How to Succeed at Real International SEO Scenarios - #SearchLove London

How to succeed at real (not ideal) International SEO scenarios

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

From Unknown Foreigner to Local Star

Raise your handif you have International SEO experience

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Raise your handif you have SUCCESSFUL International SEO experience

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Going Internationalis ATTRACTIVE

NOM NOM NOM!

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

CCTLDS OR SUB-DIRECTORIES?LANGUAGES OR COUNTRIES?

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Going Internationalcan be COMPLEX

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Going Internationalrequires a LOCALIZED approach

DO I LOOK LIKE A NATIVE NOW?

Here’s what I’ve learnedafter +5 years of International SEO successes & failures

MY NAME IS ALEYDA SOLIS, INTERNATIONAL SEARCH MARKETER,

HEAD OF DIGITAL STRATEGY AT WOORANK

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Challenge No. 1: Your International Strategy

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

WHY DID YOU BUILT THEM THEN?

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

“We don’t have enough resources to update all of our International sites”

DON’T TRY TO TARGET MORE THAN YOU CAN SUPPORT: PRIORITIZE THE MOST BENEFICIAL INTERNATIONAL MARKETS & CONTENT

WITHIN THOSE MARKETS TO START WITH THEM

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

USE YOUR WEB ANALYTICS TO IDENTIFY YOUR SITE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC BEHAVIOUR: VISITS & CONVERSIONS VOLUME, TREND, RATE & TYPE PER

COUNTRY & LANGUAGE.

CHECK WITH YOUR WEBMASTER TOOLS WHICH QUERIES & PAGES BRING YOU INTERNATIONAL SEARCH VISIBILITY PER COUNTRY, THEIR IMPRESSIONS,

CLICKS, CTR & POSITION OVER TIME.

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

IDENTIFY THE SEARCH VOLUME AND TREND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE RELEVANT TERMS IN THE MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRY MARKETS USING

KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

IDENTIFY THE SEARCH VOLUME AND TREND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE RELEVANT TERMS IN THE MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRY MARKETS USING

KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Suggestion Keyword Finder

USE THESE KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS

DON’T RELY ON GOOGLE GLOBAL MARKET FINDER TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITY, IT’S NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

WARNING: THEY LOOK SIMILAR BUT ARE NOT THE SAME

NATIVE SUPPORT IS A MUST DURING ALL THE INTERNATIONAL SEO PROCESS, EVEN AT THE START AND WHEN IT’S IN YOUR OWN

LANGUAGE BUT TARGETING TO OTHER COUNTRIES

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

“Search Engine Optimization” “Search Engine Optimisation”

“User behavior” “User behaviour”

“I’m going to check my diary”“I’m going to check my agenda”

British EnglishAmerican English

VALIDATE WHAT’S REQUIRED FROM A BUSINESS, TECHNICAL, CONTENT & LANGUAGE SUPPORT PERSPECTIVE TO OPERATE

IN THE IDENTIFIED TOP MARKETS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY &

SUPPORT FOR MULTI COUNTRY / LANGUAGE

SETTING

MULTILINGUAL CONTENT

DEVELOPMENT & UPDATE

ONGOING NATIVE SUPPORT BUDGET &

AVAILABILITY

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT / SERVICE

DELIVERY

INTERNATIONAL PRICING & CURRENCY

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL & OPERATION

CONSTRAINTS

WITH THE PREVIOUS DATA YOU CAN VALIDATE THE FEASIBILITY & CALCULATE THE BREAK-EVEN POINT & EXPECTED ROI FOR EACH

MARKET, USING THE INTERNATIONAL SEO ROI CALCULATOR

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

WITH THE PREVIOUS DATA YOU CAN VALIDATE THE FEASIBILITY & CALCULATE THE BREAK-EVEN POINT & EXPECTED ROI FOR EACH

MARKET, USING THE INTERNATIONAL SEO ROI CALCULATOR

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://www.internationalseomap.com/roi-calculator/

REMEMBER THAT YOUR GOAL IS TO BE PROFITABLE: VALIDATE IF YOUR INTERNATIONAL SEO PROJECT IS VIABLE AT THE MOMENT FOR THE

MOST IMPORTANT IDENTIFIED MARKETS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

>Your International SEO potential Visits & Conversions for a break-even

Yes No

Continue with the internationaL SEO project Might be too early1. Buy & secure your ccTLDs for future activity2. Create custom alerts in Google Analytics for important countries

Challenge No. 2 - Your International Targeting

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

“I want a Latin America Version for my site”

YES, BECAUSE ALL LATIN AMERICA IS THE EXACT SAME RIGHT?

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

IDENTIFY THE BEST INTERNATIONAL TARGETING FOR YOUR SITES, ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN REQUIREMENTS & RESTRICTIONS.

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Is location a factor that influence your Web operations?

Yes No

Are there enough traffic & conversions to target each country?

Language Targeting

Yes No

Country Targeting

You can start with

A CRAWLABLE & CONSISTENT INTERNATIONAL WEB STRUCTURE IS FUNDAMENTAL ALTHOUGH NOT ENOUGH TO AVOID

INTERNATIONAL SEARCH ALIGNMENT ISSUES

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

BETTER TO GEOTARGET

BETTER TO INHERIT POPULARITY FROM EXISTENT SITE

BETTER FOR SITES WITH MORE CONTENT

BETTER TO INHERIT POPULARITY

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

INTERNATIONAL SEARCH ALIGNMENT ISSUES MIGHT HAPPEN WITH SITES IN THE SAME LANGUAGE TARGETING DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

AND EVEN WITH SITES VERSIONS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

AVOID MISALIGNMENTS BY INCLUDING HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS SPECIFYING YOUR PAGES LANGUAGE & COUNTRY TARGETING

