InternationalSEO:

56PointChecklist

InternationalSEOisnotjustaboutchoosingccTLDsversussubfolders.Itsacomplex
processrequiringsomeseriousthinkingandaboveall,planning.

YourinternationalSEOactivitiesmaybreakintopiecesinanyphase.Ivegatheredmy
bestpracticesandcreatedthis56pointchecklistthatwillhelpyouprepareyour
websiteforinternationalvisitors.

DecisionMakingPhase

WhyDoWeWanttoGoInternational?

Thisisaboutyourbusinessstrategy.Ifyoudonthaveone,internationalSEOor
marketingwonthelpyou.Youshouldknowwhyyouwanttoenternewmarkets.

Examplesofpoorlydefinedbusinessobjectives:
Wewanttoapproachusersin
theUKbecausetheyaregenerallywillingtospendmoremoney.orWechoseto
approachSpanishspeakersbecausewehaveaSpanishtranslatoronboard.

Examplesofclearbusinessobjectives:
Wevehadagrowingnumberofenquiries
fromMexicoorWebdesignersinBrazillackpropereducationalmaterialsin
BrazilianPortuguese.

IsTherePotentialtoSellInternationally?

Thispointverifiesyourpresumptions.CheckyourGoogleAnalyticsgeotraffic,look
atyourcurrentcustomerbase,checkthe
trends
inparticularmarketsandcheckthe
situationonthosemarkets:geopolitical,economical,taxandlegal.

LanguageorCountryTargeting?

Languagetargetingisusefulwhenyouwanttoapproachusersspeakingthesame
languageindifferentcountries.Forexample,samelanguagecountries,userswho
travelalotorfieldspecialistswhoareusedtoreadinginforeignlanguages.Onthe
contrary,targetingusersinaparticularcountryisusuallymorepreciseandefficient
thantargetingusersbytheirlanguage.

Example:
YoudecidetoapproachusersinSouthAmericawithaDrupaltemplate
youhavedeveloped.Spanishspeakingusersindifferentcountrieswillusethe
templatethesamewayanditwillgivethemasolutiontothesameneeds,so
languagetargetingwillbethebestoption.

Example2:
YousellGermanwines.YoudecidedtoenternewmarketslikeNorway
andSwitzerland,butyouarealsodealingwithlocaldistributionchannelsandspecific
tastesoflocalconsumers.Countrytargetingwilldefinitelybetheoptionhere.

PreselectYourTargetMarkets

Beforemakinganydecisionregardingwhichmarketsyouwillfocuson,gothrough
yourhistoricalsalesdata,competitivedata,searchdataand
marketdata
toidentify
whichmarketstofocuson.Youmaybesurprisedthatthebestmarketsforyoudont
havetobetheonesyouoriginallythoughtabout.

AreWeAbletoBuildanInternational/
MultilingualTeam,orWoulditBeBetterto
OutsourceThat?

OnceyoustartyourmultilingualSEOcampaign,youshouldensurethesmooth
runningofit.Suddencutdownofthecampaignisabadsignforusersandsearch
engines.Makesureyouhavecapacitiesavailablebeforelaunchingyourinternational
SEOactivities.

AreWeAbletoManageInternationalProjects
Ourselves,orWoulditBeBettertoOutsource
Them?

Internationalprojectmanagementsspecificsinclude:

Dealingwithdifferentculturesanddifferentworkinghabits
Frequentmiscommunicationsandmisunderstandings
Timezonedifferences
Softwareinconsistencies(charactersets,textdirection)
Differentdelegationstrategies:Beawarethatyouwillnotbeabletoapplythe
samedelegationstrategies(e.g.hiringalocalSEOprovider)ineverycountry
andexpectthesameresults
Differentcosts:thecostsofalocalSEOcompanyinIndiaandinGermany
candiffersubstantially.

WhichLanguagesAreWeAbletoCoverinHelp
Desk?

Thelanguagesinwhichyouprovidecustomersupportmayhaveadirectimpacton
customerretentionorevenacquisition.

WillWeHaveaBudgetiftheWorkIs
Outsourced?

Planyourbudgetinadvancetoensuretheoutsourcedworkwillbecontinuousunder
anycircumstances.

