As your business expands beyond your local market, understanding how to optimize for diverse international audiences will become essential. You’ll face two hurdles:
- Increasing global organic traffic
- Providing content in multiple languages for your target audiences
Global search engine optimization (SEO) helps you solve both of these challenges. To succeed globally, you need to think locally. This means adapting your digital marketing strategies to fit each market’s unique characteristics.
According to international SEO expert Aleyda Solis, “if your international presence is not correctly implemented, it [can represent] not only a lost opportunity but [also] a negative investment and a bad experience that might [result in] alienated visitors.”
As we delve into the intricacies of global SEO, this article will equip you with the tools, strategies, and expert input you need to optimize your website content for global markets.
Local SEO vs. global SEO
Local SEO focuses on attracting customers within a specific geographic area, which makes it perfect for businesses like restaurants and salons that thrive on foot traffic. This strategy involves gathering local reviews and using location-based keywords to ensure that you appear in local search results.
An example of local SEO (Source)
On the other hand, global SEO casts a wider net to reach audiences in other countries and markets. This approach requires a more comprehensive strategy that includes creating multilingual content, performing international keyword research, and understanding the cultural nuances influencing search behavior.
These two strategies do sometimes overlap. For instance, a business with multiple locations may need to implement both local and global SEO. Or, if you run a franchise with branches in different cities around the world, you’ll want to optimize each location for local searches while also maintaining a cohesive global presence online.
Is your business ready for global SEO?
Before diving into global SEO, it's important to take a step back and see if your business is truly ready to expand internationally. There are a few key factors to consider:
- Market research: First, identify which countries and languages you want to target. Look for markets that align with your products or services and have strong growth potential.
- Existing international traffic: Take a look at analytics to see how much traffic you're getting from other countries. If it's minimal, that's okay—global SEO can boost it. But if you're already seeing a decent number of international visitors, you may be ready to invest more.
- Budget and resources: Global SEO requires a larger budget and more resources than local SEO. You’ll need to translate content, create localized websites, focus on international link building, and more. Make sure you have the budget and team capacity to do it right.
- Global competition: Research your top competitors in each target market. If they’re already dominating the search results, it may be harder for you to rank. But if they aren’t optimizing for global SEO, this could be an opportunity for you to get ahead.
If you decide to move forward, make sure to create a solid global SEO strategy to maximize your chances of success.
Implementing a global SEO strategy
Creating a global SEO strategy is the key to reaching new audiences and driving growth in international markets. But first, you’ll need a clear international SEO strategy that aligns with your business goals.
“There are businesses that have ended up with many languages or country site versions that have been developed without any clear strategy,” Aleyda Solis says. “They don't answer to a business-related goal and are simply the ‘literal translation’ of the main site version. Of course they're not profitable!”
But where do you begin? Let’s take a look at a few key considerations:
Technical SEO best practices
Technical SEO is the foundation for your global SEO strategy and is one of the most critical ranking factors. With it, search engines can crawl, index, and rank your content more effectively.
For example, when choosing the right URL structure:
- Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) are great for targeting specific countries but can be costly to manage. Some examples of ccTLDs include yourwebsite.fr (France) or yourwebsite.es (Spain).
- Subdomains (like es.yourwebsite.com) are easy to set up but may not fully benefit from backlinks to the main domain.
- Subdirectories (like yourwebsite.com/es/) keep everything under one roof, simplifying management and maintenance.
You should also use hreflang tags. These tags help search engines serve the local language or regional URL in search results and aid with geo-targeting.
How to implement hreflang tags (Source)
Also, remember that algorithms vary for different search engines. While Google dominates globally, alternative search engines like Baidu and Yandex have their own unique algorithms and ranking factors that differ from Google’s. Stay up-to-date on these differences and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Localized keyword research and content marketing
With localized keyword research, you can identify which terms and phrases your target audience uses to search for products or services like yours. This information is essential for creating content that will rank well in search engine results and attract the right kind of traffic to your website.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to go about this:
- Think about general terms, specific offerings, and common problems your customers face. For instance, if you run a bakery, your seed keywords might include “bakery,” “custom cakes,” or “gluten-free bread.” Also consider location terms that potential customers might use, such as “near me” and “in [city name].”
- Use keyword research tools like Semrush or Google Keyword Planner to see what your audience is searching for.
- Check local metrics such as search volume, competition, and cost-per-click for each keyword.
- Look at what keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can help you identify gaps in your own keyword targeting and create more successful strategies.
- Finally, group your keywords by intent and map them to specific pages on your website. This ensures that each webpage targets a specific set of keywords, improving your on-page SEO.
How to find localized keywords in Google Keyword Planner (Source)
Now that you know what keywords to look for, the next step is to create localized content. But keep in mind that it's not enough to simply translate your content into multiple languages—you also need to adapt it to resonate with your target audience.
