International SEO

International SEO is a valuable tool that can help your business to rank competitively overseas.

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Increase your global visibility with an international SEO campaign

When done correctly, international SEO can help you target new customers in other countries, expand your reach and grow your business.

Our team of SEO experts can help you to develop and implement a successful international SEO strategy. Whether you want to launch a global campaign or improve your business’s visibility in one country, our team can provide a solution that works.

What is international SEO?

So, what’s international SEO all about and how does it differ from regular SEO?

International SEO differs from regular SEO because it involves optimising a website for an overseas audience.
You’ll need to consider factors such as international business registration, international payment gateways and
international hosting as part of an international SEO campaign.

When you work with an SEO agency on an international SEO campaign, they’ll usually carry out the following tasks:

  • International keyword research
  • On-page international SEO optimisation
  • International link building
  • International social media marketing
  • International PR and branding
  • Technical SEO audits and health checks
  • Global competitor research

When it comes to international SEO, it’s important to remember that the same rules don’t always apply across markets. What works in the UK or US might not work in other countries, so it’s essential to do your research and target the right keywords and consumers.

That’s where CandidSky comes in.

We’ve helped global businesses improve their online visibility in the countries like the US and Australia, as well as helping brands launch their business in growing global markets. With our help, your business can reach new heights!

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How does international SEO work?

Now that you know a little bit more about international SEO, let’s take a look at how it actually works. We’ve broken this down into three simple steps…

Step 1:

When you’re looking to target international customers, the first step is to identify where they are and what language they speak. Once you have this information, you can start targeting relevant keywords and creating international versions of your website pages. You’ll also need to make sure that your website is optimised for international search engines from a technical point of view too. This includes using hreflang tags, international XML sitemaps, optimised URL structures and more.

Step 2:

Once your website is ready, it’s time to start conducting outreach, building links and generating a buzz on social media. You can do this by targeting relevant bloggers and journalists in other countries, as well as reaching out to international social media users.

Step 3:

The final step is to track your international SEO progress and make any necessary changes along the way. This includes tracking your international keyword rankings, the website’s traffic and conversion rates. You can use Google Analytics or other similar tools to track this information.
The international SEO checklist
There are many different factors that go into a successful global SEO campaign. An international SEO checklist can ensure you’ve covered all bases when it comes to your strategy.
It’s likely your checklist will vary depending on whether you’re launching improving your current international SEO strategy or creating a new one from scratch. In general, an international SEO checklist will include the following points:

  • Geotargeting – Targeting the right countries and regions with your website content is essential for international SEO success.
  • Country TLDs – Use a country-specific top-level domain (ccTLD or TLD).
  • Translation – Translate your content into the right language and optimise before you launch.
  • hreflang – Using the hreflang attribute is a great way to ensure Google understands which pages on your website are targeting which countries and languages.
  • Webmaster Tools – Make use of Google Webmaster Tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to analyse your current international SEO performance and identify areas for improvement.
  • Link building – Building links to your site from high authority sites in the target country is still an important part of any international SEO campaign.-
  • On-page optimisation – Make sure your website is correctly configured for international SEO, with the correct hreflang and country targeting settings.
  • Social media – Using social media to target key audiences in different countries can be a great way to boost your international SEO efforts.

Follow these steps to ensure that your international SEO strategy is as effective as possible.

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What are the benefits of international SEO?

International SEO is a great asset for small, medium and large businesses. With CandidSky on your side too, you’ll have all the tools you need for a successful international product launch or brand expansion.
Some of the main benefits of international SEO include:

Gain access to profitable international markets

International SEO optimises your site for local search engines, driving more traffic from international shoppers. This is especially helpful if you’re in a country with a less developed economy, where international online shopping is becoming popular.

Easier revenue collection

With international payment gateways and streamlined checkout processes, you can make it easy for international customers to pay for your products and services.

Expand your brand reach

By expanding into new international markets, you can give international customers access to your business. You’ll build brand loyalty with international shoppers by engaging them on their own terms and targeting new audiences in different markets.

