What is International SEO?

International search engine optimisation (SEO) consists of improving your website to attract organic traffic from various countries and languages. By synchronising your SEO approach with the cultural and linguistic preferences of your target audience, you can increase your visibility in international search results

In this guide, we'll explore the advantages of international SEO and detail specific actions and the best strategies for working with foreign search engines, targeting keywords and creating multilingual sites.

Why is international SEO important?

International SEO is essential for accessing customers outside your local market and extending your reach, ensuring that your site has the ability to attract the interest of individuals from all over the world. It improves your site for various languages, areas and search patterns, helping you to improve your ranking in local search results and increase conversions in global markets.

Given that 67 per cent of the world's population accesses the Internet, there is significant potential to grow beyond local markets. Through international SEO marketing, search engines can find your site more quickly beyond the borders of your own country.

What's more, incorporating international SEO strategies into your business strategy can help your company set achievable goals and allocate resources to successfully improve its global online presence.

Actions to stand out in international SEO

Recognise your target audience

Understanding your target audience is essential for an effective international SEO strategy and will enable you to produce content that connects with your desired area. Here are the main actions for understanding your global clientele:

Examine regional search trends: Although Google is the main global search engine, local alternatives are favoured in certain areas (e.g. Baidu in China). Take into account local Internet speeds and device choices to ensure that the site experience matches the expectations of regional users.

Understand cultural subtleties: Individuals from different areas may have different tastes when it comes to the format in which information is provided to them. Some cultures prefer formal and organised content, while others are more receptive to informal and engaging styles.

Develop comprehensive buyer personas: Collect key demographic information, behavioural trends and customer pain points for each area. Use this information to create personas tailored to specific regions to which you can target your content and messages.

Carry out local surveys: Carrying out audience surveys and using external market data will yield essential information about the preferences and needs of your target audience.

Understanding the technical requirements

Establishing the right technical foundations is essential to achieving success in international SEO. Here are some crucial technical aspects you should perfect:

Unique URLs

To achieve even more targeted results, it is strongly recommended to develop separate versions of the site for each country. Google strongly recommends using specific URLs that allow its crawlers to effectively read and index all variations of your content.

As far as URLs are concerned, the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an option favoured by many users (e.g. yourwebsite.fr for France). It offers users a sense of comfort and reliability, as they identify the top-level domain of their country of origin. This ensures that visitors feel confident that they have found what they were looking for when they arrive at your site.

Key web metrics

Vital web metrics are essential ranking elements, and slow loading times for websites from other countries can negatively affect your site's ranking. This is why you should improve your site to improve page load times and think about creating a content distribution network (CDN). A CDN can distribute your site's content across several servers, allowing users to access your site more quickly from a nearby server.

Localised data descriptors

Enhance your title tags, meta descriptions and image alternative text for each country or language. Seamlessly integrate region-related keywords that correspond to local search habits throughout your site's content. Search engines rely on these components to understand the content of the web page and display relevant information in search results.

Analysing local keywords

Carrying out exhaustive keyword research is essential for engaging a local market. It's not just about converting the same words into several languages. Bear in mind that terminology and search volume can be very different from one country to another.

Carrying out local keyword research ensures that your content reflects the way people in various countries articulate their search queries. By finding out what local customers are looking for, you can improve your web pages to connect with them.

Content localisation and landing page improvement

Understanding local subtleties and language guarantees an excellent user experience, which is recognised by Google's algorithm. Remember that localisation covers more than just content and site metadata. It also encompasses:

Currency units;
Time zones;
Contact numbers (if relevant);
Workplace addresses (if relevant).

Make sure you localise all the elements of your site that need to be localised. Avoid taking shortcuts, as this can jeopardise important international opportunities.

Ensure smooth navigation

Smooth site navigation, together with an effective internal link structure, ensures that users are led to the appropriate version of the region-specific content. It also ensures that all localised pages are correctly indexed by search engines.

Place a language or region selector in a visible place in the header or footer of your site. Make sure it is easy to localise and directs users directly to the appropriate language or regional variant of the page they are accessing.

When creating internal links between pages, always link to the most relevant regional version. If you're referencing a blog post in Spanish, make sure you link to the Spanish version of a product or service page. Avoid linking to unrelated regional pages, as this can lead to a higher bounce rate.

Create a backlink profile for each target country

Establishing authority is crucial to your company's growth in new markets. Having a strong presence in your home market may not automatically lead to success in other areas.

Each country has its own version of Google. Although international links are important, the most significant are local, country-specific backlinks.

International SEO best practices

Using Hreflang tags

Hreflang tags are HTML attributes that inform search engines about the language and geographical area for which a web page has been designed. They ensure that the correct version of your site is presented to the right audience, thus improving your ranking in local searches.

Here is an illustration of a Hreflang tag:

‘rel=‘alternate’ hreflang=‘fr’ href=‘https://example.fr’ />’

The fr tag is aimed at French speakers and the domain directs users to the French edition of your site.

Hreflang tags help search engines recognise that similar or the same content is aimed at different audiences, avoiding penalties for duplicate content. You can use Google Search Console or the hreflang testing tools to check for problems with your Hreflang tags.

Showcase local cultures on your site

To be truly successful in international SEO, you need to adopt a cultural immersion. The design of your site should be customised to suit the cultural tastes of your target audience. Remember the basics: language, currency and time zone relevant to the area. Research each nation's different views on colour, design and user engagement on websites. What is effective in the US may not always be the best option in different regions of the world.

Create a content strategy adapted to the local market

An effective content strategy requires keyword research customised to your specific area and language. Even if your content seems valuable, you may not be using the right keywords to connect with your multilingual audience. To generate ideas for additional keywords, carry out competitor research to find the terms they are focusing on.

