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International SEO is the process of optimizing a websiteu2019s visibility on different search engines around the world. International SEO is a growing field that involves people from all corners of the world looking at your website through a different set of eyes.
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WhatisInternationalSEO? InternationalSEOistheprocessofoptimizingawebsite’svisibilityondifferentsearchenginesaroundtheworld.Formanyyears,SEOeffortswerefocusedonlocalsearchresultsandthedevelopmentoflocalbusinesses.However,withthegrowthoftheInterneteconomyandincreaseddemandforproductsandservices,Internetmarketershaveshiftedtheirattentiontointernationalmarkets. InternationalSEOisagrowingfieldthatinvolvespeoplefromallcornersoftheworldlookingatyourwebsitethroughadifferentsetofeyes.Fromtheclientthatyou’reworkingwithatthemoment,tothelocalsearchengine(LSE),allsortsofinformationisbeinggatheredaboutyoursite.Throughthisinformation,internationalSEOprofessionalscanworkouthowtheycanhelppushtheircompanyaheadintheeyesoflocals. OneofthebiggestmisconceptionsaboutinternationalSEOisthatyouneedtomovetoadifferentcountryinordertosucceed.Therearemanygreatreasonswhypeoplechoosetoliveincountriesotherthantheirhomecountry,andmanyofthesecountrieshaveexcellentopportunitiesforSEO.InternationalSEOdoesn’tmeanyouhavetoliveinanurbanareaorthatyoushouldmovetoaforeigncountry–itjustmeansfocusingonlocalsearchengineoptimizationtechniques. Youmayalsolike:WhatisLocalSEO?
InternationalSEOchecklist • TheinternationalSEOchecklistisalistofstrategiesandtacticsthatcouldhelpaninternationalbusinesstorankbetteronsearchengines.Thesestrategiesandtacticscanbeusedbyanybusinessregardlessofitslocation. • Primarystrategiesare: • SetupanInternational-friendlyURL. • Language-targetyourAudience. • Tailoryourcontentaccordingtotheuser’slanguage. • OtherStrategiesare: • Prepareforpageexperience. • AvoidMachineLearning. • Understandthatkeywords&SERPsvaryfromCountrywise • Don’tjustbuildlinks;buildrelationships. • KeepaneyeonInternational&localtrends. HowtoImplementInternationalSEO Internationally,searchengineoptimizationrequiresasignificantinvestmentoftimeandresourcesthatcanoftenbedifficulttojustifywhenmakinglocalpromotionsapartofyourcompany’soverallstrategy.Searchengineoptimizationrequiresextensiveknowledgeofbothlocalandglobalsearchenginestandardsaswellassocialmediaanalyticsandcontentcreation. International SEOisaformofgeotargeting.However,insteadofoptimizingyoursitetoattracttrafficfromyourstateorcity,youareoptimizingitforothercountriesandlanguages. Youcancreateaninternationalizedwebsitebytargetingadifferentcountryorlanguage.Yourtopprioritiesforinternationalgeotargetingarethreefold. 1.Designateyourtargetcountryand/orregionwithaninternational-friendlyURLstructure(countrytargeting).
