International SEO
What you need to know to compete globally
• Got on the Internet in 1986• Working online with search since 1996• Paid & Natural Search – all aspects• Worked in house within Ecommerce, Publishing
& High Tech• Moved to i-level in 2008• Worked with Orange, Sony, COI• SEO Chick• Freelance through Seshet Consulting
Who am I?
Agenda• Searcher Behaviour• Search in Europe• Search Worldwide• Domain strategy• Encoding• Language & Content• Translation• External linking & Link Bait• Local & Legal Issues
What is SEO?
“SEO is the active practice of optimizing a web site by improving internal and external aspects in order to increase the traffic the site receives from search engines.”
- SEOmoz
Top Factors You Need To Consider
• Keyword Research• Tags• Image Optimisation• On Page Text• Site Architecture and Internal Links• Links• SEO Tools
Elements of Ranking• Title Tags • Meta Description Tags • Meta Keyword Tags • ALT Tags • H1, H2, H3 (and accompanying CSS) • Keywords in the content • Internal Links (images vs. keyword rich text) • URL Structure• Advanced Linking• Authority• Age of domain
Search Myth
Search Results YourSite
CONVERSION!
Search Reality
E1 Last Exposure
E2
E3
E4
E5
Sale
Event 5
Event 5
Event 3
Event 2
Last Event
Event type
Display Impression
Display Click
Paid Search
Natural Search
Affiliates
Reasons People Use SE’s
Source: Enquiro
European Search Landscape
Source: comScore
Search in Europe• Although developed in terms of use of search engines,
Europe is behind the UK in terms of actually doing SEO• Germany, France and Spain have well developed paid
search but SEO is still not main stream of marketing budgets
• It is often easier to rank highly in Europe as SEO competition is less well developed
Search WorldwideGoogle does not rule the world but...
Worldwide Search Market Share
Russian Search Market Share
So How Do You Tackle The International Search Scene?
Domain Strategy• Subdomains vs localised domains vs directories• fr.chocolate.com vs chocolate.fr vs
chocolate.com/fr• Cost• Geo location• ALWAYS host in the country you are wanting to
rank for• Also beneficial to own the country TLD• Use tools to find out if you are getting traffic
already
Pages in French
Pages in French Pages from France (.fr domains)
.be hosted in Paris
.com hosted in Paris
.fr hosted in NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE
Promoted to pos. 1 – Belgian result removed
Domain Strategy
• Separate domains, local hosting etc = expensive• Best for branding• Easiest to develop natural links into the local site
With local content relevant to the market
Encoding
• Localisation not translation• Use UTF-8 (Unicode) Encoding• Does not count as duplicate content• If retailer does not offer localised copy, you then
create unique content
Language & Content
• Understand local language nuances• Use translators, not just Babelfish• Use a PPC campaign for keyword testing and
research.• Use a tool such as
“Exact Keyword Tracking” from ROI revolution to view what keywords people actually use when you are bidding in broad or phrase match
Language & ContentEnglish Keywords German Keyword Translation Google Search
Volume
adventure Abenteuer 1500000advice Beratung 673000books Bücher 13600000books Buecher 135,000book search Buch suche 6,600diet & exercise Diät & fitness 73diet and exercise Diät und fitness n/adiet diaet 27,100diet Diät 550,000lose weight abnehmen 823,000fitness& nutrition fitness & ernährung 4,400Fitness Fitness 4,090,000
Language & ContentEnglish Keywords German Keyword Translation Google Search
Volume
adventure Abenteuer 1500000advice Beratung 673000books Bücher 13600000books Buecher 135,000book search Buch suche 6,600diet & exercise Diät & fitness 73diet and exercise Diät und fitness n/adiet diaet 27,100diet Diät 550,000lose weight abnehmen 823,000fitness& nutrition fitness & ernährung 4,400Fitness Fitness 4,090,000
English Keywords Spanish Keyword Translation Google Search Volume
acupuncture acupuntura 452 adventure aventura 110,000 advice aviso 2,400 advice consejo 2,400 legalisation of drugs legalizacion de la droga 379 legalisation of drugs la legalizacion de las drogas 325 legalisation of drugs legalización de las drogas 318 legalization of drugs legalizacion de las drogas 2,795 legalization of drugs legalizacion de drogas 1,141
cartoons chiste 1,000 cartoons viñeta 22
Use Translators Not Just Babelfish
• Educating translators about SEO is key• You need translator feedback for localisation• Use translators for:
– On page optimisation (incl. Title & meta)– Creative writing for meta descriptions + PPC ad
creative if relevant– Link generation (writing of on topic articles)
Dangers of Babelfish
External Linking
• Links count!• Links from country-specific sites help
boost country-specific rankings
Link Bait to Link Build1. Create content
(informative, entertaining, controversial, humorous)
2. Host content on your site3. Promote your content
through social media, distribution or syndication
Success gets relevant traffic + LINKS
Local & Legal Issues
• Be aware of local laws and nuances• Personal Details• Country Politics• Need to be a French company to get a .fr
domain• Data Protection• Consumer Protection & Distance Trading
Regulations
Summary
• SEO is ongoing• Hosting, domains, language, links - they
all give context• Google does not rule the world• Use translators• Link bait to build links• Keep track of everything you do & change
THANK YOU!
http://www.seshet.co.uk
http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=10335408
http://www.seo-chicks.com
http://www.twitter.com/JudithLewis
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