Top 5 considerations for International SEO

Once you’ve localized your website the next challenge is being found on the Internet in the target country. Ideally, international SEO should be part of your overall website localization strategy, but it can also be done by itself. Here are top 5 considerations for international SEO – courtesy of Search Engine Watch:

Goals and Limitations:

Establish the parameters for your international SEO strategy. Figure out what resources you have at your disposal and use them to the best of your ability. Your company may already have a branch in your target foreign market. Discuss with them what sorts of results are attainable.

Search Engine:

What search engine is most prevalent in your target market? Google is highly featured across the globe, but will redirect to regional domains (i.e.: Google.com.de in Germany). Note that in Russia, Yandex is most popular, while Baidu is most popular in China.

Site Structure:

An important part to communicating with your international customers is to create an website that they value and understand. People like being sold to in a language that they understand, by a person or company they trust. Search engine algorithms look at more than just keywords and domain names, they also look at quality of a site to ensure the user finds the best information they are looking for. Different cultures place different values on pictures, colors, location of information, videos and social media. Understanding each of these aspects, and adapting your site accordingly will pay dividends down the line.

Optimization:

This is no different than domestic optimization. Focus on inbound links from other companies in a specific locale and develop headlines, subheadlines and URL’s for keywords specific to your target locale.