Languagetags(languagetargeting)canbeusedtodeterminewhichlanguagepagesaretargeted.Languagetags(languagetargeting)canbeusedtodeterminewhichlanguagepagesaretargeted. Maintainandcreatecontentinthetargetlanguage(s)ofyourusers.Thesearetherawmaterialsthatyouwillrank. NowLet’sdelveintoexplanationoftheseBestPractisesofInternationalSEO Specifyyourtargetcountryand/orregionwithaninternational-friendlyURLstructure(countrytargeting):ThemostobviousthingyoushoulddowhenchoosingawebURLstructureforyourInternationalsiteistomakesurethateverylinkpointstoausefulpage.Thisisagoodideaformanyreasons;ithelpssearchenginesunderstandthesiteandfinditeasier,itkeepsvisitorsinformedofwhat’sgoingoninthesite(especiallyifthesiteismoving),andit’seasyforpeopletofindthingsoncetheyhavestartedsearching.Ifyou’regettingstartedwiththewebanddon’tknowwheretostart,IrecommendtakingalookattheveryfirstpagethatGoogledisplaysforeverysite–thisisoftenyourbestbetfordeterminingwhatsortofpagetocreate. Whenbuildinganinternationalwebsiteitisusefultofollowsomeconventions.OneconventionthatisoftenignoredishavingasingularwwwintheURLs.HavingthewwwintheURLhelpsusersviasearchenginestoeasilylocateasite,eveniftheydon’thaveexplicitsearchhintsforthatdomain(e.g.:latinamericannews.com).Havingthewwwalsohelpssearchenginespidersfindandincludeyoursiteinthefirstpageofresultsforqueriesreferringtothatcountry. YourinternationalfriendlywebsitewillhelpvisitorsfindyoueasieronlineandtellGooglewhichpagetheyshouldgotoiftheyarelookingforinformationaboutsomethinginyourcountry.Manypeopleoutsideyourcountrydon’thaveeasyaccesstotheinternetsohavingeasyaccesstoanorganization’sinformationontheirhomepagecanbeverybeneficialforbrandingpurposes.TrytokeeptheURLshortandeasytoremember.Makesurethatallofthepageslinkedfromyourmainsitehaveaneasywayforpeopleoutsideyourcountrytogettothem.Ifavisitoristryingtofindsomethingonyourmainsitebutcannotfindit,theywillmostlikelyleaveandgosomewhereelse. LanguageTargetyourwebsiteorwebpages:Forbetteroptimizationofyoursite’svisibilityinsearchengines,usecorrectlanguagetags.Usehreflangmetatagsinsteadoftitles.Titlesareoftenveryimportantwhenrankingpagesinsearchengines,evenmoresoifyouarearound10–20%ofthesite’svisitors.Ontheotherhand,metadescriptionsarelessfrequentlyupdatedandthereforelessimportantthantitletags. Ifthemetatagorhreflangattributeissetonyourpage,thenvisitorsfromdifferentcountrieswillseedifferentcontent.VisitorsfromHongKongwillseedifferentcontentfromvisitorsfromtheUSor
Germany.Ifyourcontentisprimarilytargetedatusersinthesecountries,youwillneedtomakesurethatthereissufficientvalueaddedforthemwithinthepageitselforthatadditionalcontentisprovidedwhichsufficientlyrepresentsyoutotheuserfromtheirpointofview.Germany.Ifyourcontentisprimarilytargetedatusersinthesecountries,youwillneedtomakesurethatthereissufficientvalueaddedforthemwithinthepageitselforthatadditionalcontentisprovidedwhichsufficientlyrepresentsyoutotheuserfromtheirpointofview. Tailoryourcontenttoyourtargetuser’sLanguageandCulture:Contentandfeaturesthatareuniversalcanbeperceivedasmoreauthoritativeandvaluabletovisitorsfromdifferentpartsoftheworld.Visitorsfromdifferentpartsoftheworldevaluateproductsandservicesaccordingtotheinformationtheyarepresentedwith. And,naturallanguageprocessingtechnologyhasmadeitpossibleforwebsiteownerstopersonalizecontentaccordingtotheuser’snativelanguage.Visitorsfromdifferentpartsoftheworldalsofinditeasiertomaketrust-basedpurchasesinsitesthatarewillingtogooutoftheirwaytounderstandtheirneedsandwants. Imagineforamomentthatyouliveinacitywhereeveryonespeaksyourlanguageandalsohappenstobeasinterestedinyourcultureasyouare.Itmightnotbeanactualcity,butitcouldbecloseenough.ThisispreciselywhatinternationalSEOisallabout.It’saboutcreatinglocalizedcontentinordertocatertotheinterestsandneedsofthetargetaudience. Conclusion Yes,creatinganinternational SEOstrategyisalong,complicatedprocess.ButthemostimportantaspectsarekeywordlocalizationandURLstructure.Startbyputtingasmucheffortintoyourlocalizedkeywordresearchandcontentplanningasyouhaveforyourmainsite.Andfinishwithimplementingalong-termplanforyourURLstructure.Ifyoucandothat,you’rewellonyourwaytoenteringnewmarketswithastronginternationalSEOstrategytoguideyou.