DoKeywordResearch

Beforeusinganytools,getinsightsfromalocalnativeabouthowyourproduct/
serviceisperceivedandsearchedforbylocalusers.Youmayrealizethatlocalusers
areusedtoacertainwayofusingitandsearchdatamayreflectthat.Onceyouhave
atrueideaofthebehaviour,collectsearchdatausingbothnativespeakersand
automatedtoolslikeGoogleAdwords,Yandex.DirectorBingAdCenter.Findmore
aboutmulticulturalkeywordresearchinmySEMrushblogpost:
7Tipsfor
CrossCulturalKeywordResearch

DoCompetitiveKeywordResearch

Directorindirectcompetitorsmaygiveyoualotofadditionaldata.However,never
copyyourcompetitors:theyveprobablyearnedtheirrankingsforareason.Get
inspiredandextendyourcontentbythekeywordsfoundtomakeitmorevaluablefor
youraudience.Researchtopicsthatarenotcoveredbythecompetitorsandfillthe
gap.

MonitorSocialMediaBuzz

Usetheinsightsprovidedbythenativespeakertosearchforsocialmediabuzz.
Whatsocialmediaplatformsareused?Youcanfindoutusing
eMarketer
orfindyour
favoritetoolhere:
20FreeBuzzMonitoringTools
.

IsThereClearDemandforOurProduct?IfNot,
CanWeWaitforIttoGrow?

Basedonthekeywordresearch,youshouldfindoutinwhichphaseyouraudienceis:
SeeThinkDoCare.Aretheycluelessaboutyourproductandhowtouseit?
Seephase.Aretheyawareofit(socialmediabuzz)butnotsearchingforityet?
Thinkphase.Arethereproductrelatedkeywords?Dophase.Dothekeywordsmirror
theirdifficultiesinusingtheproduct?Carephase.Theearlierthephase,thelower
thecompetitionbutthemoretimerequiredtogettheaudienceusedtoit.Thelater
thephase,thegreaterthecompetition,butthefastertheresponse.

DefineYourKeyMarkets

Nowwhenyouhaveallthenecessarydataavailable,clearlydefineyourkeymarkets
youwanttotarget.AfterthereleaseofGooglesPigeonupdate,countrytargetingis
oftenmoreefficientthanlanguagetargeting.Ifyouhaveapurelyglobalproduct,
defineyourbuyingpersonas
foreachmarketseparately.

EcommerceIntegration

Decideifyouwanttoimplementecommerceintoyourwebsite.Thiswillaffectthe
subsequentanalyticsimplementation,aswellasthestrategy.

PreparationPhase

ChooseYourCommunicationLanguages

Choosetheofficialcommunicationlanguage(s)toavoidfuturemisunderstandings.
Thislanguageshouldbefluentlyspokenbykeyteammembers.

ResearchLocalPaymentMethods

Paymentmethodsvarysubstantiallyfromcountrytocountry.PayPalisrather
commonintheUSandWesternEurope,whileEasternEuropepreferscashon
delivery(Russia,Poland,Slovakia,Ukraine).InsomecountrieslikeGermany,users
preferinvoicesanddeferredpayments:theyonlypayinadvancewhentheygeta
discountfromtheoverallprice.InChina,themostfrequentlyusedpaymentgateis
AliPay,whileintheMiddleEast,Payfortispreferred.eMarketerprovides
comprehensivedataregardingthemostfrequentpaymentmethodsbycountry.

LocalHelpdesk

Doesyourproduct/servicerequirecustomersupport?Dontassumeyourcustomers
willbewillingtospeakyourlanguage,especiallywhentargetedintheirlocal
language.Anupsetcustomermayruinyourreputationonlocaldiscussionforums
prettyeasilyandyoumaynotgetachancetorespond.Decidewhoonyourteamwill
begiventhisresponsibilityorconsiderhiringalocalhelpdeskprovider.Youcanfind
prosandconsofanoutsourcedhelpdeskhere:
StopOutsourcingHelpDesks
.

SetUpLocalAlerts

Localalertsallowyoutomonitornewmentionsaboutyourbrandordesired
keywords.UseGoogleAlertsorMention.com.

ChooseaTLDStructure

YourTLDstructureshouldreflectwhetherorhowmuchyourbusinesstendstobe
local:

1.Youareapurelyglobalbusinesswithacentralizedapproach

Yourproductisperceivedbyglobalusersverysimilarly:e.g.youaretargetinga
specificgroupofusers(Drupaldevelopers,golfplayersorbrainsurgeons).

