SEO-for global sites

SIMON PEARCEDIGITAL STRATEGYGlobal seo

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Countries and their search engines

How do search engines determine a user’s location?

How do we localize content?

Global search best practices

Agenda

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Who uses what?

US - Google (70%), Bing

Europe - Google (Seznam in Czech Republic)

China - Baidu (75%)

Japan - Yahoo (but it is powered by Google)

Latin/South America & India - Google

Russia - Yandex (65%)

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Search Engine: Users searching on google.se will most likely see Swedish results.

Search Term: Users searching [free samples UK] will most likely be shown UK results. Google also uses past queries to inform future search intent. Most major search engines can automatically recognize the language of the query as well, and serve up results in the same language.

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IP Address: Every computer has an IP address that Google can often access to identify a physical location.

Browser/Account Settings: If a user specifies their location or identifies their preferred language results, Google will comply.

Mobile Users: Users performing a mobile search are located using GPS, the nearest wi-fi router and/or mobile tower location databases.

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Because keywords can’t be directly translated word for word, resources familiarly with the language, linguistics and culture of the local regions must be utilized.

Advantages of using local resources as opposed to attempting to translate centrally:

- New colloquialisms and keyword trends can change from language to language

- Local resources are more likely to be aware of niche research tools specific to that country

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Advantages of using local resources as opposed to attempting to translate centrally (continued):

- Search intent changes based on local cultural nuances (e.g. varying priorities - trust, privacy, etc.)

- Multiple languages and dialects within countries and regions make central translation impractical

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Create a scorecard to rank keywords and their translated versions based on several metrics. Assigning scores for current traffic, competition, revenue potential, etc., can provide a more clear path for which keywords to prioritize.

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Use publicly available tools to gather insights into local search volume and relative category search volume. See below examples from two Google tools (Google Keyword Tool & Google Insights for Search).

Google Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.co.uk/o/Targeting/ExplorerGoogle Insights for Search - http://www.google.com/insights/search/

Location specific tools e.g.https://www.keyword-datenbank.de/ http://www.miva.com/uk/

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The center of excellence creates the master keyword strategy that includes prioritized tiers, topics and themes

This strategy is distributed to regional translators who are experts at local culture and language

Combining the the master keyword strategy with global and local keyword tools, the regional experts are able to complete the keyword scorecard

Based on the scorecard, the regional expert is able to create a list of prioritized keywords that match the original topics and themes.

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To ensure that the overall strategy, target audience and goals are similar across all countries, the localized keyword strategy should be cross-translated for an accurate comparison to the original master keyword strategy.

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The best situation:

- Country specific ccTLD- Physically hosted in a single country

Pros:- Automatic geo targeting (Google)- Logical and easy separation of sites- Affinity to purchase / do business- Directory submission / hub inclusion easierCons:- Domain possibly unavailable- Legal / domain registration requirements- Multiple SSL certification required

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The good situation:

- Country specific ccTLD- Physically hosted in primary country

Pros:- Automatic geo targeting (Google)- Logical and easy separation of sites- Affinity to purchase / do business- Directory submission / hub inclusion easierCons:- Domain possibly unavailable- Legal / domain registration requirements- Multiple SSL certification required

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The OK situation:

- Foreign language content in subdomain on a generic TLD

Pros:- Easy setup-Low Maintenance- Webmaster Tool manual geo targeting- Allows separate server location per sudomain- Wildcard SSL certification possibleCons:- Acceptance issues on purchasing on foreign TLDs- Local directory / hub inclusion prohibitive

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The bad situation:

- Foreign language content in subdirectory on a generic TLD

Pros:- Easy setup- Low Maintenance- Webmaster Tool manual geo targetingCons:- Acceptance issues on purchasing on foreign TLDs- Potential decrease in SERPS click through rate- Local directory / hub inclusion prohibitive

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In order of preference (a site targeting Belgium):

Recipes.se - hosted on a server in Sweden

Recipes.se - hosted on a central server elsewhere

se.Recipes.com

Recipes.com/se

SEO-for global sites

Technology

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