SEO efforts, but there may be other search engines to prioriti<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">e during international expansion.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The majority of<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0users in China and Russia, two of the largest markets in the world, direct the majority of their online queries to entirely different platforms, so focusing on Google alone could be detrimental to your visibility and profits.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In Russia, the leading search engine is Yandex which holds 56% of the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/press-release\/with-56-of-market-share-yandex-is-confirmed-as-the-leading-search-engine-in-russia---gargiullo-the-key-to-selling-in-europes-biggest-market-2019-10-10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">market share<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. This success has been put down to the search engine\u2019s deeper understanding of Slavic languages. Meanwhile, Google has been blocked in China under the country\u2019s Internet censorship policy. Most Chinese users conduct their online searches through Baidu, which held between 60-77% of the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gs.statcounter.com\/search-engine-market-share\/all\/china\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">search engine market share in China<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0during 2019.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You can\u2019t afford to ignore alternative search engines when targeting markets like these, and it\u2019s also important to recogni<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">e each has its own unique algorithms. There will be some similarities\u2014for example, Google, Yandex and Baidu all reward quality content\u2014but you\u2019ll need to be aware of the differences. Indexing can be very slow for both Yandex and Baidu which means it will take longer to see the benefits of your efforts, so long-term results should be the priority. Paid search is crucial to Baidu, as paid results are given much greater precedence than organic results. Meanwhile, Yandex still values meta keywords\u2014a metric that Google removed from its ranking algorithm some time ago.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">5. Implement <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">hreflang <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">tags<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:360,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hreflang<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0tags signpost which languages and locations your pages are aimed at, helping Google to understand which version of a page is most appropriate for its users. For example, if someone in Paris typed in a search term relevant to your product page, an\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">hreflang<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0tag signals to Google that the French version of the page should appear in search results.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To target users as accurately as possible, you should include\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">hreflang<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0tags for both language and region. For instance, an \u2018<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">en<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2019 tag shows Google that your page is for all English speakers, but you could also add tags to emphasi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">e the specific geographic locations you\u2019re targeting,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">en<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">-ca for English speakers in Canada and\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">en<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">-us for English speakers in the US. It\u2019s crucial you use the correct codes\u2014for instance, the UK is \u2018<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">gb<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2019 rather than \u2018<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">uk<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2019\u2014and a\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">hreflang<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0tag generator like\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">this one<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0recommended by\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Moz<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0could help minimi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">e mistakes.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">6. Start locali<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">z<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ed link building<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Just as with any domestic SEO strategy, links are essential in building the authority of your website within a target locale. To elevate your brand in local search, it\u2019s vital to source links from local platforms within your industry. The more hyperlocal, the better. For example, if you\u2019re opening a new hotel in Berlin, links from travel platforms in the German capital will be more valuable than those in Munich or Hamburg.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Seek out journalistic opportunities and serve as a source of expertise, guest post on influential sites within a region, and use social channels to build connections with local influencers and businesses. It\u2019s also recommended that you use a translator or someone accustomed to the language and customs of a target region to handle the outreach. The more you extend your brand in a target market, the more you will be rewarded with high authority backlinks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Edward Coram James is an SEO professional and the Chief Executive at Go Up Ltd, an international agency dedicated to helping its clients navigate the complexities of global SEO and the technical aspects of delivering location-specific pages to targeted audiences.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chief Executive at Go Up Ltd, Edward Coram James shares a strategy to tackle the challenges of international SEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":141208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[480,362,22],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-141205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo","tag-domain-strategy","tag-international-seo","tag-seo"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/six-must-know-international-seo-tips-for-expanding-businesses.jpg","category":"SEO","timeago":"6y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141205"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=141205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}