Scale a global SEO strategy with limited resources (and buy-in!)

My Brighton SEO talk from Friday 15th September 2023:

How to implement a global SEO strategy across an organisation where budgets, resources, and buy-in may be low. I will cover best practices and my experience in implementing them in these circumstances to hit KPIs.

Feel free to get in contact:
https://idoseo.co.uk/lets-talk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukhsingh84/
https://twitter.com/SukhSingh84

Transcript

1. Scale a global SEO strategy with limited resources and buy-in! Sukhjinder Singh IDoSEO.co.uk Speakerdeck.com/sukhsingh/ @SukhSingh84
2. Country 1 (HQ) Country 2 Country 3 You’re going global, great! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
3. Country 1 (HQ) Country 2 Country 3 But, there's limited expertise @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
4. Country 1 (HQ) Country 2 Country 3 Different levels of resources @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
5. Country 1 (HQ) Country 2 Country 3 And, potentially low buy-in @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
6. Country 1 Country 2 Country 3 ?? How can we navigate this? @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
7. Research & Planning @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
8. Macro KPIs: • +20% traffic Q4 •+15% revenue / conv. Q4 Micro KPIs: •+20% keyword visibility Q4 •+5% domain authority Q4 •+10% blog engagement Q4 Define global KPIs, e.g.: @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
9. Performance: your traffic @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
10. Performance: your visibility Competitor Competitor Competitor Competitor Competitor Competitor You @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
11. Performance: domain authority Competitor Competitor Competitor Competitor You = Prioritise on-page + technical SEO @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk Domain authority Domain authority = Prioritise link building / earning
12. Market research: global populations Source: worldpopulationreview.com, statista.com @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
13. Market research: search vs region Source: alphametic.com, statista.com @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
14. Market research: languages vs region Source: languageknowledge.eu E.g., Spain: @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
15. Source: GA4, ‘demographic details’ report Market research: languages vs region @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
16. China India US UK Market research: social media use @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
17. China India US UK Market research: how users enquire @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
18. Market research: chat to local teams! Sales Cust. Service Tell me about clients in your regions? My clients are formal and reserved, prefer closing big sales in person. My clients prefer native speakers / trans-created content. You Tech team I’ve got so many content ideas (E.E.A.T.!) @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
19. Opportunities vs resources @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk US China Ireland Spain Quick wins Quick wins~ Quick wins Quick wins
20. Opportunities vs resources @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk US China Ireland Spain Quick wins Quick wins~ Quick wins Quick wins
21. Opportunities: prioritise! US China Ireland Spain #2 #3 #1 #4 @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk Quick wins Quick wins~ Quick wins Quick wins
22. E.g. of things we can afford/do Prioritise tasks by ranking factors Match search intent E.E.A.T. Build topical authority Local SEO Mobile usability Intrusive interstitials @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
23. E.g. of things we can afford/do Match search intent E.g. of things we can’t afford/do E.E.A.T. Build topical authority Keyword-rich domain Local SEO Mobile usability Intrusive interstitials Remove unnatural links Link building Core web vitals Prioritise tasks by ranking factors Content marketing @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
24. What can you do well? Technical SEO changes Vs. a specialist E.E.A.T. Keyword research Write engaging, localised content Local SEO Mobile usability Content ideation Link sourcing / building Core web vitals But, what can you do well? Content marketing In-house: strategic consultant External: technical specialist @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
25. Delivery! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
26. Technical SEO Our tasks domain.fr or .com/fr-fr Set-up Keyword research Localise content Local SEO Link building <rel="alternate“… hreflang=" “/> Ongoing SEO Content marketing @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
