Targeting international consumers with organic search requires a few extra steps. Here are his 7 tips to get a higher ranking in your chosen country.
1. Set up separate sites or sections for each country
If you want your site to rank in organic search results in multiple countries, you have the following options:
- Create separate sites for each country using country-specific top-level domains (.de, .uk, .in, etc.). Registering all local TLDNs may not be practical due to cost, limitations, and availability considerations.
- Use subdomains for each country (e.g. de.yoursite.com). Setting up subdomains requires development and search optimization resources, including building links to each subdomain.
- Set up subdirectories for each country (for example, yoursite.com/de). It's often best to create a directory for each country, since a single domain receives all authority.
| Yoursite.de | De.yoursite.com | Yoursite.com/de | |
|---|---|---|---|
| targeting | Most powerful signal, but targets only one country | Stronger signal makes it easier to isolate sites | Strong signals combined with hreflang |
| Server location is different | yes | yes | no |
| maintenance | difficult to maintain | Moderate | Easiest to maintain |
| Use case | Has a local office and marketing team | You can afford to build authority for each subdomain | Covers many countries, but cannot afford to set up separate entities |
2. Use hreflang
Introduced by Google hreflang In December 2011, we replaced geo-targeting settings within Webmaster Tools (now Search Console). Furafran This is an HTML attribute that helps search engines recognize localized versions of web pages (where “lang” is the language).
3. Translate content into local language
The language of your content is another important indicator for Google regarding the country you're targeting. Google easily auto-detects your language. No further action is required, just invest in high-quality (human) translations.
If you're targeting countries with the same language, use region-specific variations for each. A local translator can help.
4. Include location information on your website
Including the address of your targeted country on your website helps Google understand the importance of that locale. This assumes that your company has a local physical location or that your content corresponds to that location.
5. Attract inbound links from local sites
Google still relies on inbound links to determine a website's popularity and ranking within its results, especially when the query has local intent. If you target other countries, launch a local link building program, perhaps focusing on local journalists.
6. Notify your Google Business Profile
If you have an office in your area, browse your Google Business Profile for local sites.
7. Consider local hosting
The location of your web server is a low-level signal to Google, especially for common top-level domains like .com or .net. A big benefit of hosting close to your target market is page speed to those consumers' browsers.
Some countries, such as Australia, require a license to host as well as a local business location, making it complex and expensive. If you plan to optimize search for multiple countries, check local hosting requirements.
