Did you know that a whopping 93% of internet users globally don’t reside in the United States? Despite this massive audience, many businesses in the U.S., from big corporations to smaller enterprises, haven’t tapped into international markets.

If your focus has been solely on customers within the U.S., think about all the international sales you’re potentially missing out on. 

Now, the big question: How do you start reaching customers worldwide? It might sound daunting to take your business global but trust me, it’s not as scary or as complex as it seems. In this article, I’m excited to share six tips that will help you kickstart your international SEO and expand your business’s reach.

What Exactly Is International SEO?

International SEO is all about optimizing your website so that people from different parts of the world, who often speak languages other than English, can discover your online presence. By using tools like geotargeting, hreflang tags and other localization techniques, you can make your site appealing to users across various regions.

Google already does a very good job of aligning search results with the searcher’s location and language. By adding these localization signals to your website, you’re basically giving search engines a heads-up that your content is suitable for users in specific regions or language groups.

Why Should You Care About International SEO?

Given that 93% of the world’s internet users are outside the U.S., leveraging international SEO is a fantastic strategy to expand your business. If you’re in sectors like eCommerce, website design or digital marketing, international SEO could be particularly beneficial for you. It opens up your business to literally anyone, anywhere.

Not only does international SEO allow you to reach new markets but it also provides an opportunity to outpace your competitors by targeting markets they might not even be considering yet. An effective international SEO strategy isn’t just about going global—it’s about being smart and strategic in capturing new segments of the market.

6 Essential Tips for Crafting an Effective International SEO Strategy

No single SEO strategy fits every scenario and this is particularly true when it comes to international SEO. Achieving success in international SEO involves recognizing and adapting to the cultural, linguistic and behavioral differences of the global markets you aim to engage.

For those looking to dive into international SEO quickly and effectively, partnering with a Digital Marketing Agency can be a game-changer. We provide international SEO services in 82 languages, designed to help you connect with a diverse and expanding global audience through a tailored multilingual SEO strategy.

Whether you opt for the expertise of a digital marketing agency or decide to manage it on your own, here are six tips to get your international SEO efforts off the ground:

1. Decide on a Domain Strategy

Your standard .com domain is well-recognized by search engines but might not signal to international customers that your offerings are accessible to them as well. You need a domain that targets the specific countries you are focusing on.

One approach is to use a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD), which appears as “domain.cc” where ‘cc’ is a two-letter country code. This method helps search engines and users alike recognize that your website is catered to a specific country. However, each ccTLD is treated as a separate website by search engines, meaning you’ll need to build backlinks and SEO authority from scratch for each one.

Alternatively, you could use a subdirectory (domain.com/cc) for each target country. This strategy allows you to maintain your existing SEO strength while expanding internationally, though it may risk keyword cannibalization if the same content appears across multiple subdirectories.

Another popular method is utilizing subdomains (cc.domain.com). While many content management systems default to this setup, it might not be immediately apparent to international users that your site is intended for their region if the country code appears in an unfamiliar position.

It’s a good idea to study your competitors’ domain structures in your target countries to identify what might work best for you. You might even find that a mixed approach to domain strategies is the way forward depending on your specific goals and where you want your business to reach.

Handling Non-English Characters in URLs

Don’t shy away from using non-English characters in your URLs. Excluding special characters, you’re free to use alphabets from any language, including Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese and more. We recommend leveraging native words and characters for URLs targeting non-English speaking audiences to enhance local relevance and user experience.

2. Determine the Right International Content Approach

When it comes to international SEO, figuring out how to optimize your content is crucial. You have options: you can optimize based on geography, language or a combination of both. Each approach has its own benefits and can be tailored to the specific needs of your audience.

For example some sites, like Keystone Academy in China, are set up to automatically cater to both Chinese and English speakers. The website not only defaults to these languages but also allows users to switch between them easily, offering a bilingual experience. Similarly, École des Roches provides a language selection option, enabling users to choose their preferred language right from the homepage.

Beyond language options some businesses take a more tailored approach by creating entirely distinct sites for different geographic regions. This method ensures that the content, offers and user experience are highly customized to meet the expectations and preferences of each specific market.

So, how do you decide which method is best for your business? A good starting point is to dive into your website analytics. Take a look at where your current traffic is coming from. If you notice significant traffic from regions that your site isn’t currently optimized for, these could represent valuable opportunities for targeted international SEO efforts. 

By understanding your audience’s geographic distribution, you can make informed decisions about how to best serve their needs, whether through translation, localization or complete customization of your website.

3. Conducting Keyword Research for International SEO

Keyword research for international SEO is very important but can be a bit tricky. First thing’s first: while the basic principles of keyword research are very universal, when it comes to different languages, don’t just rely on Google Translate. It might seem like a quick fix but using it for keyword translation can lead to some awkward and sometimes completely off, translations.

Trust me, you don’t want a bad translation messing up your international SEO game. It’s definitely worth it to get your keywords professionally translated. This way, you can be sure they resonate with the local culture and search habits.

Once you have your professionally translated keywords, it’s time to see how these terms stack up in the local market. Pop them into your go-to keyword research tool to check out things like search volume, competition and other useful metrics to help you plan your content strategy.

