Altruik’s Senior Vice President, Laura Wynn, discusses a checklist of key SEO items that will help your website reach its international potential. From understanding site structure to mitigating duplicate content to localized keyword research, Laura can walk you through the critical organic elements when thinking in terms of global organic search. Laura covers: - Global Site Structure Differences - Differences Between Language and Country Targeting - Keyword Research - Proper Localization Techniques - International Search Visibility - Country-specific Search Engines

1. 1
G L O B A L S I T E S T R U C T U R E
c c T L D s
S U B - D I R E C T O R I E S
S U B - D O M A I N S
aka "Country Code Top-Level Domains
Example: <yourdomain>.co.uk
OVERVIEW:
This type of top-level domain carries the
strongest signal for geo-targeting a
country's local audience.
KEEP IN MIND:
This is a completely different domain
than your existing domain so efforts for
SEO must be duplicated for each ccTLD
that is created.
This option can be expensive from an
infrastructure perspective and may have
potential legal requirements depending
on the location.
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by Laura Wynn
INTERNATIONAL
SEO
2016
Example: uk.<yourdomain>.com
OVERVIEW:
This type of domain can be a
self-explanatory country reference to a
visitor to your site.
KEEP IN MIND:
Similar to a ccTLD, the sub-domain is
viewed as a completely separate domain
and will not inherit the top-level domain's
SEO efforts, so SEO efforts must be
duplicated.
Example: <yourdomain>.com/uk/
OVERVIEW:
Using a sub-directory is the easiest to
implement because it lives within the
existing domain.
KEEP IN MIND:
This will inherit all or lacking SEO efforts
from the top-level domain.

2. L A N G U A G E & C O U N T R Y T A R G E T I N G
Best Option: ccTLD
OVERVIEW:
Ability to see location-based results and will most
likely use the country-based search engine.
ccTLDs provide better rankings in your preferred
target location.
KEEP IN MIND:
If possible, host this website locally for
performance and administration. This can be costly
and will most likely require staff in that country to
write the content for that website.
MANDATORY:
Use <hreflang> tag to correct indexing and mitigate
duplicate content.
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-ca" href=“<yourwebsite.ca>/" /> English Canada
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href=“<yourwebsite.co.uk>/" /> English GB
<<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href=“<yourwebsite.com>/es/“>
Best Option: Sub-Directory
OVERVIEW:
Ability to see language-based results and will most
likely use a search engine in a specific language.
Sub-directories provide better rankings in your
preferred target location.
KEEP IN MIND:
This is the best option for bilingual countries like
Belgium.
Must be independently accessible for search
engines and visitors to your site.
MANDATORY:
Use <hreflang> tag to correct indexing and mitigate
duplicate content.
The Sitemap Option
C O U N T R Y T A R G E T I N G
L A N G U A G E T A R G E T I N G
< H R E F L A N G > U S E
< H R E F L A N G > U S E
ISO 639
ISO 3166

3. K E Y W O R D R E S E A R C H
Best Option: Native Speaker
OVERVIEW:
If possible, carry out keyword research with the
help of a native speaker for each target language.
The initial keyword research should be conducted
in English (or native tongue) prior to being localized.
KEEP IN MIND:
"trainers" vs. "running shoes"
"trousers" vs. "pants"
MANDATORY:
Refrain from using an automated translation
service. The significant impact on user experience
and lack of understanding from a production team.
"Umstandsmode" vs. "Umstand mode"
Option: Translation Service + Student
OVERVIEW:
If you must use a translation service, consider a
college intern to support the service.
KEEP IN MIND:
Select an intern who is majoring in that target
language or is far enough along to understand
search localization.
Option: Translation Service
OVERVIEW:
If you must use a translation service, consider a
service like LingPerfect.
KEEP IN MIND:
Select a service that is ISO 9001 certified and
adheres to strict procedures and quality control to
prevent misrepresentation of your products.
"Are you lactating?" - Mexico
“How to Not Embarrass Yourself With International
SEO.” ~Nicole Elizabeth DeMere

4. L O C A L I Z A T I O N
S E A R C H E N G I N E S
U R L
M E T A D A T A & O N P A G E
L I N K S
O T H E R E L E M E N T E X A M P L E S
Google - Page content
Visitors - URL
Example: http://www2.hm.com/fr_fr/enfant
/nouveautes/baby-news/bebe-fille-4-24-mois.html
Example: Baidu
Titles - Put the company brand or name into EVERY
title & at the end.
Meta-Descriptions - Make sure a well written
meta-description includes the page's keyword.
Alt Tags - Include in ALL images that are relevant to
the page.
Heading Tags - Only one H1 heading and multiple
H2s, H3s, and so on. DO NOT SKIP ANY!
Content (New) - Regularly scheduled creation and
publication of new content.
Content (Duplicate) - Content should be unique and
Baidu penalties are extremely harsh.
Anchor Text - Include the page's keyword in all
internal anchor text.
Example: Baidu Continued...
Quantity & Quality
They both count! ...for now
Baidu considers the number of links on a website
page for SERP (search engine result page) rank.
Quality links has become of increased importance
with Baidu.
Example: Baidu Continued...
Domain...of course
Hosting - better make it in China
Physical Address - at minimum a local contact
Censorship - yep, you had better play by the
Chinese government's censorship regime
ICP License - Internet Content Publishing license -
without it, it is next to impossible to rank in SERPs.
Yandex, Baidu, and thousands more!
OVERVIEW:
Understand that Google is not necessarily the
search engine of choice in other countries.
KEEP IN MIND:
Each has a different way of evaluating and ranking
localized content.