What Is Global SEO and How To Do It?
Global SEO involves optimizing your website's content for multiple locations, audiences, and search engines around the world, such as Baidu, Yahoo Japan, and Naver.
Today, I’ll share the best actionable global SEO strategies and tips for your website in 2024. Keep reading to learn how to strengthen your global SEO plan.
What is Global SEO?
Global SEO is the process of optimizing your website’s content for various locations and audiences worldwide. This approach involves creating content in different languages for your target audience and optimizing for the popular search engines in those regions.
For example, search results vary significantly between countries. In China, users primarily use Baidu, in Russia, they prefer Yandex, in Japan, Yahoo is popular, and in South Korea, Naver is widely used. Therefore, global SEO requires more than just optimizing for Google.
However, you don't need to master every search engine's algorithm. Your SEO plan should focus on the language and region of your target audience. For instance, if you sell dried mangoes online and operate in Japan, Russia, France, and Spain, but your main market is in the USA, your global SEO strategy should include optimizing for each country and language.
Here’s how you would optimize for the keyword “used car” in different languages:
- In Japan: 中古車
- In Russia: Подержанный автомобиль
- In France: voiture d'occasion
- In Spain: coche usado
- In the USA: "used car"
In summary, global SEO optimizes your website and content so that search engines can identify which countries you’re targeting and which languages you are using. Most importantly, it helps you connect with your audience despite differences in location and language.
How to Do Global SEO:
1. Determine Target Countries or Languages
To succeed in global SEO, start by researching where your products and services are in demand. This step is crucial for your global SEO strategy. Begin by exploring the Language and Location tabs in the Geo section of your Google Analytics account. Identify which languages and countries are converting well on your site, especially if you already operate internationally.
If you're not yet operating globally, use the data from these tabs to observe user behavior, such as clicks, engagement, and time spent on your site. Sometimes, a country like Brazil may convert better than a more affluent country like the United States. Therefore, don't assume that bigger or richer countries will always convert better.
Understanding where your traffic comes from can be very beneficial, so make sure to analyze your Google Analytics data.
Study the Competition
Researching your competition is as important as understanding your traffic in terms of language and location. You can uncover your competition’s global SEO tactics by looking for hreflang tags in their site's source code. We’ll discuss hreflang tags in more detail later, so keep reading.
Alternatively, use tools like SemRush or Ahrefs. Enter your competitor’s URL to see the highlighted countries where they rank well. This can give you insights into their global SEO strategies.
2. Plan Your Site’s URL Structure for Global SEO
After identifying your target countries, you need to decide on the best URL structure for your international sites or pages. Here are the common global SEO URL structures:
ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain)
ccTLDs use two-letter codes to indicate the country where a site is registered.
Examples:
Pros:
- Sends a clear signal to search engines
- Helps in ranking well locally
Cons:
- Expensive to maintain
- Each site must build its own domain authority
Subdomain
A subdomain places content on a different “third-level domain,” which may or may not share link authority with the main domain.
Examples:
- usedcars.com (United States)
- uk.usedcars.com (United Kingdom)
- jp.usedcars.com (Japan)
Pros:
- Cheaper and easier to maintain than ccTLDs
Cons:
- A weaker signal to search engines than ccTLDs and subdirectories
- May weaken domain authority
- Users might be directed to international sites based on default language preferences
Subdirectories
Subdirectories place content under a specific subfolder in the main domain.
Examples:
- usedcars.com/us (United States)
- usedcars.com/uk/ (United Kingdom)
- usedcars.com/jp/ (Japan)
Pros:
- Easier and cheaper to maintain than ccTLDs
- Consolidates domain authority
Cons:
- A weaker signal to search engines than ccTLDs
- Users might be directed to global sites based on default language preferences
领英推荐
gTLD with Language Parameters
General Top-Level Domains like .org, .info, .com, .edu, .biz, and .net are used to target global audiences based on language.
Examples:
- usedcars.com/?lang=en-us (American English)
- usedcars.com/?lang=en-gb (British English)
- usedcars.com/?lang=en-ca (Canadian English)
If you're unsure which URL structure is best for your international business, consult international SEO experts for guidance.
3. Use Hreflang Attributes for Effective Global SEO
Hreflang attributes help Google and other search engines understand the language of a specific web page. This ensures that your page appears in search results for users searching in that language.
While similar to the URL structure of gTLD with language parameters, hreflang is a tag added to the source code of your web page.
Example:
<link rel="alternate" href="https://usedcar.com" hreflang="en-us" />
By using hreflang tags, you can guide search engines on which version of your web page to show for each country or language.
4. Conduct Global SEO Keyword Research
When conducting keyword research for global SEO, remember that popular keywords in one language may not be popular in another.
Consider the different search terms needed for your business if it operates in countries like the United States, Japan, Russia, France, and Spain. Since these countries speak different languages, they will likely use different search terms in both browser and voice searches.