27. Site structure / geo-targeting cctld-domain.fr CCTLD.domains Pros: • Stronger geo signal (search engines and users) Cons: • New domain = zero authority • Additional management / cost @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
28. Site structure / geo-targeting cctld-domain.fr domain.com/fr-fr CCTLD.domains Sub/folders Pros: • Stronger geo signal (search engines and users) Cons: • New domain = zero authority • Additional management / cost Pros: • Use existing domain authority • Easy set-up • No cost Cons: • Not as strong geo signal as CCTLD @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
29. Site structure / geo-targeting fr.domain.com Sub.domains Pros: • Naming is customisable • Easy set up • No cost Cons: • Seen as a separate domain, initially • Additional management @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
30. A big migration will cost If you’re drastically changing URLs or content, consider a content value audit and migration project. @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
31. Check out my migration talk Visit: Speakerdeck.com/sukhsingh/ @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
32. 1. Hreflang tags (use ChatGPT or free plugins like ‘POLYLANG ’) 2. Core web vitals (optimise images yourself, use plugins) 3. Duplicate content (add canonical tags, re-write content) 4. Indexation issues (fix 404s, fix thin content) 5. SERP optimisation (optimise title, H1, meta tags, use images) Technical SEO: prioritise! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
33. Keywords and localisation 65% of non-native English speakers prefer content in their native tongue. Source: csa-research.com, 2020 @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
34. Keywords: re-research core topics Ello! Hola! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk Page Target URL Priority KEYWORD VOLUME Dog Jumpers /en-gb/dog-jumpers 1 dog jumpers 22200 2 puppy jumpers 1300 3 small dog jumpers 880 4 jumpers for big dogs 70 Dog Fancy Dress /en-gb/dog-fancy-dress 1 halloween dog jumper 720 Page Target URL Priority KEYWORD - ES-ES VOLUME Jersey para perros /es-es/jersey-para-perros 1 jersey para perros 1000 Disfraz de perro /es-es/disfraz-de-perro 1 jerseys navideños 100 EN-GB English UK ES-ES Spanish Spain
35. Content: trans-create it EN-GB ES-ES EN-US ES-MX English US Spanish Spain Spanish Mexico English UK @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk Ello! Howdy! Hola! Qué onda?
36. Local SEO: NAP optimisation @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
37. Local SEO: citations and links Bright local: 25 links/citations x1 location = $90 @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
38. Link building: quick wins • Broken link building (competitors) • Link reclamation (you) • Unlinked brand mentions • Unlinked original images • Links from partners, associations, sponsorships @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
39. Delivering on a budget! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
40. Use agencies Pros: • Consistent quality and service • Resources and expertise • Scalability Cons: • Cost @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
41. Cons: • Inconsistent quality and service • Lack of scalability / resources • You’ll have to manage a workflow Use freelancers (multiple) Pros: • Cost effective • Expertise • Flexibility @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
42. Prioritise resources Agency Agency In-house Freelancer US China Ireland Spain #2 #3 #1 #4 Quick wins Quick wins~ Quick wins Quick wins @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
43. US China Ireland Spain Freelancer In-house Agency + In-house SEO Global strategy Agency + In-house Freelancer + In-house @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
44. Use internal staff Validate produced work SEO training (workshops) In-house SEO And/or Agency US Ireland Spain Keyword research On-page SEO Local SEO Identify link targets @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
45. Use AI: small tasks and validation @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk Keyword validation Title tag writing Meta description writing Content validation Keyword ideation Generate hreflang tags Chat GPT Bard Bing Chat
46. What about low buy-in? • No time? • SEO isn’t in their job descriptions? • Departments have own targets? @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
47. What about low buy-in? • Global KPIs: link to dept. targets • Incentivise with dept. heads • Process and support the work • Promote career development • Build relationships! @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
48. In summary • Define global KPIs and get buy-in! • Research and prioritise regions vs tasks • Use internal resources and support them @SukhSingh84 #BrightonSEO .co.uk
49. THANK YOU! Sukhjinder Singh Email: Sukh@idoSEO.co.uk Follow: @SukhSingh84 Slides: Speakerdeck.com/sukhsingh/ #BrightonSEO .co.uk