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7 Ways Not to Fail at International SEO

7 Ways Not to Fail at International SEO

Learn which are the main challenges to avoid when doing International SEO to maximize success, from content localization to hreflang configuration.

Aleyda Solis

November 03, 2022
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  1. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    7 Ways Not to Fail at
    International SEO

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  2. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    * I’m Aleyda Solis SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti
    * SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries
    * Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.”
    * Crawling Mondays Video & Podcast Series Host
    * #SEOFOMO Newsletter Wrangler
    * Maker LearningSEO.io
    * European Search Personality of the Year in 2018
    * remoters.net Co-Founder
    I’m Aleyda Solis, SEO Consultant
    & Founder at Orainti
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI

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  3. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Targeting
    International
    markets can be a
    great way to scale
    your business
    online

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  4. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    However,
    ranking across
    competitive
    industries in
    international
    markets can be
    tough

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  5. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    There are very common well known challenges
    that are critical to avoid to not fail in the process
    LAUNCHING IN
    TOO MANY,
    NON-PROFITA
    BLE MARKETS
    CHOOSING
    THE WRONG
    INTL
    TARGETING
    FOR YOUR
    BUSINESS
    NOT
    LOCALIZING
    YOUR
    INTERNATION
    AL CONTENT
    INCORRECTLY
    SETTING
    HREFLANG
    ANNOTATIONS
    CHOOSING
    THE WRONG
    WEB
    STRUCTURE
    FOR YOUR
    INTL MARKETS
    REDIRECTING
    USERS (AND
    BOTS)
    AUTOMATICAL
    LY BASED ON
    THEIR IP
    ONLY RELYING
    ON HREFLANG
    ANNOTATIONS
    TO
    GEOLOCATE

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  6. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    1. Launching in too
    many non-profitable
    markets

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  7. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    You don’t need to target *all* international markets
    just because your industry leaders are doing it so

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  8. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Or enabling all language versions for every country you
    target since most won’t bring meaningful search traffic

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  9. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    This is how you end up having this too very common
    problem when doing International SEO
    “I don’t have enough resources to localize
    and optimize for all the markets”
    - Someone who enabled too many international Web versions

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  10. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Validate your starting point, market search potential
    as well as the relevance from a business standpoint
    COUNTRY AND
    LANGUAGE
    CURRENT
    ORGANIC
    SEARCH
    TRAFFIC
    SEARCH
    COMPETITION
    LEVEL
    SEARCH VOLUME
    OPPORTUNITY
    SEARCH
    TREND IN
    MARKET
    SEARCH
    ENGINE
    USED
    CAPACITY TO
    PERFORM
    BUSINESS
    OTHER
    TRAFFIC
    DRIVES
    Canada in
    English
    300 per month High
    2,000,000 searches
    per month
    Positive Google High Affiliate
    USA in English 500 per month Medium
    3,000,000 searches
    per month
    Negative Google Medium
    Social
    Affiliate
    USA in Spanish 200 per month Medium
    2,500,000 searches
    per month
    Positive Google Low
    Social
    Affiliate
    … … … … … … … …

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  11. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Assess if there’s a minimum of search traffic potential
    for profitability using current conversions data
    https://www.aleydasolis.com/english/international-seo-tools/roi-calculator/

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  12. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    2. Choosing the
    wrong international
    targeting for your
    business

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  13. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites
    Google supports language and country targeting,
    but not “continent level” one

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  14. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    What countries
    should this EU
    version in English
    target if there’s
    already a UK
    version in English?
    If you use a .eu version you will have a harder time
    geolocating it and end up running into duplication issues

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  15. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Yes No
    Yes No
    IS LOCATION A FACTOR THAT INFLUENCES YOUR WEB OPERATIONS?
    COUNTRY TARGETING LANGUAGE TARGETING
    IS THERE ENOUGH TRAFFIC & CONVERSIONS TO
    TARGET EACH COUNTRY?
    An online
    shop will
    likely be
    country
    targeted
    It’s critical to correctly identify your international
    targeting, to make *everything else* consistent
    A Tech blog
    will likely
    language
    target

