Growing your brand on an international scale is the best thing that could happen to any business online.
That said, the potential for increased traffic, greater brand recognition, and higher sales makes adopting this advanced form of international SEO worthwhile. Without the right approach, your international SEO tactics could simply be a case of missed opportunity and wasted energy.
Here are some international SEO mistakes you might be making and how you can avoid them.
Table of Contents
1. Ignoring Language and Localization
Among the errors with the largest number of cases occurring internationally is insufficient translation and localization efforts.
Not only should your content be translated, but you need to localize your site for different cultural and linguistic differences. A case in point is Spanish, which despite being commonly spoken in both Spain and Mexico, has some regional dialect preferences.
Ignoring these differences can risk alienation, reduced engagement, conversions, and profit.
Solution: Get help from a native speaker about both translation and localization. This could be achieved easily with tools such as hreflang tags to tell Google which version of the content is appropriate for a given region.
2. Using a Single Domain Without Regional Targeting
Sometimes businesses might be using a single domain and not targeting individual regions or countries. On one hand, managing one single domain can be simpler, while on the other, it means confusion for search engines as well as users.
If your website serves different countries, you are required by the search engines to tell them which content is for that region.
Solution: Use ccTLDs (country-code top-level domains) like .fr for France or subdirectories like example.com/fr/ to differentiate between regions. Alternatively, subdomains can work if ccTLDs are not an option.
3. Overlooking the Importance of Hreflang Tags
Hreflang tags will help search engines know in which language and country version of the site they should show on SERP. If hreflang tags are not implemented correctly, Google may show the wrong version of the same content to users, which can lead to higher bounce rates and confusion.
Solution: Check that the hreflang tags are in the head section of every page. So, this can help Google to display the correct version of your site to the users according to their location and language.
4. Focusing Solely on English Keywords
Most businesses concentrate on English keywords, assuming international traffic will primarily focus on their products or services in English and not the local languages. The predominant global language might be English, but that doesn’t disqualify the importance of local languages. People tend to search in their native language, and by focusing only on English keywords, you could be missing out on valuable traffic.
Solution: Do keyword research in the native language of each target market. SEMrush and Ahrefs are tools that helps you find local keywords, essential in catering to overseas native speakers.
5. Not Accounting for Regional Search Engines
In most cases, Google has the upper hand in search throughout many regions. However, there are some regional markets where other search engines are more popular. For instance, the most popular search engine in China is Baidu, while Yandex dominates the market in Russia.
This scenario may set you back in these markets when you opt to solely focus on using Google.
Solution: Get a better understanding of the algorithm, basic ranking factors, and technical requirements of the regional search engines to optimize your site. Baidu, for example, favors websites that load quickly and are hosted locally, while Yandex prefers those from domains with high local authority.
6. Failing to Consider Local Hosting
If you host your site on a server that is located in one country and then readers from a completely different country run into your content, expect the downvote. Site speed is an important factor Google uses to determine search rankings, and a slow site can negatively impact your SEO efforts.
Solution: Either host your website locally or use a content delivery network (CDN) to make sure your site speed is impeccable, regardless of which country your users are in.
7. Not Paying Attention to Local Competitors
It’s not only important to rank internationally against global competitors, but you also need to compete with local players in each country’s market. Not looking into your local competition will direct you away from opportunities that are new in the local search result rankings.
Solution: Competitive research in each target market to identify local competitors. Study their keyword, content, and backlink strategies to improve your international SEO strategy.
8. Overlooking Local Search Trends
All search trends are not the same. Some are flexible in content preferences, while others vary based on regional behavior. No reader in a country would read the events of another country. If you do not monitor local search trends, you cannot adjust your content and keyword strategy for the queries that users may be searching.
Solution: Maintain a list of local search trends (through Google trends for example) and also consider seasonal events or holidays which could impact how people search in each region.
9. Failing to Adapt to Mobile Usability
Worldwide, mobile search is growing fast and in some countries, it has even surpassed desktop-based searches. Without an adequately optimized mobile website for your international pages, you may be losing a significant portion of potential traffic.
Solution: Optimize for mobile users in all geographies. Make sure that your site is fully responsive and caters to mobile users everywhere. Pay attention to loading times, navigation, and user experience across different devices.
10. Neglecting Regional Backlinks
While backlinks are very important for SEO and even more so for international SEO, regional backlinks still carry significant quality. Getting quality backlinks from relevant sites in your target country helps in increasing the trust and exposure of your website.
Solution: Before initiating requests to obtain the desired backlinks, it is worth investing time into relationships with local social media influencers, bloggers, and businesses. Local link-building tactics including guest blog posts and mentions in local publications can help you earn valuable local links.
Final Thoughts
Making sure you do not commit these common international SEO errors is important to ensure that your search strategy has a chance of success across different geographical areas.
Doing things like localizing the content and focusing on particular geographies will help you cover all the required outlined specifics such as hreflang tags and local hosting.
Do keep in mind that there is no universal approach to international SEO; every market has its approach based on its trends, competition and customer behaviours.
Do you need a hand with your international SEO efforts? You see at Lead Nicely, we excel in ensuring your website is accessible to users worldwide. Get in touch with us today and take your brand to a global level!