BestTLDsolution:
UseasingleTLDandcommunicateinonelanguagethat
prevailswithinyouraudience.Youcanlateraddsubfolderse.g./de/,/ru/toprovide
multilingualcontent.

Examples:
apple.com,drupal.org,nasa.gov

2.Youareaglobalbusinesswithlocalaspirations

Thismeansyouwanttotargetlocalusersindividually,asyoumaybeprovidinglocal
supportorsimplywanttocovertheirindividual,locallyspecificneeds.Yourealize
thatcountryspecifictrafficdominantesonthelanguageversionsofyourwebsite(e.g.
userslandingonyourGermanwebsitearemostlyfromGermanyorgenerallyconvert
better).

BestTLDsolution:
ccTLDsorgTLDsthatworkparticularlyinthetargetmarket.
*DEdomainforGermany
*PLdomainforPoland
*COMdomainfortheUSA
*COM.AUdomainforAustralia

etc.

CheckwhatTLDsappearinlocalSERPs
forthekeywordsyouaretargeting.

Examples:
amazon.com,skodaauto.com,ikea.com

3.Youarealocalbusinesswithglobalaspirations

Youmaybealocalattraction,ahotel,restaurant,universityoralocalticketreseller.

BestTLDsolution:
KeepasingleccTLD.Youcanaddmultilingualcontentin
subfolders.IfyourbusinessislocatedinFrance,keepa*FRdomain.Ifyouarein
India,keepan*INdomain.Youwillappearforlocalspecificqueriesmorelikely.For
moreinformationonlocalSEOforglobalbusinesses,readmySEMrushblogpost:
ThinkGlobally,ActLocally:5LocalSEOStrategiesforGlobalBusinesses

PurchaseTLDs

Thisoneisobvious.Learnfromtheskoda.comexample:
Skoda.comCase:CanWe
GetOurDomainNameBack?

ChooseYourWebHostingProvider

Somesearchengines,likeYandex,BaiduandNaver,preferlocallyhostedwebsites.
Thehigherthedistancefromtheservertotheuser,thehighertheloadingspeed,
anditcanextendbyevenseconds.Ifyouaretargetingdistantusers,youshould
definitelyconsidersettinguplocalwebhostingorgowithoneoftheglobalweb
hostingsolutions.

ChooseYourCMSProvider

Basicallyyouhavetwooptions:anopensourceCMSandatailormadeCMS.

1.Opensource:
E.g.WordPress,Joomla,Drupal,OpenCart.Cheaperandquicker
tosetup,pluginsandmodulesavailableformultilingual/multiregionalwebsites
(websitestructure,localization,pageequivalents,hreflangetc.).Decentecommerce
integrationoptions.

2.Tailormade:
Suitspecificneedsbetter.Moresuitableforspecificpaymentoptions
(e.g.paymentgatesinspecificcountrieslikeChina),bettersupportofnonASCII
websites(Arabic,Chinese,Korean,),betterintegrationofspecialfeatureslike
specificdiscussionboards,backendfeaturesforregisteredusers,etc.Bettersupport
ofcomplicatedglobalwebsitestructures(e.g.combinationofTLDsandsubfolders).

DefineYourGlobalWebsiteStructure

OnceyouhaveagreedonyourTLDstructure,itstimetothinkabouttheURL
structure.YourURLstructureshouldreflectthefollowing:

Youractualproduct/servicesstructure:
Ifyouarerunninganecommerce
website,makesuretoputtherightproductsintotherightcategories.
Themarketpriorities:
Putthethingspeoplearelookingforhigherinthe
websitestructure.
Yourbrandpriorities:
Keycontentshouldalsobeputhigherinthestructure.
Searchenginepriorities:
SomesearchengineslikeBaidufavoursimple
structureswithoutdeeppages.Itisadvisedtokeepwithin3~4levelsevenfor
bigsites.

Also,dontforgetaboutwebsitesearchresultspages,paginationpages(page1,
page2,page3),filteringetc.Findmoreabouthowtobuildawebsitestructurehere:
HowtoCreateanSEOFriendlyURLStructure
.Ifyouareusingsubfolders,you
mustretainthosesubfoldersforanyURLwithinthesamewebsitelanguageversion.

