Your website makes it possible to scale into new international markets by simply translating and localizing its content. There are few other business resources that maintain this type of power. However, creating an effective SEO program for your website can be more challenging than simply switching the language of the content. Here are some tips to consider on how to build a scalable SEO program and avoid common pitfalls.
Set Clear Goals
Before you translate a single page or attempt to enter any new international market online, you need to have a clear set of goals.
Start by asking yourself the following questions to clarify your goals:
- What are you attempting to accomplish by ranking your business’s website in the search engines of this country?
- Are you an online retailer capable of cost-effectively shipping products to this market?
- Do you want to find new customers for a service-based business?
- Do you want to dominate the market over the companies that currently compete there?
The type of goals you have will have a significant impact on your SEO program. For example, if you want to dominate an existing market full of competitors, you will need to know what keywords the competitor sites rank for and be able to create content that pushes their posts further down in search engine rankings. If you want to find customers to ship products to, you might need to partner with the local supply chain and there could be SEO opportunities through those channels.
Write Translatable Content
If you plan to scale into global markets, you should consider writing all SEO content from the perspective that it might need to be translated. Country or language-specific slang won’t make sense in other countries. Before you have to weed this type of content out, it could be more effective to first create content with this in mind.
Optimize Your Site
Each country has its own standards for optimization, technology, privacy, and website structure. It is essential that you optimize your site to meet these standards. Otherwise, your website will not be able to perform as well in search engines relevant to each country.
Develop Local Content
Different topics matter to audiences in other countries. What matters to a buyer in the United States may or may not be relevant to customers in China or the United Kingdom. This means that even for other English-speaking countries, you should consider developing local content catered to what that particular market wants and expects.
Use More Than Organic Growth Tools
Getting top rankings in search engines takes time and lots of high quality, SEO-friendly content. When scaling into the global market, you may not have the time to spare. This is where investing in non-organic growth tools can be a smart idea. Paying for paid social and PPC ads can help to speed up the process.
KitelyTech has helped companies create SEO campaigns that scale into new markets. It is possible to succeed in building a scalable SEO program that’s reliable and effective.
