International SEO Agency
International SEO strategies allow brands to navigate the complexities of different countries, regions, and languages to reach new audiences and break into new markets. With the right global SEO strategy, brands can effectively reach local audiences across different regions to amplify their brand presence.
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Global SEO Agency helping brands amplify their SEO reach
International Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) requires a tailored approach addressing the technical, on-site, content, and off-site factors required to target a global audience in multiple locations and (in many cases) languages.
The right international SEO strategy helps search engines easily identify your target countries and regions. It also helps overcome common global SEO pitfalls like duplicate content, language tags, and URL structure, letting search engines know that your site has similar content intended for users in different countries and languages.
An experienced international SEO agency helps brands to navigate the complexities of localised content, hreflang tags, language/region subfolders, information architecture, translations, and content delivery. With the right structure and the right strategy in place, global SEO enables brands to increase brand awareness, drive sales, and generate growth on a global scale.
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What are international SEO services?
International SEO services provide a clear SEO strategy for businesses that need to target an audience beyond their country and to appear in multiple countries and perform on a global stage.
Global SEO strategies aren’t just about creating a technical framework, they are also about understanding the cultural nuances that affect search.
Compared to local SEO services which help businesses to rank in a small, pre-defined service area, international search engine optimisation strategies are intended to help businesses transcend national borders. By identifying the location of the target audience, the languages used, and the different search patterns in each region, international strategies enable websites to rank in multiple countries – even where they do not have a physical presence.
How is international SEO different to local SEO?
International SEO targets a global audience in multiple locations, regions, and languages. Local SEO, on the other hand, targets users in a smaller predefined area, such as a single city or country.
Despite their differences, local SEO and international SEO have many similarities. Ranking factors such as content quality, relevancy, and authority are transferrable elements that apply to global and local SEO. The biggest difference between the two strategies is the additional complexity and planning required for international SEO.
Global SEO strategies generally require more technical know-how and planning to effectively reach audiences in multiple locations. As your audience grows, so do the resources required from an on-site, off-site, and technical perspective to achieve the desired outcome. Where local SEO allows more flexibility for ad-hoc additions to service and product offerings, global SEO requires more planning from the outset.
Sam Carigliano
Co-Founder and CEO at SkyCiv
“We’ve been with Safari for almost 2 years and have to say the service, attention and, most importantly their results have been nothing short of exceptional. We are so happy with our decision to work with them, and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for an SEO agency!
Liam, Breanna and the rest of the Safari team provide such good advice, actionable items and get us incredible results. Most of all, they really care and always work hard to drive our business forward. Thank you Safari!!”
Essential Steps for International SEO Success
Map out your goals
Before we do anything else, we need to map out your goals and understand your long-term vision for the business. Moving into one new region versus moving into 10-20 new regions requires a completely different strategy from the outset. By understanding the long-term goal for your business, we can make better-informed decisions about your website’s structure and the campaign’s scope. Moving into New Zealand versus moving into the United States, SEA, and the United Kingdom are two completely different challenges. The better we understand your goals, the better we can plan and build the framework for the future.
Market research
Market research isn’t just about conducting keyword research to determine if customers are searching for your product or service in their area. It’s about understanding the different purchasing behaviours, pain points, and local customs that come with doing business in a new location. A large component of market research is understanding local competitors, how they operate, and what they have done right to win favour with the local market. Whether that’s their content or their unique value proposition (USP), we need to understand how we can replicate those elements for your campaign.
Technical Considerations
language tags (hreflang tags), sub-directories and subfolders, content delivery networks, information structure, menu structure, geo-redirects, local-specific currency conversions, and a whole host of other factors must be considered. Our goal is to create a website that is easy for search engines to crawl and understand and easy for your users to navigate. Users shouldn’t be forced to jump through language or location hoops once they arrive on your website, it’s our job to make the on-site experience as seamless as possible.
