International SEO is the practice of tailoring strategies so that one’s content will be easily found and the site is well-ranked in search engines around the world. Every person producing content for the internet knows that to be well-ranked is the key to success. But have you ever thought about optimizing your content with international SEO?
This practice considers strategies so that the site is well-positioned in the search engines of different countries or languages.
Global businesses are successful because of the application of international SEO strategies. That means customizing the content to the taste and expressions it frequently uses to search for something the audience in question.
Get ready to understand how you can use an optimization strategy that works worldwide.
What Exactly is International SEO?
Since this is an international SEO strategy, it is much more complex and thorough. It takes into consideration the optimization of the whole website considering different countries and languages.
Not just translating the content on a page, as many people believe, but also considering the cultural differences, variations in language, local dialects, and all that makes up an international market.
Optimizing strategy needs to be planned down to the very end of targeting content and attracting a global audience. This would be one of the trends in SEO in years to come.
Accordingly, the importance of optimization will be an expansion of the business all over the world.
Why is Investing in international SEO Important?
Basically, if your business is in the scenario where it is present worldwide or there are expansion plans, you should invest in this strategy.
E-commerce, platforms with worldwide deliveries, multinational companies and brands are great examples of ventures that should invest in international SEO.
Concisely, this strategy brings benefits such as:
- Explore emerging markets that are growing;
- Overcoming language barriers;
- Targeted optimization for local audience searches;
- Build or strengthen brand presence globally;
- Increase reach through cultural and linguistic adaptations;
- Edge out the international competition.
How to Develop an Effective International SEO Strategy
Developing an effective international SEO strategy takes a few steps or specifics:
1. Personas or Target Audience
Just like with any optimization strategy, the starting point is identifying who will be reached. Or, to whom that content is intended.
It means demographic research, competitor analysis, regional dialects and language and cultural nuances, ideas from social media, and a deeper understanding of the needs or interests of customers from those regions—decisive factors for any international SEO strategy.
The more the target audience feels understood, the easier it will be to apply SEO techniques. As a consequence, the greater the identification, proximity, and affinity with your brand or product.
2. Identify Local Keywords and Backlinks
Rated as the corner stone of SEO, keywords cannot be translated, they have to be found in the specific language the target audience uses.
Focus on what your persona would really look for and fit those terms in without losing contextual relevance. Add the most used terms like Long-tail keywords. This you will achieve by the use of tools that find out the search volume.
Another point of SEO is backlinks. In this case, it will be necessary to find industry-specific websites and other popular sources in the specific region.
Contact the local sites and seek a partnership in terms of link exchange and guest posts. This criterion ensures there is increased visibility and also improved ranking in terms of local search results.
3. Consider regional search engine optimization
Even though Google is the best-known in regard to search engines, but in the global landscape there are other alternatives.
One should consider here where and how your persona conducts their searches. As well as, which kind of content they have a preference for. For example, Gen Z and later generations are using TikTok as a means of conducting searches.
In the global environment, consider that Baidu is the largest engine in China, while Yandex is the largest in Russia. In South Korea, Naver stands out.
Even Bing, which is not so used by Brazilians, has a strong presence in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
4. Internationalize content
So, as we said, content should not only be translated, it should be transformed and amplified. Therefore, other than keywords and the language, backlinks should be included, but with an addition of cultural references and anything that resonates with whoever will access your content.
The reflection of customs, values, and social norms has to be tried. Everything should be adapted so that it is impacting positively on the local public. Gaping disparities and particularities of the language of each region, focusing on local trends and behavior.
It will be noted that in every country, there are regulations. So the site should cover all current legal requirements.
Long-Term Advantages of International SEO
- Greater Global Visibility: International SEO gives increased chances of listing in the search results of different countries, hence increasing the customer base for a company.
- Improved User Experience: Localization of content for cultures and languages of different regions increases user satisfaction regarding a website.
- More Organic Traffic: A well-optimized international website could increase organic traffic, global visibility and brand recognition.
- Cost-Effective Marketing: Once built up, International SEO keeps generating traffic without organic ad spends, unlike paid advertising campaigns.
- Competitive Advantage: Most companies have not yet adopted any international strategy, and therefore, for those companies desiring to lead in new markets, an early mover advantage exists.
- Long-Term Growth: International SEO drives long-term growth for any business with diversified customers and reduces over-dependency on one single market or geographical location.
Best Practices for International SEO
Below are the best practices that a company should adopt to enjoy the full returns of International SEO:
- Market research: Find out what international audiences require or look specifically for in your offering.
- Regional keyword research: This step is similar in local SEO; find the right balance of keywords that represents specific interests for each regional market.
- Site structure: Determine the correct URL setup to host your international content, be it country code top-level domains, subdomains, or subdirectories.
- Hreflang Tags: Offer through hreflang tags the details of language and geographical targeting of content, so search engines serve the right version to users accordingly.
- Cultural Adaptation: Adapt the content related to local customs, values, and seasonal events of the audience, so that they find it relevant and connect to themselves.
- Local Link Building: Get backlinks from local sources; this builds credibility and search rankings in the targeted area.
- Performance Monitoring: Keep a tab on the performance of your international SEO regularly, and make data-driven improvements.
Content marketing agency helps in this regard
This is a very small part of the whole scope of international SEO. The task of fully adapting the website and content is very complex in itself.
That’s why you should hire the help of a content marketing agency to help you in this strategy. With specialized professionals at our disposal, we were able to adapt the materials for the international audience.
In addition, we help you define various URLs for languages or regions. Beside domains, it continuously monitors content delivery networks and results: crawling, indexing, and traffic.
Our team of experts can segment content in any manner and allow adjusted crawl rates. In addition, we will create and update your content on a regular basis so that the site never stops reaching more and more global audiences.
How we can help you with international SEO
We have a content marketing team at your disposal in several languages. It consists of professionals: from copywriters and SEO analysts to the SEO specialist who is leading all of them.
We work with brands: Microsoft, Babbel, CapCut, Wondershare, Smartia Seguros, Kaspersky, SeguroAuto, and many more.
We efficiently do many kinds of jobs. Among them: link building (partially, research of partners), writing for internal posts, strategic analysis, SEO content optimization, and others.
With all that experience, we know how to increase your organic traffic using international SEO strategies. For example, we implement each of the tips described above and a few more. No wonder we work for top brands in the market and get excellent feedback from them.
Hence, if you would want to have your page ranked in different countries, rely on our strategic minds. Other than a team of experts, we are also prepared with the best tools in the market to conduct content marketing.
So, considering adopting international SEO for your business? Talk to our consultants and make your brand known worldwide.
Final Words
The benefits of International SEO are pretty clear: it provides a way for businesses to go global and achieve long-term prosperity. Only through proper international SEO best practice can any business aim to use international markets to build up brand loyalty and a competitive advantage within the global marketplace for their brand. With the ever-growing connectivity of today’s world, International SEO will retain its place as one of the pillars that any online business strategy could effectively rest on.
Looking for further tips on how to make your website work wonders for an international audience? Ease your complications and get in touch with us today!
