What is International SEO?

International SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that search engines can easily identify which countries you aim to reach and what languages you use for business.

This approach is crucial for businesses planning to grow their presence in multiple countries or regions and wanting their website to appear in search results relevant to audiences in those specific areas.

Key Components and Strategies

  • Geo-Targeting: Customizing your content and SEO strategy for specific geographic locations.
    • Use a geo-funnel: Develop content and marketing techniques that target people based on their location. This can be accomplished by evaluating user behavior and geographical information to provide the most relevant content.
    • Localize content: Make sure your content is appropriate for the target audience, including local references, currency, and cultural nuances.
    • Implement geo-specific tags: Use schema markup to convey to search engines that your material is geographically targeted.

 

  • Language Targeting: Tailoring your website’s language to match the linguistic preferences of your target audience.
    • Hreflang tags: Use hreflang tags to tell search engines the language you’re using on a certain page, allowing them to serve that page to users who search in that language.

 

HTML link element for French language alternative page.

 

    • Language-specific contents: Create material in your target audience’s language and make sure it is culturally and contextually appropriate.
Edgar and Cooper dog food in English and French packaging.
Source: Edgar & Cooper

 

    • Dedicated language pages: Create separate pages for each language you want to target, and ensure that internal links to other pages are in the relevant language.
Screenshot of language selection interface with various languages listed.
Source: jw.org

 

  • URL Structure: Implementing an internationally friendly URL structure (like using country-specific domains or language parameters) to help search engines and users navigate your website more effectively.
    • Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs): Using ccTLDs to target specific nations can help improve local search engine ranks.

 

French and Japanese domain URLs displayed on dark background.

 

    • Subdirectories with language codes: Use subdirectories to indicate language or regional targeting.

 

English and Spanish website language options.

 

    • Subdomains for different regions: Subdomains can be used to represent large-scale regional or language variances.

 

US and PH domain URLs for yourdomain.com displayed.

 

In essence, international SEO ensures that your content is seen by the right audience, in the right place, and in the language they understand.

This leads to a more user-friendly experience and, ideally, better engagement and conversions for your business on a global scale.