That’s where transcreation comes into play. Transcreation involves adapting your content to maintain your brand voice while ensuring that it appeals to local audiences. This goes beyond literal translation to modify your content’s message, tone, and cultural references to suit the target market. Transcreation tools like Smartling’s handle this process easily and at scale.
Transcreation with Smartling (Source)
Collaboration with local experts
Every region has its own culture, language nuances, and consumer behaviors. Local experts can uncover invaluable insights to ensure that your content resonates with your audience.
“Don’t just hire a translator and a localization agency that doesn’t have SEO input and also validation,” Aleyda Solis said in a SearchMetrics podcast. “You can translate the terms to another language and choose the grammatically correct way to say it, but not necessarily the way that people search with.”
Local native speakers who know SEO fundamentals understand what makes their community tick, from trending topics to local slang. Plus, these experts can help you navigate cultural sensitivities so your campaigns are more effective and respectful.
Continuous monitoring and optimization
Be sure to track essential metrics like organic traffic, which tells you how many visitors are finding your site through search engines. Conversion rates are equally important—they show you how many visitors are taking the desired actions, whether that’s signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.
Don’t forget about bounce rates, which indicate how many visitors leave your site without engaging. High bounce rates can signal that your content isn’t resonating with your audience in certain locales.
You can also monitor your search engine results page (SERP) rankings across different regions to see where you’re thriving and where you might need to adjust your strategy. Regularly tweaking your content, experimenting with keywords, and refining your approach based on SERP data will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Tools for implementing global SEO
SEO is highly technical in nature, so having the right tools in your arsenal can make all the difference. Here’s a list of tools you should check out:
Smartling
When it comes to content translation, localization, and transcreation, Smartling offers a comprehensive solution that helps your message resonate with audiences around the world.
Our translation management system (TMS) simplifies this process by automating workflows and centralizing your translation efforts. This means you can easily manage everything from website content to social media and other marketing materials and tailor every piece to your target audience.
Smartling’s translation platform (Source)
Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA4) is an invaluable tool for businesses that are looking to expand their digital presence. You can track international traffic, gain insights into user behavior across different markets, and make informed, data-driven decisions. Here’s how:
- In the audience section, you can explore the geo-location report. This feature provides detailed insights into where your visitors are coming from.
How to create a geo-location report in GA4 (Source)
- You can also check the language report to understand which languages your visitors are using. This can help you prioritize languages to translate your content into so you can most effectively cater to your audience’s preferences. You can even create custom segments to compare traffic and engagement metrics between different language groups.
- Using conversion paths, you can analyze how users from your target country navigate your site. This can reveal barriers that may hinder conversions. Addressing these issues will help you enhance user experience and ultimately drive more sales.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful tool for managing and identifying issues with your international SEO efforts. Here's how you can effectively use it:
- Monitor search performance: Use the performance report in GSC to see how your site is performing in different countries. This report provides insights into clicks, impressions, and average position for different queries. Filter data by country to identify traffic sources and keyword performance in different regions.
- Use the URL inspection tool: See how Google views your pages and identify potential issues. If there are any, GSC will provide insights into what you need to fix.
GSC’s URL inspection tool (Source)
- Conduct audits: Check that each page has the appropriate hreflang tags and that there are no conflicting signals that could confuse search engines.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a powerhouse tool with a variety of features to support your SEO strategy and performance monitoring. Here are a few standout features:
- Keywords explorer: Dive into international keyword research to discover which keywords that resonate in specific countries. You can then analyze their search volumes and gauge the competition.
- Backlink profile: Uncover your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify high-quality link-building opportunities.
- Competitive analysis: Compare your site’s performance to international competitors and discover insights into their strategies and traffic sources. This tool also helps you find sites that link to your competitors but not to you, opening doors for potential backlink opportunities.
All this competitive intel is invaluable for understanding market dynamics and refining your SEO tactics to stay ahead on a global scale.
A competitive analysis in Ahrefs (Source)
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog can identify critical issues that may hinder your website's performance using thorough technical audits. This tool provides a comprehensive overview that allows you to effectively address broken links, missing meta tags, duplicate content, and incorrect hreflang tags.
Technical audits in Screaming Frog (Source)
Screaming Frog also helps you analyze your site’s architecture and optimize content across multiple international sites.
Excel at global SEO with Smartling
Implementing a robust global SEO strategy may seem like a complex task—but Smartling’s comprehensive localization platform and expert services can help you efficiently scale your multilingual SEO efforts.
We provide several translation solutions, such as our AI-powered human translation solution, to help teams translate content for various markets and languages. Plus, our TMS—which ranks top in its category on G2—ensures the highest-quality translations and more efficient collaboration.
Smartling’s vast network of industry experts and native-speaking translators also craft content that truly resonates with your target audience.
Book a meeting today to discover how Smartling can optimize your global SEO strategy for success and drive global growth.