E.g.:

couldbetheSpanishversionofyourwebsitethatyoudecidedon.

isanexampleofapage,while
/es/
mustremainforanySpanishcontent.

LocalizeYourURLs

ThelanguageofeachandeveryURLshouldcorrespondtothecontentunderthis
URL.LocalizeyourURLsfirsttonestthenewURLsinyourglobalwebsitestructure
atthisstage.Thebestpracticeistomatchthetitleandleaveoutthesocalledstop
words.

IfyouhaveapagetitleinItalian
Benidiconsumo,
thentheURLshouldbe:

whilediwasdroppedfromtheURLasastopword(conjunction).
HereshowtolocalizeURLswithnonASCIIcharacters:

1.Cyrillicalphabet
CyrillicalphabetisusedinRussian,UkrainianorMongolianandcanbetranscribed
quiteeasily:

2.Umlautsandaccents
Umlauts,e.g.inGerman,aretranscribeddifferentlybecausetheumlautusuallygives
awordatotallydifferentmeaning:

Ontheotherhand,othernonsemanticaccentsaresimplyremoved,likeinthis
exampleinCzech:

3.ChineseandJapanesealphabet
Chinesesymbolsaretypicallytranscribedto
pyinin
andJapaneseto
romaji
andthen
tonalpunctuationisremoved.Likethis:

Youcanfindthemostcommonwaysoftranscription/transliterationin
thisWikipedia
article
.

DefineYourKeyLandingPages

Eachofyourproductsorservicesshouldberepresentedbyalandingpage.Ifyou
arerunninganecommercewebsite,categorypageswillprobablybeyourkeylanding
pages.CreateseparateLPsequivalentsineverylanguage/countryversionofyour
website.

CreateaGlobalWebsiteMap

Drawthewebsitestructureinasimplechartandidentifyequivalentpagesacrossthe
multilingual/multiregionalwebsite.Thisroadmapwillgiveyouaclearideahowtoplan
forlocalizationorwheretoimplementhreflangtags.

LocalizationStrategy

Nowitstimetocreateyourtailoredlocalizationstrategy.Divideyourcontentinto
thesegroups:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Branding
Marketing
Technical
Legal
Backend
Contact

Brandingcontent

Thisisthecontentthatdefinesyourglobalbrand:Aboutuspages,partnerpages,
Mission&Visionetc.Anythingthatdescribesyourbrandonaglobalscale.

Todo:Internationalize
Makesureyourcontentspeaksaneutrallanguagewithoutanyregionalconnotations
ormetaphors.
Workflow:Translate>Reviewbylocalnatives>Gathersuggestions>Createglobal
toneofvoice>Finalizesourcecontent>TranslatewiththeTOV>Proofread

Marketingcontent

Yourmarketingcontentshouldclearlyspeakthelanguageofyouraudience:Landing
pages,productpages,homepage.

Todo:Localize
Makesureyourmarketingcontentspeaksthelanguageofyourtargetaudience
(whichdoesnthavetobetheofficialoneatall).
Workflow:Researchkeywords>Writeabrief>Transcreate>Proofread>Check
keywordimplementation>A/BTest

Technicalcontent

Allmanuals,productdescriptions,documentation,FAQs,userguidesetc.shouldbe
translatedaccuratelytoavoidanyincorrectuseofyourproductsorservices.

Todo:Translate
Workflow:Preparefortranslation>Createaglossary>Translate>Review>
Proofread

Legalcontent
Yourtermsofuse,impressum,disclaimersandconditionsshouldcomplytolawsofa
certainstate.

Todo:Translate
Workflow:Translate>Reviewbyfieldspecialist>Update>Finalreview

Backend/System
Systemtextsofteninvolvedifferent
locales
:timeanddateformatsandtimezones,
metricunits,formitems(address,ZIP),phoneextensions,etc.Thatswhyregular
translationgivesyoubarelyapplicablenonsensecontentthatrequiresalotof
correction.

Todo:Localize
Workflow:Createglossary>Selecttools(below)>Export>Translate>Import>
Test>Review>Update>FinalImport

Contact
Yourcontactinformationshouldbecreatedfromscratchandincluderelevantcontact
detailsforyourusers.

L8NToolsSelection

Selectthebestlocalizationtooltoachievethebestqualityandconsistencyofthe
texts.