Content tailored to specific regions allows you to satisfy the distinct needs and preferences of users in each target market. Create blog entries focused on topics pertinent to a particular country and customise product descriptions to better align with local requirements. Present local customer stories to establish credibility with your target audience.

Also, set up country-specific tracking to evaluate the performance of your keywords and URLs. Closely monitoring URL rankings can help detect possible problems with hreflang.

Optimise for mobile

Google uses mobile-first indexing, which means that it primarily evaluates the mobile version of your site for ranking. What's more, many areas worldwide have higher mobile Internet usage than desktop access.

An effectively optimised mobile experience increases user interaction, reduces bounce rates and increases conversions, especially in areas with a slower Internet connection. An organised navigation system, legible font sizes and a touch-sensitive layout make mobile browsing simple and effortless.

FAQ

What is International SEO?

International SEO is the practice of optimising the content and structure of a website to reach and attract users from different countries and regions, taking into account variations in language, culture and local search. The aim is to improve a site's visibility and ranking in international search engines.

What distinguishes international SEO from local SEO?

International SEO tactics help companies bring their website to a global platform, connecting with an international audience and extending the reach of their brand. At the same time, local SEO focuses on reaching customers in a particular geographical region, addressing the requirements of the local community and fostering solid connections with customers.

How to improve international SEO?

To improve your international SEO strategy, follow these steps:

Determine the markets you should focus on;
Create a keyword strategy that includes local terms;
Create an SEO-optimised URL structure and sitemap;
Ensure that your language and national objectives are aligned;
Allow visitors to transition between languages effortlessly;
Check the correct implementation of hreflang tags;
Change prices to local currencies;
Repair redirects and faulty links;
Develop a link building approach adapted to each market;
Keeping abreast of worldwide search trends.

Focusing on these specifics will prepare your site for success on a global scale.

What advantages does international SEO offer?

Global SEO strategies can help you easily reach certain nations and increase your brand's appeal to various audiences. They allow search engines to identify your target audience and the languages you use, improving your presence in local search results.

What distinguishes National SEO from International SEO?

National SEO focuses on optimising a website to reach users within a single country or region, while International SEO aims to optimise for multiple countries and languages, taking into account the particularities of each market.

What are the main challenges of international SEO?

Some of the main challenges include choosing suitable keywords for different languages and markets, managing multiple sites and domains, and adapting content to respect cultural and linguistic differences.

How do I choose countries and languages for International SEO?

The choice of countries and languages should be based on an analysis of the target audience, market demand and competitiveness. Keyword research tools can help identify where your business has the potential to grow and which language is most relevant to the local audience.

Is it better to have separate domains or subdomains for International SEO?

Both country-specific top-level domains (such as .br for Brazil or .co.uk for the UK) and subdomains (such as br.exemplo.com) can be effective. The choice depends on your brand strategy and available resources. Local domains help with geolocation, while subdomains offer a more centralised way of management.

Should I translate or localise my content for International SEO?

Direct translation can be useful, but localising content (adjusting it for local cultural preferences, terms and search behaviour) generally brings better results. Localisation takes into account not only the language, but also the context, trends and expectations of the target audience.

How do you deal with different search formats in different countries?

Research can vary greatly from country to country, including the use of different keywords, questions and content format preferences. It is essential to carry out keyword research for each market and adapt the content based on this information.

Does Google automatically recognise a site's location for international SEO?

Google can recognise the location of a website, especially if you use country-specific domains or mark your content with the hreflang attribute. This attribute helps Google understand which audience and language the content is aimed at, avoiding duplicate content problems.

What is the hreflang attribute and how does it help with International SEO?

The hreflang attribute is an HTML tag that tells Google which version of a page to show to users in different languages or countries. This helps avoid duplicate content problems and improves the accuracy of search results by delivering the right version of your site to the right audience.

Is international SEO just about translating content?

No. Although translation is an important part, International SEO involves several aspects, such as adapting the keyword strategy, creating culturally relevant content, choosing local links and technical optimisation for each region.

How do I analyse keywords for international SEO?

Keyword analyses must be carried out individually for each market. Tools such as Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush allow you to research specific search volumes for different countries and languages. This helps to identify which terms are most searched for in each region.

Is it necessary to create exclusive content for each country in an International SEO strategy?

Ideally, yes. Creating exclusive, locally relevant content for each country or language improves the user experience and helps search rankings. However, depending on your market, it may be possible to adapt existing content for different audiences.

How do you measure the success of an international SEO strategy?

Success can be measured through various metrics, such as an increase in organic traffic from different countries, improvements in rankings for local keywords and higher conversion rates in international markets.

What are the best practices for International SEO in 2025?

Best practices include carrying out in-depth keyword research for each market, the correct use of hreflang, adapting content and localised link building strategies, and ensuring an optimised user experience for different languages and devices.

Can International SEO be done automatically?

Although some tools can help automate aspects of International SEO, such as translation and keyword analysis, the success of the strategy requires a personalised approach adapted to each market. Automation can be useful, but content strategy and localisation should be done manually for best results.

Summary

Expanding your company's reach to customers around the world is an important step, but without the benefits of international SEO, your company will struggle to gain visibility. An effective strategy can produce positive results, such as improved Google rankings and increased revenue.

By focusing on localising content, improving technical aspects such as hreflang tags and ensuring compatibility with mobile devices, you can increase your site's visibility in local search results and provide a user-friendly experience. Start optimising today for long-term global success!

Contact Studio.351 if you need a professional in international SEO.

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