One of the most wonderful things about the Internet is the ability to cross borders and set up a business without having to pack suitcases, buy tickets, and set up a massive operation abroad. With just a few clicks, you can reach the other side of the world .
If you don’t believe this is possible, it’s because you’ve never heard of international SEO : the strategy that allows you to internationalize your business abroad from the comfort of your office.
In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about this highly sought-after technique, yet still largely unknown to many companies.
What is international SEO?
This concept is defined by the use of optimization practices to position a website in search engines in other countries.
When moving away from a native domain (.co, .mx, .cl, etc.), the relationship between a site and Google changes, and to avoid penalties and achieve success, it becomes essential to follow international SEO rules .
Many companies are already looking at international SEO as an alternative to growth, increasing competitiveness, and overcoming america phone number list financial crises. However, at the same time, it seems like a risky, uncertain, and costly path.
It’s true that it can be a rather laborious strategy, but you shouldn’t give up! The purpose of this article is to prepare you to take the first step toward the international market —if, of course, you have the potential to do so.
How to position a website in another country?
It’s very common to find pages that have different language and country versions, but if we analyze them closely, we see that none of dynamic pricing in retail: dos and don’ts them guarantees obtaining relevant traffic simply by adapting them to other languages.
This often happens because the true need for international SEO is not understood , which, in turn, leads to content duplication and cannibalization, unnecessary expenses, complexity, and ultimately, a lot of headaches.
Therefore, first and foremost, you must ask yourself a key question: Does location influence my business model? Will it be costly to regulate shipping to other countries? This will help you identify whether you need to focus on countries, languages, or both—a very important factor when optimizing your online business.
Multilingual, multicountry or both?
As I said, before personalizing and optimizing your content, you need to analyze your business needs. It all depends on your purpose and the opportunities you seek with internationalization.
With this in mind, when talking about international expansion on the Internet, there are three possible objectives:
1. Expansion by language
It’s used by companies that, for example, offer a certain product and want to offer it in another country as well. Considering that japan data the product has no variations, the company’s sole objective is to speak the language of the other country, respecting semantic variations during translation, if necessary.
2. Expansion by country
In this case, companies decide to reach another country, but with a different type of product. For example, if you sell shoes in Mexico and want to reach Colombia by selling T-shirts, then your target market won’t be a language, but a country .
3. Hybrid
In this type of expansion, both needs are combined: speaking another language in another country . We often think that because two countries share the same official language, there’s no need to use another language. However, there are countries that, despite having the same official language, have populations that choose to use another language on the Internet.
To simplify, let’s look at an example: a Japanese company operating from the United States, with exclusively Japanese employees who target other Japanese people living in the United States. In other words, it’s a company targeting the United States, but speaking Japanese. Its objective is hybrid: country and language .
Before beginning your internationalization process, analyze and decide which type of expansion is most appropriate for your company.
International SEO: Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing It
Now that you understand the role of languages and countries in international SEO, it’s time to understand how to implement it through technical and strategic aspects.
Keep in mind that in this step-by-step guide, we assume you already know basic SEO techniques —the techniques you use to optimize your website or blog and attract organic traffic from your city, state, or country.
With this as a foundation, understanding international SEO will be much easier. Now, let’s continue.