Factorsyoushouldtakeintoaccount:

Exportfileformat/extension
Theextentofcontenttobelocalized
Thenumberoftranslators

ThisWikipediaarticle
willhelpyoupickthebestone.

WriteWebsiteContent

Basedonyourwebsitestructure,writethecontentforeverypagewithin.Writefor
translation.Focusonthefeatureseverypageshouldhaveaccordingtoyour
localizationstrategyabove.Makethecontentneutralandeasytoread.

RuntheWebsiteLocalizationProject

Createmultilingualcontentofyourwebsiteaccordingtothelocalizationstrategy.
Prepareabriefandrunthelocalizationprojectwiththeworkflowsabove.

PerformQ&ACheckoftheContent

Usingthelocalizationtools,checkthefollowing:

Terminology(keywords)usage
Segmentslength
Trademarkusage
Spelling

ImplementMultilingualContentintothe
Website

Onceyouhavecompletedthelocalizationproject,exportthefilesandimplementthe
contentintoyourwebsite.

Icons,Graphics

Semioticsistheculturaltheoryofsignsandsymbols.Theperceptionofsigns,
symbols,i.e.iconsandgraphics,differsfromculturetoculture.Internationalizeyour
visualcontent:makesureallimagesandiconsonyourwebsiteareculturallyneutral:

Whendepictingpeople,thinkofethnicaldiversity
Balancemaleandfemaleelementonthepictures
Thinkofdifferentclothingstyles
Pickinternationallyunderstandableicons:envelope,books,cameras,clocks,
eyeglasses,microphones,planes,trains,scissors,rainbowetc.
Colors

Forfurtherinspirationonthistopic,see
thisresearch
performedby
Tampere
UniversityofTechnology
.UsefurthertipsfrommyPinterestboard
Intercultural
SignsandSymbols
.

Usability

Especiallyifyouaredealingwithusersindifferentpartsoftheworld,individual
languageorcountryversionsofyourwebsiteshouldcorrespondtothelocaluser
experiencerules.EasterncountrieslikeChina,SouthKoreaorJapanpreferdeep
websitestructuresthatarerichinwrittencontent.Theygenerallyliketoscrolland
discoverinformationtheyneedthemselves.WhereasintheWesternpartofthe
world,thedesignisratherstraightforwardandvisual.Consulttheusabilityelements
ofyourlocalversionswithalocalUXspecialist.Youcanfindverygoodlocalusability
examplesinthearticle:
WhyJapaneseWebDesignIsSoDifferent
.

WebsiteGeoTargeting

Makesureyourmultilingualwebsiteisproperlygeotargeted.

URLs
IfyouuseregionalccTLDs(domains),yourbasicgeotargetingissorted.Otherwise,
makesuretoproperlynameyoursubfoldersusingtheISOcodesfor
language
or
country
,orbothseparatedbyahyphen(languagecountry).

Hreflangtags
HreflangtagsareNOTarankingsignalnoranultimatesolutionforainternational
websites.IfyourglobalwebsitedoesnotuseccTLDs,youllneedtomarkup
equivalentpageswithhreflangannotations.Findmorein
TheUltimateHreflang
GuideforDummies
.

SettingageographictargetinWT
Youcannowsetadifferenttargetcountryforeitherdomains,subdomainsore
subfoldersinGoogleWebmasterTools,BingWebmasterCentralandYandex
WebmasterTools.Doitifyouwanttotargetbycountry.

NAP
MakesuretouseyourNAPinformation(name,address,phone)consistentlyacross
yourwebandallbusinesslistings.ToolslikeYextshouldhelpyouwiththe
consistency.MarkupyourNAPinformationwith
schema.org
.

Offpagefactors
RememberthatwebsiteIPisakeyfactorwhendeterminingthesourceofyour
backlinks.UsetoolslikeMajesticSEOorAhrefstofindoutfromwhichcountriesyou
havethemostbacklinks.Yourbacklinkgeoportfolioshouldmatchyourgeotargeting
intentions.

