International SEO: Technical details Deep Dive 2

Last week I explained about International SEO and related terminologies. If you missed that article, read it from here: http://digital-marketing-ashvyasseo.blogspot.com/2014/11/international-seo-multilingual-Multiregional-SEO-Tips.html. This blog post is second part of the International or multinational SEO. In this article, I will share some technical details which shows how to implement and successfully run a multinational SEO campaign. Let's explore step by step guide.

How To Practice Multinational/International SEO?
There are different ways to practice multinational SEO. It starts with selecting the right alternative of the URL aka domain. There are three options which are explained below with small tips to make decision easier.

1. CCTLD
Buy country specific domain like example.de. This is suggested only when

• You want to target a few regions only now as well as in future.
• You have enough resources to work on specific country wise domain. As CCTLD will completely new domain, you have to put extra efforts to get the authority for that domain.
• Some regions has its rules to get cctld, so you have to pass those standards to get the rules.

2. Subdomain with gTLd
Use your current domain and add subdomain for each targeted location. For ex: de.example.com.
You can set targeted geographical area from Google webmasters easily. The benefits of using it will be:

• Easy to setup
• Your authority of the current site will be passed to it and vice verse

3. Subdirectory with gTLD
Use your current website and add subdirectory in it, .i.e., example.com/de.
You can set the geo-target from the Google webmaster tool. It has the same benefits as a subdomain.

4. URL Parameters
Use url parameter for each targeted location, i.e., example.com/?location=france
This is not recommended at all from SEO point of view. Why? The important reasons are

• You won't be able to set the geotarget from GWT
• Google [most search engines] are not good in dealing with URL with parameters

If you ask me, I would suggest to go with either subdomain or subdirectory with gTLD. Further, narrowing down, subdirectories are best with some of the SEO factors + it's easy to handle. Still, there are no clear evidences of benefits of subdirectories over subdomains, many SEO experts suggest using subdirectories based on their experience and so do I.

Once you have decided the URL, then you can use different methods to serve the language/region specific users. The possible options are as below:
1. HTTP redirection
2. Javascript enabled redirection

I suggest to use http redirection as again search engines are not so good in dealing with javascript. Though it has started improving and handling javascript, still there can be some problems.

Once the redirection portion is done you have to specify the region specific landing pages. How to handle it? It's explained in brief below:

1. Rel="Alternate" Hreflang Annotation
In google, rel="alternate" hreflang="x" annotation is used to specify which page is served to which geographical location. This is recommended when you have a different version of the same content which is either translated or adjusted to serve the different regions. There are three ways to implement this markup:

HTML Link element in head section
In the head section of example.com add a link element pointing to the french version of a webpage which is example.com/de
Code: <link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/de" />

HTTP Header
This option is useful when you are publishing non-HTML files, i.e., PDF. You can use HTTP header to indicate the French version of a URL.
Code: Link: <https://example.com/de>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="de"

Sitemap
I find it quite easy and less chances of any issues. You can submit language version instead of any markup.

One thing to keep in mind that there are predefined hreflang values for languages and regions. So use the right value only. Beware of any silly mistake.

2. X-Default Hreflang Markup
It's important to keep in mind that, you won't be able to create different pages for each and every region or language in this world. What if a visitor come to your website for whom you haven't created any specific landing page. In such case, you have to create a general landing page and redirect the user there. For this purpose use xDefault hreflang attribute.
Code: <link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/" hreflang="x-default" />

If you are using different region specific URLs, then you will have cluster of code as below:

<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/de" hreflang="de" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/" hreflang="x-default" />


Once the code is setup, you can create a separate account for each version of the site serving a predefined audience in both, GWT and GA. It will help you to monitor your efforts and fine tune it.

Hope this Blog added some value to your knowledge-base.

Ash Vyas is working in Internet Marketing field for 6+ years. Have experience in handling projects of SEO, SMO, SEM, Content Marketing, Branding etc.
Likes : Blogging, Learning, Networking, Traveling, Photography
Connect with the author via: Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest

Read more »

Posted in: Global SEO tips,How to practice international SEO,International SEO,Multinational SEO,Technical info for multinational SEO

International SEO: Multilingual and Multiregional Deep Dive Part 1

International SEO which is also known as multinational or global SEO is a part of an advanced SEO tactics. If you got an opportunity to run a multinational SEO campaign, you must be one of the few lucky SEOs. If not, then there is still an opportunity to come. What exactly a multinational SEO is? Let's explore in today's article.

What is International/Multinational SEO?
International aka multinational SEO has two parts. Multilingual and Multiregional. Both are not only different, but also overlap each other. When a website expands the territories and start targeting people of specific region or language, at that time SEO professionals use these international SEO strategies. It is one of the most complex SEO practices. The reason is, you have to handle all the different SEO campaigns and related activities without messing it.

What is Multilingual and Multiregional SEO?
You might get an idea from the name itself. Multilingual SEO is when you customize your website in different languages to serve people speaking those specific languages. Multiregional SEO is a customized SEO strategy used to serve a different geographical area with region specific SEO strategies.

Key Benefits of International/Multinational SEO:

• Expand the horizons of your business
• You can reach a potential audience which are not a native English speaker
• Go beyond your competitor
• Diversified visitors & Improved conversion rates
• Create a global Brand [My personal favourite :)]

Challenges in International/Multinational SEO
International SEO has various challenges including:

• Local SEO tactics changes frequently. As you are targeting different regions, you have to be updated with such updates and change your strategies accordingly.
• Targeting only Google won't work. When you are doing region/language based SEO, you have to target local search engines along with Google. For example, in Russia, you have to target Yandex. You have to customize your SEO tactics based on target region's popular search engine.
• You have to understand the traits of market, culture and buying behaviour of the local people of each location you want to target.
• You might need a local marketing person. In some geographical regions, still people believes in one to one meeting rather than placing online orders. For such cases, you must have a resource to satisfy this requirement.

A Few Important Tips to make your International/Multinational SEO Campaign successful

• Perform thorough linguistic research and understand the region, culture, local competition and other factors.
• Understand the localized market and its specific terms. In SEO language, get a list of region specific "keywords".
• Write a region specific page with usage of the selected keywords. Don't just translate the pages into regional languages. It won't give as much benefit as expected. It's strongly recommended to write specific pages in the targeted languages using the localized voice and standards.
• Optimize SEO attributes specifically for the localized market. 
• Understand the local popular search engines and optimize the site according to that search engines. You can also amalgamate standard SEO practices for major and local search engines, but be very careful.

I hope this article has given you a brief idea of multinational aka international SEO. In the next Blog, I will share some technical details to show how one can implement a multinational SEO campaign in a website.

Ash Vyas is working in Internet Marketing field for 6+ years. Have experience in handling projects of SEO, SMO, SEM, Content Marketing, Branding etc.
Likes : Blogging, Learning, Networking, Traveling, Photography
Connect with the author via: Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest

Read more »

Posted in: Global SEO tips,International SEO,Multinational SEO