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  16. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Search demand behavior should be identified and
    *compared* per market to assess similarities/differences

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  17. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    brand.eu/es-es/
    brand.eu/fr-fr/
    brand.eu/de-de/
    brand.eu vs
    If you really need to use .eu domains, use them as if they
    were gTLDs, with country folders/subdomains with them

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  18. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Like
    Patagonia
    does here

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  19. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    3. Choosing the
    wrong Web structure
    for your International
    Markets

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  20. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Many
    Internationally
    targeted sites are
    held back
    by their
    international Web
    structure, since all
    have pro’s and con’s
    https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites

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  21. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    No
    Yes
    Is the language
    of the new
    market different
    than the one of
    your current site?
    Is the audience
    purchase/search
    behavior/preferences
    (terms,
    trends/seasonality,
    etc.) of the new
    market different than
    the current one?
    No
    No
    Is your site product
    offering going to be
    very different for the
    new market
    (availability,
    conditions, pricing,
    etc.)?
    YOU MIGHT NOT NEED A
    DIFFERENTIATED WEB
    STRUCTURE FOR YOUR NEW
    MARKET
    YOU NEED A
    DIFFERENTIATED/NEW
    INTERNATIONAL WEB STRUCTURE
    FOR YOUR NEW MARKET
    Yes
    Yes
    Check first if you really need a new/differentiated Web
    structure to target your new international markets

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  22. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Not the best to
    scale targeting
    multilingual or
    localized
    search
    potential
    Good first step
    for
    international
    shopping
    support
    For example, SoleRebels supports international shipping
    & multi-currency w/ the same URL structure

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  23. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Depending on industry/biz model & language variation,
    you might prefer to language rather than country target

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  24. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Are your top
    competitors in
    new target
    markets using
    ccTLDs?
    Yes
    Yes
    USE A NEW
    CCTLD FOR THE
    NEW COUNTRY
    MARKET
    No
    No
    USE GEOLOCALIZED
    SUBDIRECTORIES IN
    YOUR CURRENT GTLD. IF
    YOU CAN’T, USE
    SUBDOMAINS IN
    CURRENT GTLD.
    You’re using a ccTLD
    You’re using a gTLD Are you using
    a gTLD or
    ccTLD for your
    existing
    market?
    Yes
    Yes
    No
    No
    USE GEOLOCALIZED
    SUBDIRECTORIES IN A
    NEW GTLD. IF YOU
    CAN’T, USE
    SUBDOMAINS IN NEW
    GTLD.
    Is the
    popularity/authority
    of your competition
    very high/well
    established?
    Are your top
    competitors in
    new target
    markets using
    ccTLDs?
    Is the
    popularity/authorit
    y of your
    competition very
    high/well
    established?
    USE A NEW
    CCTLD FOR THE
    NEW COUNTRY
    MARKET
    If you need a differentiated Web structure to target a
    new country, what should be it?

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  25. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    JS Sports target countries via ccTLDs, which
    are by default geolocated to each country

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  26. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Asos does it with sub-directories under a gTLD

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  27. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Avoid migrating your already established market when
    targeting a new one, do it only if really necessary
    .com/uk/
    .co.uk
    .com/us/
    .com/au/
    .co.uk
    .com
    .com/au/
    .com/us/
    or
    Don’t Do

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  28. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    It’s also critical to be consistent with the Web
    structure referring the user to the relevant URL

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  29. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    4. Not Localizing
    your International
    Content

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  30. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Going native can
    make or break
    global sales and
    your international
    site rankings!
    https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/international-ecommerce-issues

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  31. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    The localization of your content is key to connect with
    your international audience preferences/behavior

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  32. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Overlooking it will give a bad search and user experience,
    negatively impacting rankings and CTR

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  33. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    The goal is to
    localize the
    different user
    facing areas and
    indexable
    content of the
    site

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  34. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    While taking into consideration each market search
    behavior for each version content optimization