TalktheSearchEnginesLanguage

Imagecredit:
torsionmobile.com

ItisnolongertruethatGoogledominatesglobally.Forexample,Chinesesearch
engineBaiduheld17%oftheglobalmarketfordesktop.Eachsearchenginehas
differentpreferences.
Yandexdisregardsbacklinks
.ForBaidu,metatagsand
serverlocationstillmatter.BingusessimilarcriteriaasGoogle,butdifferently
balanced.Thenuancesaredescribedinmanyarticles,buttheessentialpartis
describedinWebmasterGuidelines:
Bing
,
Google
,
Yandex
,
Baidu
,
Naver
.

OnpageSEO

RunthebasiconpageSEOchecklisttomakesureyourwebsiteissearchengine
friendlyforallofthesearchenginesyouaretargeting.
Thislist
mayhelp.Check
WebmasterGuidelines(above)tomeetindividualrequirementsofdifferentsearch
engines.

DecideonYourAnalyticsMethodology

Thequestionwhethertohaveasingletrackingcodeormultipletrackingcodesfor
eachsubfolder/subdomaindependsonalotoffactors.Ingeneral,ifother
subfolders/subfoldersaremutuallyequivalent,itmaybeworthimplementingasingle
trackingcodeanddefinetrafficdifferencesusingsegments/filtersinGoogle
Analytics.Thiswillgiveyoutheideaofhowusersaremovingthroughthewhole
website.IfyouarerunningdifferentTLDsatthesametimeorthecontentonthe
separatesubfolders/subdomainsisratherdifferent,youcangowithmultipletracking
codes.

GoogleTagManager

Nowitstimetoimplementatrackingcodeonyourwebsite.Todaysstandardis
generatingaGoogleTagManagercodeandplacingitacrossallpagesonyour
website.ByusingGoogleTagManager,youwonthavetoimplementthetracking
codefromscratcheverytimeyouredesignyourwebsite.

DefineGoalsandKPIs

StandardSEOKPIs:

Conversions
Conversionspersource
Conversionrate
CTR
LongtailKWsrankings
Bouncerate
Exitrate
Pagevalue
Directtraffic
Organictraffic
Referraltraffic
SERPCTR
BacklinkscountfromlocalIPs
Rankingsbysearchengine
Trafficfromlocalsearchengines

ContentpromotionKPIs:

Communitysize
Reach
Engagement
Brandmentions
Tone(positive,neutral,negative)

TranslationQ&Achecklist:

Terminology
Segmentlength
Spelling
Consistency
Trademarkcheck

LocalSEOKPIs:

Localkeywordsrankings
Trafficfromlocaldirectories
Brandedkeywordsbylocality
Brandmentionsbylocality
Backlinksfromlocaldirectories
Localityanchortexts
Localreviews
Locallandingpagestraffic
Locallandingpagesrankings

CreatereportsinGoogleAnalyticsandWebmasterToolssoyoucanregularlycheck
theKPIvalues.

SegmentYourGlobalAudiences

Theworstthingyoucandoistomakeasinglestrategyandtrytocommunicatewith
differenttargetgroupswithdifferentdesiresthesameway.Instead,segmentthemby
commonbehaviours.
Thisspreadsheet
willhelpyouresearchchannelsand
behavioursofyourdifferentlanguagegroupssoyoucanlaterdecideonwhichtactics
touse.

WhatIstheMarketMaturity

Lowmaturity
Userssearchforparticularbrandstheytrust,andusegeneralkeywordstosearchfor
productsandservices.Oftensearchesoccurindifferentlanguageswherethereare
moreresources.Thestrategyyoushouldgowithisbuildingbrandawareness
throughrelationshiplinkbuildingandmedia/influencersrelations.

Highmaturity
Therearehighvolumesoflongtailkeywordsineveryshoppingphase(See,Think,
Do,Care).Thestrategyhereshouldbealongtailcontentstrategyplusbrand
awarenessbasedoncontentandonlinePR.
Whendefiningthematurityofyourusers/market,alwaysconsiderwhentheInternet
penetrationgrowthstarted.Ifitstartedayearago,youshouldbedealingwitha
lowmaturitymarket.Takeintoaccountthefuturegrowthalsoandchooseyour
strategyaccordingly.

WhatisYourLocalCompetitionDoing

Localcompetitionmaybeagoodmarkerofwhatworksinthemarket,butalsomay
giveyouaninsightofwhereopportunitiesliewhenyoufindagapinyour
competitorsactivities.Use
SEMrush
togaincompetitivedataandlookatyour
competitorswebsitesandgetinspirationfromtheircontentandkeywords.