You should also target branded keywords or search queries specific to your brand. If your Google Analytics shows significant traffic from various countries or languages, look for branded keywords that you can rank for uniquely. Competitors are unlikely to use keywords specific to your brand.
Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to find the right keywords for your global SEO strategy.
Expert Tip: Choose keywords with high search volumes but low competition. Additionally, use keyword research tools from other search engines like Yandex Wordstat if you're targeting users in countries that prefer those search engines, such as Russia.
6. Localize Your Web Page Content to Reach Your Target Regions
If you're thinking, "I only speak English, so how can I target other languages?" don’t worry. If your budget allows, hire translators to help with this aspect of your global SEO strategy.
"To make your global SEO plan successful, translating and adapting your content for each target country or language is essential. You can hire native speakers through platforms like Upwork to ensure accurate translations," said Pavel Buev, an SEO expert at Ocean Power Agency
Choose translators or editors who understand your local market, speak both English and the target language, and have knowledge of your industry. Alternatively, consider hiring an SEO agency that specializes in search-optimized translation and content creation.
It's crucial to have translators and editors who deeply understand the content you need, the market you're targeting, and your business goals.
You might wonder, "Why not use online translation tools instead of spending money on human translators?" While these tools are convenient, they cannot accurately translate content in a way that resonates with your human audience.
Relying on online translation tools can lead to poor-quality content that fails to convey your message effectively. This would mean redoing the work with human translators, resulting in wasted time and money.
6. Understand Your Target Audience
Adapting your content to the audience you’re targeting is crucial. Ignoring this step can lead to failure.
For instance, in Japan, cultural norms differ significantly from those in the West. You must be respectful and mindful of seniority; addressing seniors as equals can deter potential customers, especially if they perceive you as younger. Additionally, colors and numbers hold different meanings. Selling products in packs of nine or four is considered bad luck in Japan, and giving white flowers like lilies and lotuses is reserved for funerals.
If you run an e-commerce store targeting Japanese customers and sell items in packs of nine or four, you’ll likely experience a high bounce rate. This signals to search engines that your page is not well-suited for your audience.
Moreover, Japanese consumers are cautious about privacy. They avoid sharing too much information on sign-up forms, so asking for more than an email address can lead to low conversions and high bounce rates.
Understanding your target audience’s preferences and behaviors is essential. Hiring the right translators and editors can help you navigate cultural nuances and effectively engage with your global customers.
7. Include Other Search Engines in Your Global SEO Plan
Focusing only on Google for your global SEO strategy means missing out on significant traffic and conversions.
While Google is the leading search engine worldwide, other search engines are dominant in various regions. Understanding your target audience includes knowing their preferred search engines. In countries like China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan, Baidu, Yandex, Naver, and Yahoo are the top choices, respectively.
To incorporate other search engines into your global SEO strategy, consider these tips:
- Ensure your translators can perform keyword research using tools specific to each search engine. For instance, use Yandex Wordstat for Russian content instead of Google Keyword Planner.
- Research how the most popular search engine in your target region operates. Different search engines use different algorithms and ranking factors, so understanding these is crucial for success.
- Remember that not all search engines support the same SEO attributes. For example, Google and Yandex support hreflang tags to serve the correct web pages to your audience, but Bing does not. Ensure your site is properly marked up for each search engine.
8. Essential Global SEO Tips
Here are some critical steps for your SEO strategy, whether you’re working on a local or global scale:
- Create Shareable URLs: Encourage users of different languages to share your website links via email or social media.
- Build Links: Develop high-quality content that sites from your target regions will want to link to.
- Update Your NAPs (Name, Address, Phone): Ensure this information is accurate, especially if you have locations in multiple countries.
- Leverage AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages): Use AMP to improve page speed, particularly in regions with slower internet.
- Perform Local SEO: Optimize your site for local search in your target regions.
- Update Data and Privacy Policies: Keep your website’s data and privacy policies current.
- Focus on Content Relevance: Ensure your content is relevant to your target audience.
- Build Trust: Establish trust with your potential customers through reliable and consistent content.
- Create Multiple Communities: Build communities out of your target audience who speak different languages and come from different regions. Hiring the right translators and editors is crucial for this.
- Measure Your Efforts: Track your global SEO performance. Identify what works amplify it, and find areas for improvement to refine your strategy.
Ready to Dominate Global SEO?
In today's digital world, globalization is more influential than ever. It’s time for your business to expand. With e-commerce and dropshipping, global shipping and purchases are as easy as tapping a screen.
Your SEO strategy should go beyond ranking in one country or optimizing for English-speaking markets. Many international regions represent only a fraction of the total market in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, yet they often have less competition, offering a greater chance to capture market share.
To save time and money and outperform your competitors in global SEO, consult with the right global SEO experts.