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  35. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    It’s about having an iterative/incremental approach,
    from translation to localization up to transcreation

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  36. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Establishing multi-country patterns to generate
    the main content elements for each page type

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  37. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    5. Redirecting your
    users (and bots)
    automatically based
    on IPs locations

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  38. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Whatever the
    international Web
    structure, avoid
    automatic redirects
    based on the IP
    location

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  39. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Automatic
    redirects can
    harm crawlability
    of some of your
    international Web
    versions
    https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites

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  40. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Suggest the
    relevant Intl Web
    version instead,
    and save the
    value to redirect
    the user based
    on saved
    preference

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  41. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Always allow the user to switch (and the bot to find your
    alternate versions) too with a crawlable navigation

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  42. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    6. Incorrectly Setting
    Hreflang annotations

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  43. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Hreflang provide a method to signal Google about each
    page and their alternates language & country target

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  44. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    It tends to be complex to implement since pages need
    to self-refer and then refer to each other

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  45. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    It’s not only complex but also Google has deprecated
    the hreflang report from Search Console

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  46. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Hreflang itself continues working though

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  47. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Most hreflang
    implementation
    issues happen
    because we add
    them to all pages,
    we shouldn’t

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  48. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Focus on those that have misalignment issues, ranking
    in non-relevant markets and indexable alternates

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  49. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Google.com for “womens socks” Google.co.uk for “womens socks”


    For those hreflang that you actually need, only map the
    alternate pages with the issues, rather than all versions

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  50. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Use internationalization tools that automate
    the hreflang implementation process
    Weglot Hreflang Builder Hreflang Tags Generator

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  51. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    Validate Hreflang with SEO crawlers before/after release
    and monitor in real time with SEO monitoring tools
    Screaming Frog
    ContentKing

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  52. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    7. Only relying on
    hreflang annotations
    to geolocate

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  53. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    ● ccTLDs
    ● Country in metadata
    ● Country, Address and Phone
    numbers in pages copy
    ● Local language & currency
    ● Backlinks from local sites
    ● Connected Business Profile
    ● Hreflang specifying
    alternates from stronger
    same language country
    version
    Well aligned ccTLD Not Well aligned ccTLD
    There are many more geolocation signals, which should
    be as aligned as possible for consistent geolocation

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  54. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    ● ccTLDs
    ● Country in metadata
    ● Country, Address and Phone
    numbers in pages copy
    ● Local language & currency
    ● Backlinks from local sites
    ● Connected Business Profile
    ● Hreflang specifying
    alternates from stronger
    same language country
    version
    Well aligned gTLDs
    This is also applicable to subdirectories/subdomains
    under gTLDs, and not only to ccTLDs too!

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  55. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    By doing all of these activities is how you will avoid
    these very common challenges and maximize success
    LAUNCHING IN
    TOO MANY,
    NON-PROFITA
    BLE MARKETS
    CHOOSING
    THE WRONG
    INTL
    TARGETING
    FOR YOUR
    BUSINESS
    NOT
    LOCALIZING
    YOUR
    INTERNATION
    AL CONTENT
    INCORRECTLY
    SETTING
    HREFLANG
    ANNOTATIONS
    CHOOSING
    THE WRONG
    WEB
    STRUCTURE
    FOR YOUR
    INTL MARKETS
    REDIRECTING
    USERS (AND
    BOTS)
    AUTOMATICAL
    LY BASED ON
    THEIR IP
    ONLY RELYING
    ON HREFLANG
    ANNOTATIONS
    TO
    GEOLOCATE

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  56. #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI
    * I’m Aleyda Solis SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti
    * SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries
    * Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.”
    * Crawling Mondays Video & Podcast Series Host
    * #SEOFOMO Newsletter Wrangler
    * Maker LearningSEO.io
    * European Search Personality of the Year in 2018
    * remoters.net Co-Founder
    I’m Aleyda Solis, SEO Consultant
    & Founder at Orainti
    #INTERNATIONALSEO BY @ALEYDA FROM #ORAINTI

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