International SEO Services
Getting your website ranking in international search engines can be tricky business. There’s lots of areas for consideration.
Some companies think that websites are a “one size fits all” deal, which isn’t necessarily untrue. But if you want to rank in any position that matters, you’ve got to optimise effectively.
What's International SEO?
International SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) refers to optimising a website so that it ranks better in more than one country’s search engine.
You might be thinking “aren’t websites a one size fits all kind of deal?” or “can’t I just buy a .us domain and be done with it?” or “who are you and what’s SEO?” and these are fair questions.
One could assume that optimising a website for international search engines is as simple as buying the domain for that country, but it requires a little more consideration than that – and that’s where Mac & Hat’s expertise comes in to play.
As an agency that specialises in SEO, we ensure we cover the 3 core areas of Search Engine Optimisation. This includes Traditional SEO, Local SEO and, of course, International SEO.
Why is International SEO important?
International SEO is such an important consideration when setting up a website because, put simply, you want to appear where your customers are.
Google alone has 149 versions of its search engine (one for each country it’s supported in) and each has its own considerations when deciding which websites to rank for each search term typed in to it. You’re faced with the task of convincing that country’s search engine that your website is relevant for a user in that region.
It’s bold and brave to leave this up to chance, but we think it’s paramount to ensure your website is set up in the correct way to have the best possible chance of ranking in international search engines.
How do I rank in international search engines?
I’m so glad you asked.
First and foremost, you must ensure that your website is following SEO best practices as outlined in our Traditional SEO strategy. After that, you must set up different versions of your website for each country you want to target with an International SEO campaign.
There are 3 main ways of doing this:
- New Domain – purchasing and mirroring your existing website on a separate domain which has an appropriate TLD (top-level domain, i.e. .co.uk) for the country you want to be ranking in
- Sub-domain – mirror your existing website on a new sub-domain within your current domain that reflects the country you wish to ranking in. I.e. us.macandhat.com
- Sub-directory – mirroring your existing website on to a sub-folder within your existing domain which reflects the country you wish to rank in. I.e. macandhat.com/us/
Which method works best? Well, that ultimately depends on your circumstance and what you’ve currently got set up from a domain level and we can help decide the best course of action for you.
After this, you must ensure that you’ve got the correct regional targeting tags (otherwise known as hreflang tags) set up in your website’s HTML code and that you’re geo-targeting properly within your Google Search Console account for the website. This ensures the correct webpages are being served to the appropriate country’s search engine.
The final steps include making sure that the content on the international versions of your website is suited for the country it’ll be appearing in. No search engine worth its weight in gold will rank a landing page written in French to a Japanese audience – at least not very highly.
Our International SEO Process
We love a good process! There’s a lot to consider with International SEO, so it’s important not to miss a beat when rolling out an International SEO campaign. Below is our process:
Website Structure
Ensuring your website is set up and structured appropriately for targeting international search engines. This can be done via domain, sub-domain or sub-directory.
Language Changes
Modifying or creating new on-site content that’s reflective of the country you’re wanting to rank in. This can be anything from small tweaks for UK/US or complete translations.
Regional Targeting
Setting up the correct language and regional targeting tags within the HTML code of your website to ensure the correct pages are being served to the appropriate country.
Search Console Targeting
Setting up appropriate international targeting within the Google Search Console account for your website. This is another layer of affirmation to search engines.
Fancy getting in touch?
We offer free top-line SEO audits for your business if you’re wanting just a taste of what Mac & Hat has to offer. No strings attached. Just click the button and fill in a few bits about your business and we’ll crack on.
Other SEO Services
Traditional SEO
Improving your website's rankings in search engines and increasing your website's Organic traffic from the search engine results page. This is carried out using tried and tested methodologies across Technical SEO, Content and Link Building.
Local SEO
Local SEO is improving your website and business' visibility in search engines for localised search queries. We ensure your website and its associated search engine business features are following best practice.