ChooseInternationalSEOTactics

Now,whenyouseewhereandhowyourtargetgroupsaretalkingabouttopics
relatedtoyourproductsorbusiness,youcaneasilyselecttacticsandchannels:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Whichchannelsshouldwebeon?
Whatlanguagesshouldweusetocommunicate?
Whatfrequencyofcommunicationshouldbebest?
Whattoneofvoiceandtopicsshouldweuse?

Example:
Letssayyouselllicencestoyoursoftwareforuserswithdepression.You
foundoutthatusersinBraziluseblogsanddiscussionforumstoseekinformation
abouthowtofightdepression(phaseThink).TheycommunicateinPortuguese.At
thesametime,usersinPortugalandusingslightlythesamechannels.Youhavea
colleagueonboardwhospeaksPortuguesefluently.Shescomesintwiceaweek.
Thatsagoodfrequencytorespondtocomments,atleastatthebeginning.So,the
taskyousetwillbeasfollows:communicatewithBrazilianandPortugueseusers
abouthowtofightdepressiononblogsandforums,23timesaweek.

ConsiderSettingupaVirtualOffice&Phone
Number

WiththerisingimportanceoflocalSEO,localNAPinformation(name,address,
phone)canmakeyourlocalwebsiteversionmorecompetitiveinthelocalcontext.
Youcanuseoneofthevirtualaddressservicese.g.
www.yourcityoffice.com
for
settingupavirtuallocalbranch.Theimportanceriseswhenyourbusinesshassome
localaspirations:e.g.yourunalocalshowroomoryoudeliverproductslocally.

TrustSignals

Websitesthatareearningtheirpresenceinaremotemarketalwaysstruggle
becauseoflowtrustattheverybeginning.Workonyourtrustsignalsthatwillhelp
youbuildtrustamonglocalusersmorequickly.

1.Localcontentandlocalcontacts
Writeaboutwhatshappeninglocallyandtrytoengagelocally.Createvisualcontent,
e.g.photosofateammemberandlocalpeople.Yourlocalpresencewouldthenget
alotmorebelievable.

2.Locallyrecognizedcertificates
Ecommercecertificatesisamustinsomemarketse.g.Germany,wherethereisa
stronglegalpressureonlocalbusinesses.UseTrustedShopsforGermanspeaking
countriesorTrustPilotformostEuropeancountries.Researchwhatcertification
authorityistrustedamonglocalusers.

3.Registrationwithalocalchamberofcommerce
Ifyouwanttoselllocallytoendcustomers,somemarketsrequireregistrationwitha
localcommercialchamberorregister.Findalocalcommercialauthorityandresearch
informationthere.

4.Socialproof
Testimonialsorreferencesfromreallocalcustomersorevenbetter,influencers,may
giveyourwebsiteasignificanttrustsignal.Approachlocalinfluencersandofferthem
afreesubscriptionorproductfortestinginexchangeforusingtheirstatementon
yourwebsite.

5.Legalcontent
Makesurethatlegalstuffispresentonyourwebsiteandinaccordancewith
respectivelocallegalregulations.BearinmindthatthestatementTheseTermsand
ConditionsaregovernedbythelawsoftheStateof/yourhomemarket/maybe
perfectlylegitimate,butdoesnotalwaysworkasapositivetrustsignal.

6.Guarantees
Moneybackorsatisfactionguaranteesworkwellasatrustsignal.

7.Localrating
Goodlocalratingisoneofthestrongesttrustsignals.FacebookorVkontakteoffer
localreviewspluginsifyourunalocalbusinesspagethere.Alsoconsider
fieldspecificserviceslikeTripAdvisorforaccommodationservicesetc.

CountryorLanguageRedirects

Findmoretipsonredirectsinthisblogpost:
InternationalSEO&GeoIPRedirects
.

InternationalTeamBasics

YoucantdointernationalSEOwithoutastrongteambehindit.Itsvirtually
impossibletohandlealltasksinoneperson.Thinkcarefullyofwhotohire.Thinkof
anynewmemberasakeymember.Askyourself:Whatwouldthispersondoifmy
internationalbusinessstruggles?Iss/hecommitted?

