Story Based Question
Imagine you own a boutique clothing brand. Initially, your online store catered to a local audience in the US, and your SEO efforts focused on ranking for keywords like “affordable women’s dresses” or “summer outfits under $50”. Recently, your products gained international attention, and you began receiving orders from Canada, the UK, and Australia. However, you realize that your current SEO strategies aren’t yielding the same results abroad. For instance, UK customers are searching for “affordable women’s dresses”, but your site doesn’t appear in their search results. You start to wonder: “How does optimizing for international markets differ from my regular SEO strategy?”
Exact Answer
International SEO tailors your website for global audiences by targeting specific countries, languages, or both, whereas standard SEO focuses on optimizing for a broader or local audience without considering regional or linguistic differences.
Explanation
While standard SEO and International SEO share similar foundational principles (keywords, content optimization, and technical SEO), they differ in scope and execution due to their target audiences.
- Key Differences:
| Aspect | Standard SEO | International SEO |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Local or broader national audience | Specific countries or languages |
| Keyword Targeting | Generic, often based on one language | Region/language-specific keywords |
| Domain Strategy | Uses one domain (e.g., example.com) | Can use country-specific domains (e.g., .uk, .ca) |
| Content | Universal, single-language content | Localized, culturally relevant content |
| Geotargeting | Not required | Requires geotargeting through subdomains, subdirectories, or hreflang |
| Technical SEO | Focus on general best practices like site speed | Optimized for international performance with CDNs and regional considerations |
- How International SEO Differs:
- Language Optimization:
Unlike standard SEO, International SEO involves translating and localizing content. Localization goes beyond direct translation by adapting to cultural nuances and local preferences. For example: - Geotargeting with Hreflang:
International SEO uses hreflang tags to tell search engines which language and country version of a page to display for users. This isn’t needed in standard SEO. For Example:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-us” href=”https://example.com/us/”>
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-gb” href=”https://example.com/uk/”> - Region-Specific Keywords:
- Standard SEO often targets a single keyword strategy, while International SEO requires identifying different terms that users search for in each country.
- Example: US customers might search for “trousers,” but UK customers search for “pants.”
- Hosting & Technical Adjustments:
- With International SEO, using CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) ensures fast loading times for global users. Standard SEO doesn’t need to consider latency issues caused by geographic distances.
- Language Optimization:
- When You Need International SEO:
If you’re expanding to global markets or catering to audiences that speak different languages, International SEO becomes essential. Standard SEO is sufficient for businesses that focus only on one region or audience.
Example
Returning to the boutique clothing brand:
When optimizing your website for the US audience, your SEO strategy focused on using general keywords like “summer dresses under $50”. But to target international markets:
- You research regional keywords:
- For the UK: You use “cheap summer frocks” instead of “affordable dresses.”
- For Australia: You optimize for “summer dresses online AU.”
- You implement hreflang tags to specify content versions:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/us/"><link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/uk/">
- You adjust pricing and currency for each region. For example, showing prices in GBP for UK visitors and AUD for Australian visitors.
- You ensure technical SEO adjustments like faster load times for international users with a CDN and local hosting.
After implementing these International SEO strategies, your site’s visibility improves in global markets, leading to an increase in traffic and conversions from these regions.