Localised content
Localised content isn’t just about adding a “Z” instead of an “S” in some words. Localised content means writing content that is specific to the local audience. Using phrases, keywords, and language that resonates with the local audience is essential for building trust and displaying authenticity. Localised content becomes even more challenging when a foreign language is thrown into the mix. If you are looking to rank in countries with different languages, we recommend enlisting a local content translator to write and proof all of the content. It’s one thing to have content that “makes sense”, and it’s another to have content that reads well.
Off-site strategy
Building authority through off-site signals is essential in an international SEO campaign. International link building involves acquiring local links from different markets to support the on-page and technical elements of the campaign. We consider things like audience, link sources, and language in our international link building campaigns to ensure that we are building authority and trust from the right places.
International SEO FAQs
What is international SEO?
Unlike local or national SEO campaigns that focus on a single region or country, global SEO strategies consider the complexities of various regions and languages.
International SEO shares a lot of similarities with single-region campaigns. The overarching ranking factors of content quality, relevancy, and authority are all key ranking factors for global SEO success.
Do I need an international or local SEO strategy?
It depends on your business and your goals. If your customers are located in a single country with one language, then a local SEO campaign is likely the best option. Conversely, if your target audience is spread across different regions or speaks different languages, then an international strategy will be more suitable.
Can I pivot to a global SEO strategy as I grow?
Yes.
As your business grows and you look to take on new markets and challenges, it’s natural to pivot from a domestic to an international SEO campaign.
When you make this switch, it’s important that the global strategy does not undermine your local efforts. Moving into new markets and regions requires careful planning and a rollout plan that considers an international campaign’s technical and content requirements.
If you’re throwing around the idea of moving into new markets, it’s worth engaging us before you make the decision. SEO research and market research are closely intertwined. Our keyword research tools can help to assess the feasibility and market competition so that you can proceed with a clear idea of the challenges that lay ahead.
Are global SEO campaigns just for enterprise-sized businesses?
No.
There is a common misconception that international SEO services are reserved for large corporate entities – this couldn’t be further from the truth. Suitability for an international SEO campaign isn’t determined by the size or number of employees – it’s determined by where you intend to operate. You can be an enterprise-sized company and not require an international strategy because you operate in a single region. Conversely, you can be a small business and need a global strategy because your customers are all across the world.
Do I need different websites for different countries?
No, you do not necessarily need to have different country-specific websites with local domain TLDs for different regions. Some businesses will choose to do this for different reasons. For instance, if international businesses are going to be operated by different teams with different policies and internal resources, then separate websites may make sense – even e-commerce giants like eBay and Amazon do this with separate country-specific websites.
On the other hand, a well-structured local sub-folder structure with a solid technical foundation can also be used for an international SEO campaign. It depends on your business and your goals.
Can I do international SEO on a CC-specific TLD?
This is one of the most common questions that we get – can I target an international audience with my existing “.com.au” domain?
Our 2c is that it is extremely difficult to target an international audience with a country-specific TLD. Ideally, you would have started with a gTLD (general top-level domain) like “.com” or “.org”, which makes it much easier to expand the website with country-specific subfolders.
For instance, if you are an Australian business with a “.com.au” domain, creating a subfolder for the United Kingdom like “.com.au/uk/” isn’t ideal. Even with all of the technical framework in place, it’s very hard for search engines to separate you from the Australian cc-TLD.
Again, it depends on your unique circumstances. Once we assess your website, we can provide tailored advice and options.
How long does it take to get results from international SEO?
The timeframe for seeing results from an international SEO campaign will depend on your market, your competition, your website, your previous SEO efforts, and many other factors.
Whenever you expand into different regions, a “set-up phase” will require a serious push to implement all of the new content and technical elements. The timeframe for implementing these changes will dictate the timeframe for seeing SEO results. Initial results can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months, while competitive niches can take up to 12 months to start seeing substantial breakthroughs.