InternationalProjectManagementBasics

InternationalSEOcantbewithoutprojectmanagement.Thetasksinvolvedareso
complexthatyouwillsoongetlostinemail.Learnbasicskillsofinternationalproject
management:

Timemanagement
(considerdifferenttimezones)
Delegation
(considerdifferentworkhabitsandunderstandingofintimeand
ontime)
Effectiveplanning
(see
Editorialcalendar
)
Evaluation
(see
Analytics
)

LearnaboutCulturalDifferences

Asmentionedinthepreviouspoint,somecultureshavedifferentunderstandingof
theimportanceofcompletingtasksintime.Forinstance,inIndonesian,theexact
meaningofthewordtomorrowmeansanytimeaftertoday.InGermanorSpanish,
ithasalsostandsformorning.Alwaysuseclearandsimplelanguageandspecific
assignmentswithclearlydefineddeadlinestoavoidmisunderstandings.Also,some
culturesneedtheirtimeofffordailyrituals.Learnaboutculturalspecificsin
The
WorldFactbook
.

ChooseaProjectManagementSystem

Yourprojectmanagementsystemshouldmeetthefollowingrequirements:

Grouptasksintoprojects
Setrecurringtasksandprojects
Assigntaskstoteams
Assigntaskstocontractors
Settimezoneswithdeadlines
AllownonASCIIcharactersintaskdescription,ifapplicable
Loginforcontractors
Alertsforoverduetasksandprojects
Timetrackingfordistantteammembers

Youshouldalsosetbasicrulessuchas:

Nospecialcharactersinfilenames
UploadaPDFversionalongwiththesourcedocument
Useonecommunicationlanguage

Iuse
ProWorkFlow
becauseitallowsmetocreateprojectsandbatchaddtasks.I
havealsoheardalotofpraisefor
Basecamp
,soIguessitcouldbetherightoption,
too.

AppointKeyTeamMembers

ProjectManager:
Apersonresponsibleforrunningmultilingual/international
projects.
DeputyProjectManager:
AbackupprojectmanageriftheheadPMisnot
available.
ContentOfficer:
Apersonsolelyresponsibleforthequalityofyour
multilingualcontent.
CommunicationsOfficer:
Apersonresponsibleforexternalcommunication:
consistency,quality,communitybuilding,helpdesk.

Itshouldbecrystalclearwhooverseesanimportantpartoftheproject,evenwhen
oneteammemberhandlesmultipleroles.

CreateanEditorialCalendar

Createashareddocumentthatwillinvolvedates,topics,languages,teammembers,
completionstatus.HandovertheCalendartothepersonresponsibleforyour
websitescontent.SometeamspreferaseparateanddetailedMediaPlanorLink
BuildingPlanthatinvolvesimportantstepsincommunicationwithlocalonlineand
offlinemediaandlocallinkbuildingactivities,esp.whendealingwithlocalSEO.
Simplyoutlinethestepsthatshouldbedoneregularly,andassignthetasksto
individualteammembers.Readmoreinthearticle:
MakeEditorialCalendarin
GoogleDocs

RunaTestProject

Createatestprojectinthefirstmonth.Troubleshootissuesthatariseandnotethem
down.Usethemtofinetunetheprojecttemplate.Collectfeedbackfrombothusers
andteammembers.Dontforgettouploadthe
KPIsabove
intoyourproject
managementsystemsoyouareabletooverseethecorequalityindicators.

EvaluationPhase

CheckBounceRate

Highbouncerateisthefirstwarningsignindicatingthatsomethingiswrong.Itcould
bethecontent(somethingtheusersdontlike,dontcareaboutordontunderstand).
Trytofindthecause.Sometimes,inspecificcases,evenhighbounceratecouldbe
OK.

CheckConversionRate

Anotherqualityindicatorisconversionrate.Ifitsverylowevenafterafewmonths,
youshouldthinkofthereasonswhyusersabandonyourwebsitewithoutperforming
anaction:checktheConversionfunneltofindoutwhentheyareleavingandwhere
theygoinsteadofconverting.Whatsortofinformationdotheymissalongthe
conversionpath?

IdentifyKPITrends

CheckifthereisanincreaseordecreaseinKPIvalues(seeabove).Ifthenumbers
arentsteadilyincreasing,dontpanic.Focusonthelongtermtrendandevaluatethe
causeoftheupsanddowns.FollowallKPIs,notjusttrafficorrankings.