If you’re thinking about taking your products or services worldwide, you need to think about your international SEO strategy. International SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that search engines can easily identify the countries you are targeting and the languages you are using. This ensures that a person in Germany, for example, sees your German-language website in their search results instead of your English-language one.
A good international SEO strategy helps you reach new customers, increase your brand’s visibility, and boost your rankings in new markets. It’s a fundamental step for any business with a global audience.
International Website Structure
There are a few different ways to structure your website when you are targeting multiple countries and languages. Each one has its own benefits and drawbacks.
Subdirectories
This is when you use a different folder, or subdirectory, for each language. For example, www.example.com/en/ for English and www.example.com/de/ for German.
- Pros: This is the most cost-effective option, as you only need one domain. It also allows you to share SEO value across countries, as all of your content is on the same domain.
- Cons: It can be harder to technically separate the websites.
Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
This is when you use a different domain for each country. For example, www.example.de for Germany and www.example.fr for France.
- Pros: This is a clear signal to both users and search engines that your website is for a specific country.
- Cons: This is the most expensive option, as you have to buy a new domain for each country. You also can’t share SEO value between the different domains.
Subdomains
This is when you use a subdomain for each language. For example, en.example.com for English and de.example.com for German.
- Pros: This is a great way to separate your websites from a technical standpoint.
- Cons: Like ccTLDs, this is a more expensive option and can be harder to manage from an SEO perspective.
How ClickRank Can Help
The best way to decide on a website structure is to analyze your audience and your business goals. A professional SEO platform Clickrank can help you with this. The platform can analyze your website and provide a prioritized list of tasks to fix your international SEO issues. This allows you to focus on your content and other SEO tasks while the platform takes care of the technical side.
Hreflang Tags
Hreflang tags are a small piece of code that tells a search engine which language and country a page is meant for. They are a must-have for any website that is targeting multiple countries or languages.
How They Work
Hreflang tags are added to the <head> section of your website’s HTML. They tell a search engine that a specific page is available in a different language or for a different country. For example, if you have a page in English and a page in German, the hreflang tags on the English page would tell a search engine that a German version of the page exists.
How to Use Them
Here are a few simple rules for using hreflang tags:
- Always use the full URL: Your hreflang tags must always use the full URL, including https:// and the domain name.
- Tags must point both ways: Your hreflang tags only work if both pages point to each other. For example, the English page must point to the German page, and the German page must point to the English page.
- Include the page itself: In addition to listing the alternate pages, you also need to include the page itself.
Language and Country Codes
Hreflang tags can be used to specify a language, or a language and country combined. For example, en is for English, regardless of which country, and en-us is for English-speaking users in the United States.
What is the best way to do international SEO?
The best way to do international SEO is to use a combination of a good website structure and hreflang tags. This ensures that search engines can find and index all of your pages, and that users can find the correct version of your page based on their language and country.