Here’s the thing about doing this internationally—you might find that some related keywords that pop up don’t make much sense to you. And that’s totally fine. At this stage, you can use a tool like Google Translate. Since your main keywords are already professionally translated, you can use the tool to check if the related terms are relevant to your target audience.

But before you wrap up, there’s one more critical step: competitor analysis. Most keyword tools allow you to enter a competitor’s URL to see which keywords are working well for them. This is a gold mine of information. You can then translate these keywords to see if they might be a good fit for your strategy, too. This helps ensure that you’re not just entering new markets but you’re also competitive there.

4. Nailing International On-Page SEO

When setting up pages for different countries, it’s crucial to have everything in the local language. Yes, that means you’ll need to spend some time making sure every part of your on-page SEO is spot-on.

Mixing multiple languages on one page can really confuse both search engines and visitors. And believe me, you don’t want your site’s rankings and credibility to take a hit because of this. Everything from your URLs to your meta descriptions needs to be in the target language.

Here’s a checklist of on-page elements where your translated keywords should appear naturally:

• URL: Keep it simple and in the local language.
• Page Title: This should be clear and engaging.
• Meta Description: Make it catchy! This is what shows up in search results.
• Headers and Subheadings: These help break up the text and guide your readers through the page.
• Page Content: Of course, the actual content needs to be in the local language and resonate with your audience.
• Images: This includes file names, any text in images and especially the alt text, which helps with SEO and accessibility.
• Anchor Text for Internal Links: Make sure these are clear and relevant to the target language.
• Navigation: All parts of your site’s navigation should be easy to understand and in the local language.

And don’t forget about the little extras like a local phone number and address. Adding these to your site’s footer can make a big difference. It helps to show that you’re really present in the country, not just virtually but physically too. Check out how we do it on our homepage under the ‘locations-footer’.

Remember, all these on-page elements need professional translation. This ensures everything reads naturally and there are no awkward phrases or meanings lost in translation.

5. Implementing Hreflang Tags for Effective Language Targeting

Hreflang tags are essential snippets of code that you use on websites that offer content in multiple languages. Their primary job is to let search engines know that you have content available in different languages, helping align the content with the searcher’s language preferences.

For example, if your site has both Arabic and English content, using hreflang tags ensures that Arabic speakers are shown the Arabic version of the site rather than the English one.

Here’s how it works: Google uses the searcher’s language preference (determined by search terms, search history, settings and the specific Google domain they’re using) to decide which language version of your content to display.

If your website uses subdirectories or subdomains to manage different language versions, you definitely want to use hreflang tags. Even if you’re using country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) where hreflang tags aren’t strictly necessary, they can still be useful to enhance the location-specific signals to search engines.

While search engines are very smart at detecting the language used on a page, hreflang tags prevent your various language versions from competing with each other in search results. Essentially, they keep things tidy and targeted.

How to Implement Hreflang Tags

If you decide to implement hreflang tags, here’s what you need to know:

Hreflang tags come with both mandatory and optional parts. The language code is mandatory (like ‘en’ for English, ‘ar’ for Arabic) and the country code is optional (like ‘US’ for the United States).

They’re formatted as: hreflang=”languagecode-countrycode.” So, if you’re targeting English speakers in the U.S., you’d use “en-US”; for Spanish speakers in the U.S., it would be “es-US.”

You have a few options for where to place these tags: 

• In the source code in the header of each webpage.
• In the HTTP header for each page.
• Within your sitemap.

Choose the placement method that’s easiest for you to maintain consistently across your site. Consistency is key here to ensure that search engines correctly interpret the language and geographic targeting of your content.

6. Embrace Local Link Building

Link building is a cornerstone of SEO that helps boost your site’s authority. To succeed in international markets, you need to focus on building links locally. This involves connecting with local influencers, businesses and industry leaders to foster relationships that can lead to valuable backlinks.

However, this task can be challenging, especially if your business has a global appeal but lacks a physical presence in the target market. You might find yourself grappling with time zone differences, language barriers and unfamiliar cultural nuances.

This is where partnering with an SEO agency that specializes in international SEO can be incredibly advantageous. Such agencies often have in-house translators and local market experts who can navigate these challenges effectively.

We recommend leveraging your expertise by contributing guest posts to high-authority websites in your target market and actively engaging on social networks to build your local network. These strategies not only enhance your link-building efforts but also elevate your brand’s visibility and credibility in new markets.

Getting Started with International SEO

Embarking on international SEO begins with a deep understanding of your international customers’ needs. From there, you can tailor your website and content to meet these needs effectively.

With the strategies outlined in this article, you’ll be equipped to kickstart your international SEO efforts and begin tapping into potential customers worldwide.

Remember, international SEO involves many components and can be resource-intensive. It may seem daunting and costly at first, particularly if you’re working with limited resources.

Does this mean international SEO is out of reach for you? Absolutely not. It simply means that it’s wise to start small and scale up your efforts gradually. This approach allows you to manage resources effectively while still expanding your reach.

Ready to dive into international SEO? You don’t have to go at it alone. Our SEO service is here to help. Reach out to us today for a free quote and start making your mark on the global stage!