Best Tips for Creating An Effective International SEO Strategy

You already know that search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to help your business reach the top of the search results rankings. The best outcome here is to reach the top 5 positions in your niche to get the most exposure within your local market.

But what if you want to grow beyond the local scene and try selling yourself outside of your country? With approximately 3.5 billion searches made each day on Google alone, it’s only understandable why you should start considering international SEO and what it can do for your brand.

What is International SEO?

International search engine optimization is the act of combining processes, practices, and policies that are refined so they can cater to users from other countries. The main objective of developing an international SEO strategy is to ensure that search engines can clearly identify where your business operates and what languages it supports.

A robust international SEO strategy can benefit company websites greatly since it allows them to tap into lucrative markets around the world.

For businesses looking to expand outside of their country, investing in international SEO is worth it especially given the huge number of organizations that are competing for the top ranks on the global stage.

Tips to Apply Your International SEO Strategy Effectively

If you feel that you’re ready to incorporate an international SEO strategy into your existing campaign, then you should learn how to do it effectively.

Consider these tips below:

Decide What Country You Want to Target

One of the first things you should do is to decide what geographical location you want to start your expansion. From there, you should also decide who your target audience will be.

For instance, you can choose to expand to a specific country in Latin America and then focus on a specific market subset that has the highest probability of purchasing your solutions.

You can expect better results from your international SEO strategy once you can funnel your decision on where you want to sell and to whom.

Research International Keywords to Use

Once you’ve decided where and who you want to target, it’s time to focus on what keywords you should use. It’s important to note that not all keywords that work locally will also be effective abroad.

It could be that a specific keyword is termed differently in another country or that its search volume simply has varying results. Whichever the case, knowing the key differences between each term and using the right one is important for international SEO.

Select the Appropriate Structure for Your International Domain

You can make potential visitors find your website much easier with the right domain structure. ccTLD and subdomains are the two most common options today.

In ccTLD or country code top-level domains, the extension of a website will be assigned based on the specific country they operate in. A few examples are “yourcompany.eu,” “yourcompany.uk,” and “yourcompany.ca.”

Similar to this are subdomains. Instead of specifying the country at the end of the URL, though, the country is specified at the beginning. For example, “jp.yourcompany.”

Typically, a ccTLD is more difficult to set up than a subdomain. However, it is completely up to how you want to structure your domains. There are very few differences between them for your target market. The key here is simply to remain consistent with each international page you create.

Optimize for Region and Language

Another crucial aspect to consider is to develop content for your new website based on the culture and language of a specific country. This includes ensuring that all content assets are in line with what the locals expect.

Most experts take advantage of the tag “hreflang” because it helps specify which location and language a web page is about. The main purpose of this HTML attribute is to differentiate one page from the next so that search engines won’t see them as duplicated content.

For instance, you can have hreflang tags for pages that cater specifically to Japanese site visitors while another is designed for Spanish speakers that come from Spain.

Conclusion

Many companies today are deciding to expand their offerings to different markets thanks to the increasing digitalization and globalization of our world today. However, having the right international SEO strategy is important before choosing to branch out.

The main goal of international SEO is to help search engines differentiate which of your web pages are designed for local visitors and which are made for those abroad. When you can incorporate the appropriate techniques in your strategy, you can expect better results moving forward.

Make sure you consider the tips provided above to create an effective international SEO strategy that resonates with your new target market.