International SEO – What It Is and Tips for Creating an Effective International SEO Strategy

Mar 21 / 2025

You wake up one day and decide that you are ready to take your business global. You probably have a lot to think about, but one skill that you need to master is international SEO marketing.

If you think SEO is a thing that you have already taken care of and that the same would work for your business across borders, then you are sadly mistaken. When the location of the target audience changes, there is a huge chance that your old SEO will not work. This is where international SEO comes into play.

What Is International SEO?

International SEO is the act of optimizing the content in your blog or website so that search engines recognize the countries that you want your business to reach. This can help your content perform well in the search engines of the foreign countries you have targeted.

Why Can’t We Just Translate the Content?

This is the question business owners frequently ask when they start their research on international SEO.

Machine translation is easy and time-saving, but in the process, you lose the major ingredient that will make your content reach the target audience – the keywords.

Machine translation will give you a straightforward translation for the words in your content but not the proper keywords for the market that you are targeting.

Even if the people in the country where you are trying to expand your business speak the same language as yours, the target keywords might need a change.

Imagine that you are running a shoe business, and you are located in the United States. You might have optimized the site to focus on keywords like “trendy sneakers” and more. But when you decide to expand your business reach to the United Kingdom, your American keywords would not fetch you any traffic since for the British, the shoes that you call sneakers are actually “trainers”. This affects the traffic that you expect for your site.

Once you decide to target an audience from different countries, it would be a better choice to research for keywords that would work in that particular country and then optimize your content according to it.

Extensive research of the target country along with cultural insights and buying habits are needed to make people notice your business.

Thus, to reach a foreign audience, just translating the website content is not going to cut it.

Why Is International SEO Important?

International SEO marketing might seem like an alien term for small businesses, but it is more common than you think. You just have to put in the effort to make it work. Here are some benefits of international SEO that might convince you to add it to your next business strategy.

• It Broadens the Market for Your Business

The global e-commerce market is expected to grow by 20% in the next five years. That is an impressive number, which can mean growth for your business.

The world has never been more connected. When you know what the specific audience wants from you, then it becomes easier to make them your customers.

A well-planned international SEO strategy would expand your business’s market and make you visible to a wider audience circle.

• It Increases the Revenue

Gaining a new customer indeed does take a lot of effort, but it is not impossible. When your business is exposed to a new audience, then you better your chances of attracting new customers. With each new customer, you gain, the business’s revenue goes up.

• It Exposes You to New Opportunities

With a good international SEO marketing strategy, you will also gain customer trust, and your brand will gain a good reputation. With time, you can expand your business to explore new opportunities in that country.

• It Gives You the Chance to Compete with the Big Brands

With the connectivity that we have now, the international market is not only for the big players.

A simple and well-planned international SEO strategy will help your business tap into the international market.

• It Provides Growth Opportunities for the Business

While creating the international SEO strategy, it is best to define your goal – be it website visibility, traffic, revenue, or brand awareness.

With the target defined, it would be easier to plan the strategy and the milestones to achieve to reach the goal.

How to Develop an Effective International SEO Strategy?

Formulating the right strategy and going through it will ensure success for your business in targeted countries. Here are the steps to follow while creating an international SEO strategy.

1. Decide Your Target Audience

First, you will have to decide which country to target and the audience you want to attract. As for the target countries, you can use your website analytics to find the different countries your website receives traffic from since you have a better chance with them as they are already familiar with you.

You can also find the trend of the audience and what type of content they will expect from you. Once you find the target country, find the audience that will be interested in your business. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to design an accurate strategy.

2. Define Market Approach

Decide how you want to reach the audience in the targeted countries.

If you are choosing to market your business under the same name and with the same products in different countries, then choose a language-based segmented approach. For this, you simply optimize your content so that it is relevant to the target audience.

But if you choose to market your business under a different name with different products suitable for the targeted countries, then the work involved is more. You need to create websites dedicated to the targeted countries with dedicated international SEO practices. And no, you just cannot auto-translate the site.

3. Do Keyword Research

Now comes the most important part of international SEO. After defining your target audience, find out what interests them.

Use SEMrush or similar tools to find the keywords that will improve your ranking in the targeted region. The keyword that ranks the best in your area might not do so well in the area that you have targeted now. Never slack off while researching keywords.

Use analytics to find the level of your online presence in the country that you have targeted. Also, find interesting terms and think about proper positioning.

4. Do Competitor Research

Look for your future competitors who are doing well in the targeted region using SEMRush. Find the topics that they focus on and the keywords that they use.

Note other factors like their choice of content, marketing style, and advertising style. This is a free insight into what works in the country where you intend to expand your business.

5. Optimize Your Content

Now that you have the required keywords and the topics that would possibly work, you can start optimizing your content according to the target region and, if needed, target language.

After you have optimized the content, double-check it and analyze whether it will match the expectations of your target audience.

6. Do Not Forget the Technical Aspects

You should select the right domain for your business. This choice of domain structure will determine how easily visitors and search engines will be able to identify your business.

There are different options like ccTLD, gTLD, and a combination of both. Choose domains that will give you the right brand associations and responses from the targeted audience.

Use the “hreflang” attribute since it shows the geographical area and the language of the website. This is important as it will ensure that your content does not get neglected as duplicate content by search engines.

LBN Tech Solutions

Going international is a huge task for a business owner, and it is important not to let international SEO marketing take up all of your precious time. We at LBN Tech offer e-commerce website development services and SEO marketing services, too. Let us make your international venture a success together. Learn more about us here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is international SEO?

International SEO involves optimizing your website so that search engines understand which countries and languages you are targeting, helping your content perform well abroad.

Why can’t you simply translate your content?

Simply translating content often misses local keyword nuances and cultural context, which are essential for attracting and engaging a foreign audience.

Why is international SEO important for businesses going global?

It broadens your market reach, increases revenue, opens up new opportunities, and helps you compete with established brands in your target regions.

How do I develop an effective international SEO strategy?

Start by defining your target audience, researching local keywords and competitors, optimizing your content for cultural relevance, and addressing technical elements like domain structure and hreflang tags.

What are key technical considerations in international SEO?

Choosing the right domain (ccTLD, gTLD, or a combination), using hreflang attributes to indicate language and regional targeting, and ensuring a solid site structure are vital for technical success.

How does competitor research impact international SEO?

Analyzing local competitors provides insights into successful keywords, content strategies, and marketing tactics that you can adapt to improve your own global visibility.

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