International SEO Optimization

  International SEO Optimization

 International SEO is the way you tell Google search engine and other search engines, that you want to target specific countries and using different languages to conduct business and brands. For this reason, you have to make strategies for international SEO and cover every aspect from how to handle your URL structure to using hreflang tags, target location, language, target audience.

                  

International SEO is a practice of optimizing websites according to which countries you want to target for SEO purposes so that search engines can easily identify the countries you want to target and which languages you use for business and brand.

Check your on-page ranking factor for SEO ranking, which helps in optimizing webpages.

You have created a completely internationalized site means, one that specifically targets a different country and a different language. When you do SEO for international business, keep these process:

1. Country Targeting: Specify the target country and/or region with an international-friendly URL structure.

2. Language Targeting: Establish which language your pages are targeting with the use of language tags.

3. Target Users: Create and maintain content in your target users' language(s). These are the raw materials with which you will actually you want to rank on keyword and leads goal and conversion.

4. Keyword Targeting: Search the keyword international business, actually you want to do SEO with ranking.

International SEO best practices

International SEO practices are also known as  Global SEO Strategy.

1. URL Structures for International Sites:

If you planning for international SEO, first of all, optimize your URL structure for international SEO.

You must use a:

1. Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)
2. Subdomain
3. Subdirectory or subfolder
4. gTLD with language parameters
5. Using a different domain name entirely

1. ccTLD

 Country code top-level domain, ccTLDs use two-letter codes that indicate to users and search engines in which country website is registered.

example.us - ccTLD

2. Subdomain

the subdomain is a domain that is a part of the main domain. Subdomains give more state of affairs or effect as to the content and location of pages on your site. Internationalized content should is placed on a separate subdomain.

 us.example.com - subdomain

3. Subdirectory

Internationalized content for your webpages is placed in a specific subdirectory or subfolder, of a root domain. the subdirectory is a pathway within your site.

example.com/us- subdirectory

4. gTLD with language parameters

 General top-level domain like .com, .net, or .org is targeted to audience speakers of a specific language by appending a URL parameter.

example.com/?lang=en-us - gTLD with language parameters

5. Different domain 

 For international SEO, your Internationalized content is placed on an entirely different root domain than the non-internationalized site.

exampleussite.com- different domain

6. Language-target your website And website pages

 Show search engines which languages you're set up to handle using hreflang or language meta tags.

For managing strategy for international SEO, ensure that every aspect and requirement from your website navigation to your content, to your help desk, is in the primary language of the region you are targeting.

If you have an online clothing company/business that specialized in shirts as in language/slogan in Spanish. In this case, Mexico is the same relevant as Spain for your business, you should target the Spanish language, but not any specific country. Because the Spanish language is spoken in multiple countries.

Example:


1.

Sample URL - spanishgency.es   
Search engine target interpretation – all searchers in Spain
Internationalization “type” - country
URL structure type - ccTLD
  
2.

Sample URL - ca.italianagency.es and hreflang=ca tag  
Search engine target interpretation - Catalan speaking searcher in Spain
Internationalization “type” - country and language
URL structure type - ccTLD +subdomain

3.

Sample URL -  ca.spanishagency.com and hreflang=ca tag
Search engine target interpretation - Catalan-speaking searchers worldwide
internationalization “type” - language
URL structure type - subdomain
  
4.

Sample URL -  spanishagency.es/?lang=ca hreflang
Search engine target interpretation - Catalan speaking searchers in Spain
Internationalization “type” -  country and language
URL structure type - ccTLD+language parameters

5.

Sample URL -  spanishagency.com/?lang=ca hreflang
Search engine target interpretation -  Catalan speaking searcher in worldwide
Internationalization “type” -  language 
URL structure type - gTLD+language parameters

6.

Sample URL -  spanishagency.fr
Search engine target interpretation - searchers in france
Internationalization “type” - country
URL structure type -  ccTLD

Use Hreflang Tags for Language Targeting

 

Hreflang tags are of code used on websites with content in multiple languages. it helps search engines match up the correct language with the searcher.

for example: Spanish speakers will see your Spanish content instead of your English.

Hreflang Tags Example

 

Each tag specifies the country and language of users and is placed after the URL.

you should knowledge about that “en-US”  means for english speakers in the united states, and "ar-AE” is for Arabic speakers in the united arab emirates,

and if have “en-AE” is for english speakers in the united arab emirates.

Where to use Hreflang Tags:

 

1. Paste hreflang tags in the source code of the header on each page and the most popular page.

2. In the HTTP header on every page

3. In your Sitemap

Google makes efforts to match search results to the language and location of the searcher. Your URL structure helps Google figure out which of your pages to show searchers in different countries and different languages.

 you should also have the knowledge, Google doesn’t penalize for duplicate content, especially when it is in a different language. You must tell Google which version to show for each country/language. You would use hreflang for that.               

7. How To Measure Global Traffic?

 

Goggle Analytics Tool: You can measures global traffic on your website.

OR

You can Measure any specific country website traffic:

Further Reading: How to optimize eCommerce website for SEO