Simply put, international SEO means the optimising of a business website’s design and content to be relevant in different countries and languages. Targeting a wider audience than only the local market has become the trend of the 2020s and international SEO is a tool to implement SEO locally as well.
The important aspect, however, is that the web design and content have to be customised to be used in different languages and cultures. Optimising web content for locals with international SEO is much more than just the translation of the content of local SEO. It is a total strategy built around the needs and preferences of specific groups of people all over the world.
The beauty of the concept is that a business doesn’t have to work with web designers all over the world to accommodate local markets. A business can, for instance, use an established SEO agency in Sydney, such as “Shtudio”, and they will be able to do search engine optimisation to make the website and its content relevant in multiple countries and regions.
This article discusses a few of the most important aspects regarding international SEO optimisation for locals that business owners, marketers and web designers should always keep in mind.
Localisation with international SEO – in general
Optimised design and content for locals with international SEO refer to adapting the website and content to meet the needs and preferences of the local audiences where marketing is done. This is a very specialized part of web design and content writing.
The web company’s management, the web designer and the content provider have to realise that international SEO focuses on optimizing a website to rank high in search engines across different countries and languages, while local SEO focuses on optimizing a website to rank in search results in a specific geographic location. Both these focuses have to be accommodated to create optimisation of content for locals with international SEO.
How to optimise content for locals with international SEO
With international SEO there are specific obstacles to overcome and steps to follow to optimise the web content successfully for locals in different countries and regions. From marketing and financial angles, it is usually worth the effort to overcome the problems and take the steps to optimise content for locals with international SEO
Two obstacles to overcome when creating international SEO
By looking at the obstacles first, it is easier to understand the steps to be taken to make local SEO in international SEO a success.
1. Different languages can be an obstacle
Language is one of the obstacles to overcome when international SEO is customised for locals in specific regions and countries. The website content provider has to trust the translators that the translations of the original content are accurate and effective. Large local SEO agencies, such as “Shtudio”, which is an established search engine optimisation company in Sydney, will always use professional translators from reliable translating agencies.
Machine translations can be useful as a starting point for the translations but can never be used without professional human translators editing the content. If the optimisation is meant for a specific region in a country the translators have to ensure that the correct dialect is used.
2. Cultural differences have to be taken into account
The correct localising of the content has to take cultural nuances and idioms into account. Often, idioms and nuances can’t be directly translated and the idioms and nuances of the local region have to be used.
All cultural differences must be kept in mind. Not all topics or phrases are acceptable in all cultures. The tone and style of the content also sometimes need adaptation to fit in with the cultural habits of the target region.
Local search terms must also be used. The words “motor”, “automobile” or “vehicle” are for instance used in different parts of the English-speaking world and in Spain “zapatos” will most probably be a better search word than “shoes”.
Two important steps to be taken when optimising content for locals with international SEO
1. Conduct thorough market research
For successful international SEO thorough market research has to be done. It is important to identify the targets in the different countries and the local search engines most frequently used. Local competitors in the field should be identified and gaps have to be found for niches to be exploited.
2. Create a localised domain
With a localised domain trust is built with the locals and a localised domain also improves the chances of ranking higher in local search engines. It is always a good idea to use different domains with the specific countries’ domain extensions rather than a ”.com” extension.
Conclusion
With more and more businesses extending their local businesses globally, international SEO is becoming important. When a business uses an SEO agency specializing in optimising content for locals with international SEO their international online marketing efforts should be a success.