Improve your user experience

Localising your website and translating your website copy will help you to improve the website user experience for potential customers who aren’t in your home country. Users will be able to browse your product range in their native language, pay in their local currency and arrange a local delivery, helping to increase sales and customer satisfaction in the process.

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The international SEO checklist

There are many different factors that go into a successful global SEO campaign.
An international SEO checklist can ensure you’ve covered all bases when it comes
to your strategy.

It’s likely your checklist will vary depending on whether you’re launching improving your current international SEO strategy or creating a new one from scratch.
In general, an international SEO checklist will include the following points.

Geotargeting

Targeting the right countries and regions with your website content is essential for international SEO success.

Link Building

Building links to your site from high authority sites in the target country is still an important part of any international SEO campaign

On-page optimisation

Make sure your website is correctly configured for international SEO, with the correct hreflang and country targeting settings.

Social media

Using social media to target key audiences in different countries can be a great way to boost your international SEO efforts.

Webmaster Tools

Make use of Google Webmaster Tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to analyse your current international SEO performance and identify areas for improvement.

Hreflang

Using the hreflang attribute is a great way to ensure Google understands which pages on your website are targeting which countries and languages.

Translation

Translate your content into the right language and optimise before you launch.

Country TLDs

Use a country-specific top-level domain (ccTLD or TLD).

URL structures used for international sites

When it comes to international sites, there are a few different ways to structure your URLs. URL structure is important for international SEO because it helps search engines understand which location you’re looking to target.

We’ll work closely with you to find the best option for your needs when it comes to choosing the right URL structure for your site.

ccTLDs

ccTLDs (country code top-level domains) are the most common way to structure international URLs. For example, if you want to create a French website, you would use the .fr ccTLD. ccTLDs are assigned to specific countries or regions and they’re generally the best way to target a specific audience.

Subdomains

Subdomains are popular for international sites, especially among eCommerce sites. For instance, if you want to start an international site in Australia, one way would be to use .au as your ccTLD and then have each subfolder on the website contain a different language. So there could be /en/, /de/, /fr/. This reduces the length of international URLs and targets international audiences.

Different domains

If you want to target international audiences that speak different languages, then you can use different domains altogether. For example, if your international site is in English and German, you could have ‘example.com’ as your main domain and ‘de-example.com’ as a subdomain.

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Why choose us as your international SEO agency?

With over 14 years’ worth of experience in the SEO space, you won’t find a more knowledgeable SEO team to kickstart your international SEO campaign. With CandidSky on your side, you’ll get real results, helping you to globalise your business and achieve your goals.

We’ve helped a wealth of clients launch their business in new international markets, as well as helping global businesses refine their current international SEO strategies. Our team has the tools, expertise and experience to craft and implement a global SEO strategy that will help you achieve consistent business growth.

Your website data, in-depth research and real-life insights for the basis of all of our international SEO campaigns. This means you’ll always get personalised, hyper-relevant SEO strategies and recommendations when you work with us.

Ready to get started? Contact a member of our Manchester SEO agency to discuss your international SEO requirements.

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FAQ’s

In short, no you can’t translate existing copy over to your international website. Google crawlers don’t interpret different languages, they interpret code. Because of this, any translated content will be flagged as a duplicate. We recommend working with native-speaking linguists to develop copy that is written for a specific country. This will ensure that your content makes sense, is well-written and considers local dialect and phrasing.

It’s common for websites to rank for some terms in different countries. However, if you want to develop a really strong SEO marketing campaign in a different country, it’s important to develop well-written, optimised content for your desired target audience, build relevant backlinks to the website and continually test based on data you’ve collected.

To set up SEO for different languages and countries, you must consider the following:

  • The type of domain you’re going to use (i.e ccTLD, subdomains, subdirectories)
  • Multilingual and multinational content 
  • Human-translated content and localisation
  • Hreflang tagging to determine the language and the country 

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