Lately, we’ve all seen small brands and companies spread beyond their regional limitations to cater to an audience lying halfway across the world. As a digital marketing firm that has its foot in almost every part of the world now, we’ve overcome a lot of things over the years when it comes to international search optimisation.
If you’re catering to more than one country, chances are that you would be catering to a multi-lingual audience. And while English certainly is a language used worldwide, the possibility of losing out on a potential consumer base is high when you don’t plan a multilingual strategy.
Here’s what you need to keep in mind when catering to an international audience:
Study your audience
When you’re catering to novel countries, it is vital to remember they are not the typical local audience you are used to targeting. Cultural and social factors are crucial influencers of consumer behaviour, making the audience of every other country a new entity. It helps to find out what they like, what works for them in terms of marketing campaigns, and what languages do they lean more toward? If there is a language they consider primary in their country, that’s your go-to. To reach out to a large audience in a different country, you need to be part of their culture.
Set up new URLs for every translated language
You do not want to be labeled a plagiariser. Even if you plan to use your own content and replicate it in various languages, using the same URL may land you in trouble. A great way to give your audience what they want in the first go is setting up separate URLs that give them an inkling of what language the content is available in. Yes, we mean translating your URL to the needed language too.
Don’t just rely on hreflang tags or similar tools
People providing SEO services internationally are well aware of the hreflang tags that help specify the geographic location and language for targeting. Given that hreflang implementation can be rather complex, there is no harm in looking for other options that offer similar results. And while this is a necessary part of your strategy, do not solely rely on it. Doing what you always do for your English audience and relying on hreflang can tank your strategy and your results notably without the right research and contribution on your part about studying your new audience carefully.
Stay aware of changing regulations and adapt to newer cultures
What may be legal in your country may not always be legal in the countries you plan to target. It helps to be familiar with the different guidelines around marketing in different countries. Further, just marketing in the local language would not be enough. You would need to ensure that your content is something they can culturally relate to, for it to have the desired impact.
A lot of the practices for international SEO require learning about the different regions rather than just honing technical knowledge. With the kind of evolution we see daily among international brands, it wouldn’t be tough to pick up on those cues and learn from existing data to revolutionise the way we carry out international optimisations.
