Most businesses worldwide are shifting towards global promotion. What does this mean? Companies and brands strive to become recognizable, visible, and accessible to as large an audience as possible. To achieve this, at the very least, they must implement an international website promotion strategy. Naturally, there are challenges, primarily in scaling and applying the right, clear, and organized strategy.
First, it’s important to emphasize that there is a structured approach to expanding into international markets — optimization processes. By leveraging international SEO services, businesses can achieve significant results. However, it is crucial to use this technology in conjunction with a comprehensive set of other tools, including local, organic, financial, external, internal, and more.
Essentially, businesses need to focus not only on the uniqueness of their content but also on aspects such as a multilingual interface, user-friendly navigation, local targeting, currency conversion, and other factors. By prioritizing these elements, companies have a strong chance of achieving international success and reaching the highest level of sales for their products or services.
What are international SEO strategies?
In reality, no international brand or company website should ever contain “duplicate”, “copied”, or “non-unique” versions of content in different languages. Instead, it is crucial to adapt the messaging and offerings of a business’s web resource to meet the needs of each specific country, as the goal is to attract a local audience. This is precisely where national SEO services come in, providing expert guidance on where to start.
Content modification and optimization should be the first steps in the promotion process for each country. Additionally, it is essential to select the right tools to engage the target audience effectively. One of the primary requirements for this is site architecture, which helps determine which content and web pages belong to a particular language or country.
Why do businesses need these strategies?
As soon as a brand begins to expand steadily and attempts to enter international markets, it will immediately require an action plan. This plan should clearly outline strategies, step-by-step processes, and other measures that will collectively enhance the brand’s potential in the target region. Properly organizing a strong digital presence is crucial. Here are the essential SEO strategies that businesses cannot do without when expanding into international markets:
- Assessing market potential in selected countries. To determine global potential, it is essential to evaluate the ranking of target web pages in specific markets. Online tools are often used to quickly check ranking indicators. Once a report is obtained, businesses can estimate the budget for further promotion and approximate the expected traffic volume.
- Analyzing the competitive environment. Regional competitors are always active, striving to maintain their market positions. Therefore, assessing the competitive landscape should start with identifying opportunities for fair and strategic competition. A key step in gaining an edge is ensuring a strong online presence, which is achieved through website optimization.
- Conducting global keyword research. This is the starting point of international SEO efforts. Identifying relevant keywords that competitors are targeting helps expand a business’s online reach. It is important to analyze which keywords are effective for different countries and integrate them into the SEO strategy.
- Localizing the brand or company at the regional level. Once the keyword lists are compiled, businesses can begin creating informational content tailored to each specific country. This means that all website content for a given market must be in the appropriate local language, incorporating relevant keywords. This stage is time-consuming as it involves writing articles, product descriptions, technical documentation, and other valuable materials that require careful adaptation.
- Optimizing key technical aspects. Expanding a website internationally also requires managing technical elements. At a minimum, businesses need to ensure mobile-friendliness, fast page load speeds, elimination of duplicate content, and resolution of technical issues that may hinder the website’s functionality.
- Using Google Analytics and conducting comprehensive audits. SEO performance is assessed using online tools and in-depth analytics. If everything is executed at a high level, audits will confirm positive results, allowing businesses to continue with their current strategy. However, if any factors hinder business growth, analytical evaluations will identify them, enabling necessary adjustments.
It is crucial not to confuse international SEO with local optimization. The former is designed for a global reach, while the latter focuses on a specific region. Expanding to international markets presents numerous challenges, including high competition. However, these challenges can be overcome by implementing well-structured and effective international SEO strategies.