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

TAKE A LOOK AT THE HREFLANG CASE STUDY THAT @SAURAVRIMAL PUBLISHED AT THE SEER INTERACTIVE BLOG

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

TAKE A LOOK AT THE HREFLANG CASE STUDY THAT @SAURAVRIMAL PUBLISHED AT THE SEER INTERACTIVE BLOG

http://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/case-study-the-impact-of-hreflang-tag

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

MAKE SURE TO USE THE RIGHT LANGUAGE & COUNTRY SPECIFICATION IN YOUR HREFLANG TAGS

USE THE HREFLANG TAG GENERATOR TOOL TO CREATE YOUR HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

SOON WITH SUPPORT TO MASSIVELY GENERATE HREFLANG TAGS

USE THE HREFLANG TAG GENERATOR TOOL TO CREATE YOUR HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://www.internationalseomap.com/hreflang-tags-generator/

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

YOU CAN ALSO USE THE MEDIAFLOW HREFLANG SITEMAP TOOL TO GENERATE AN XML SITEMAP INCLUDING THE HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://www.themediaflow.com/resources/tools/href-lang-tool/

YOU CAN ALSO USE THE MEDIAFLOW HREFLANG SITEMAP TOOL TO GENERATE AN XML SITEMAP INCLUDING THE HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

VALIDATE THE IMPLEMENTED HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS WITH DEJANSEO HREFLANG VALIDATOR

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

VALIDATE THE IMPLEMENTED HREFLANG ANNOTATIONS WITH DEJANSEO HREFLANG VALIDATOR

http://flang.dejanseo.com.au/

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

THERE ARE ALSO NEW WARNING MESSAGES FOR INCORRECT HREFLANG IMPLEMENTATIONS IN GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS, AS THE

ONE RECEIVED BY GIANLUCA FIORELLI (HT @GFIORELLI1)

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

IF YOU’RE COUNTRY TARGETING AND NOT USING A CCTLD: GEOTARGET EACH SUB-DIRECTORY OR SUB-DOMAIN

WITH WEBMASTER TOOLS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

AVOID AUTOMATIC REDIRECTS THAT TAKE USERS WHERE THEY HAVEN’T ASKED TO GO. SUGGEST, BUT NOT USING INTERSTITIALS. THEY’RE INTRUSIVE

AND MIGHT MESS WITH YOUR SITE CRAWLABILITY.

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

TAKE A LOOK AT HOW AMAZON DOES IT

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

AND BE CAREFUL TO NOT MIX LANGUAGE WITH COUNTRY TARGETING, YOU NEED TO BE CONSISTENT IN YOUR SITE CONTENT & FEATURES

showing a spaniard specific character in A “generic” spanish language version MIGHT NOT BE ATTRACTIVE FOR THE LATAM AUDIENCE

Challenge No. 3 - Your International Popularity

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

“We’re so popular here already, we just need to

extrapolate what we have”

YES, I BET PEOPLE THERE LIKE THE EXACT SAME STUFF THAN US RIGHT?

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

THEY’LL NEED TO REBRAND IF THEY LOOK TO TARGET AND CONNECT WITH SPANISH SPEAKING AUDIENCE IN THE FUTURE (HT @ANILOPEZ)

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

USE THE CONSUMER BAROMETER & TNS DIGITAL LIFE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE BEHAVIOUR

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://www.consumerbarometer.com/

USE THE CONSUMER BAROMETER & TNS DIGITAL LIFE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE BEHAVIOUR

USE SIMILARWEB TO IDENTIFY THE TOP WEBSITES IN THE DESIRED INDUSTRY AND COUNTRY

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://www.similarweb.com/global

USE SIMILARWEB TO IDENTIFY THE TOP WEBSITES IN THE DESIRED INDUSTRY AND COUNTRY

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

USE BUZZSUMO, SOCIAL CRAWLYTICS & LINK EXPLORERS (OSE, MAJESTICSEO & AHREFS) TO IDENTIFY THE MOST LINKED & SHARED

CONTENT IN EACH INTERNATIONAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

USE BUZZSUMO, SOCIAL CRAWLYTICS & LINK EXPLORERS (OSE, MAJESTICSEO & AHREFS) TO IDENTIFY THE MOST LINKED & SHARED

CONTENT IN EACH INTERNATIONAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

USE FOLLOWERWONK, TOPSY & BUZZSUMO TO IDENTIFY LOCAL INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS AND BUILD

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

USE FOLLOWERWONK, TOPSY & BUZZSUMO TO IDENTIFY LOCAL INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS AND BUILD

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

NATIVE SUPPORT IS A MUST TO CONNECT WITH YOUR LOCAL AUDIENCE & BECOME AN AUTHORITY, BEING A FOREIGN BRAND. JUST REMEMBER TO

RESPECT LOCAL TRADITIONS TOO.

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING MARKETS ARE USUALLY LESS COMPETITIVES, BUT LINK SPAM IS MORE COMMON. BE

CAREFUL WITH HURTING YOUR OTHER SITE VERSIONS!

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

Just two more resources to help you...

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

AN INTERNATIONAL SEO CHECKLIST

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://moz.com/blog/the-international-seo-checklist

AN INTERNATIONAL SEO CHECKLIST

AND A LIST WITH +40 INTERNATIONAL SEO TOOLS

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

http://moz.com/blog/40-plus-tools-to-advance-your-international-seo-process

AND A LIST WITH +40 INTERNATIONAL SEO TOOLS

LET’S GO ABROAD Now you’re ready to face these International SEO challenges

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

THANK YOU Do you have any questions?

international seo at #searchlove by @aleyda from @woorank

FIND HERE THE AWESOME TUBE MAP UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniemole/313981428/