International SEO 101: Search Marketing for Foreign Countries and Languages

Many businesses only target potential customers in their local markets, but inbound marketing also allows you to easily reach prospective customers in a global marketplace. Have you optimized your site for international search engines? Do you want your business to be found or shared with a broader audience?

If so, here's how you can advance your international marketing efforts more strategically.

Approach international SEO first with a decision on which countries you want to target. Research and gain insight on your audience (including culture), search results and competition. You will also want to know whether you are targeting foreign search users or just translating content to be read and shared more widely.

Foreign Language-Specific Targeting

1. Denote language via meta tags (e.g. DE for German/Deutsch). *Tip: Use a country directory to be precise with your country codes.
2. Use subfolders/subdirectories such as http://www.domain.com/DE and translate the content relevantly to target your German audience. Don't worry, this will not run the risk of duplicate content. *Tip: Remember also that duplicate content isn’t penalized anyway, it’s just filtered.
3. Optimize that Web page based on the language. Optimize meta tags (titles and descriptions), content, images, anchor text links, etc. to be keyword rich. *Tip: Using a general public translating tool will not necessarily give you the best translation as it may not accurately predict the use of slang, popular phrases, idioms, etc. If you have a lot of content that needs to be translated, I suggest hiring a translator to ensure accuracy.

Targeting Foreign Countries for Native Users

1. Denote language via meta tags, just as you would for foreign language targeting (e.g. FR for French/Francaise).
2. Use a domain extension (ccTLD: country code top-level domain) or subdomain. The difference here will depend on how long you’ve had your site up and running. A new domain with the appropriate country extension (e.g. http://www.domain.fr) will require you to start from the ground up and achieve authority all over again (which in many cases will happen rather quickly).  Alternatively, a subdomain (e.g. http://fr.domain.com) will build upon the work you have already established and pass SEO credit along to the TLD (top level domain).
3. Register your business.  If you have separate offices in other countries, having your business properly registered there will help. Physical office addresses should also be listed on your country-specific pages.
4. List your business in country-specific directories. This will help that portion of your site or that country domain generate quality inbound links. Use Google Local and do research to find popular website and blog directories. Generating more than 80% of inbound links from French users and directories to your domain (whether http://fr.domain.com or http://www.domain.fr) will let search engines know that French-based traffic should be funneled there appropriately.
5. Don't forget the language!  Just like when you are targeting foreign languages, you will want to make sure to have the content translated and optimized in the appropriate language. *Tip: Check grammar and spelling, and use local keyword search tools to help you choose the most appropriate keywords/phrases for your business.
6. When possible, have your site/subdomain hosted in the country you're targeting. This isn’t always an option. It may make more sense for your sites to all be hosted at the same place, in which case you'll want to make use of your Google Webmaster account.  Whether you use a ccTLD or a subdomain, you can have a separate Webmaster tools account for each.  Verify your accounts and then select which country you want to serve in its settings. *Tip: This helps ensure you can be found when searchers decide to use only country-targeted search results. However, it is not an appropriate setting for just foreign language-specific targeting and optimization because you don't want to exclude other countries who also speak that language. If searchers use the default “Web,” Google will search the entire Web, in which case it’s a win-win for you.

Finally, double check your work, making sure you cross your t's and dot your i's. Use tools like the Markup Validation Service from World Wide Web Consortium, and for larger sites in particular, be sure to also check broken links and page load time, all of which may be hindrances to Web crawlers.

International search engine optimization can be a wonderful thing. Be sure you have the bandwidth to maintain an international presence and are continuously providing your audience with the most relevant, useful and user-friendly information. Remember, your goal is not only to get found but also to add value to your business and prospects' experiences.

Photo by Danard Vincente 

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Comments

Posted by Rebecca Churt on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 @ 07:30 AM