Keyword research in SEO is often seen as the first and only step to improving a website's position on search engines. But search engine optimization is far more than that.
This article explores how to create quality content for a global SEO strategy. With ranking higher in search engine results and giving the best user experience on the web, as results.
SEO is more than keyword research alone
Keywords are
"the search queries users make on search engines to find an answer to a specific need."
These search intents can be
short tail (one keyword term)
middle tail (2-3 keyword terms)
long tail (3+ keyword terms, full sentence).
Search queries can be divided into navigation, information, and transaction based on the search intent of the users. A search query is why a user searches a specific word or sentence on search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
People often think SEO is limited to keyword research, but Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is far more than keyword research alone.
It is the way search engines work to find the most qualified content. This is not only based on keywords but also meta description, link building, organic traffic, social media, internal links and around two hundred ranking factors.
What is a global SEO strategy?
Search engine optimization marketing is based on the home country of a business. Global SEO maximizes web and mobile traffic outside the primary target country.
A global SEO strategy is
“The process of growing the organic website visibility in global markets. To reach users in specific countries, increasing your business reach and brand awareness.”
Before you start to invest in global SEO, ask yourself a few questions:
What are people searching for?
Which web browser language is used for the search intent?
What is the location of your target audience?
Do your competitors use global SEO strategies?
Why is global SEO important?
Global SEO allows businesses to get global interest in their products and services to increase their brand awareness and improve their sales worldwide.
Why your business needs global SEO?
There are a few more important benefits of a global SEO strategy for businesses.
It complements the broader strategic business plan
The company's overall strategic plan will provide the foundation for global SEO. It defines the direction an organization needs to bring its resources and processes to and should create realistic goals that are in line with the company's mission.
Teams become more proactive
With a specific global SEO strategy plan, your leadership team can make better decisions, plan, and identify specific tactics to help them achieve the business objectives. Especially with more knowledge of the target market, product requirements and sales goals. This makes teams across the organization more proactive.
It increases Operational efficiency
Aligning the global SEO strategy with the existing strategic business plan will make it easier for a business organization to align specific business activities and corresponding budgets in a roadmap. This will save time, increase accurate decisions, and improve workflow. Consequently, it will increase operational efficiency.
It leads to improved goals alignment and KPI
Lastly, integrating the global SEO strategy with business KPI will also improve business results.
How to create an exceptional international SEO strategy?
These steps will help you create an exceptional global SEO strategy for your business:
1. Research your global SEO strategy
Creating a global SEO strategy starts with analysis. Research in which countries your products or services will have the most potential and why within a given marketing budget.
Search for key targets and strategic keywords
Improve the existing website structure.
Investigate search volumes on Google Analytics.
Find out what is the user intent via manual Google searches on SERP pages
Consider cultural differences (different words and phrasing)
Highlight barriers to global sales and find solutions to overcome them.
2. Choose your URL structure
The way you select your URL structure influences how search engines value your content. A separate domain is the strongest signal that content is targeted at a specific country. There are more options:
Domain with ccTLD (country Top-level Domain) www.company.co.uk
Subdirectory on an existing domain: www. Company. com/uk
Content targeted for a certain language, using a gTLD with language: www.company.com/?lang=uk-uk
What you decide depends on your strategic planning and the amount of focus you want to place on a specific country.
3. Language targets your website
Although there are over 7.000 languages spoken worldwide, not all of them are equally represented on the internet. Search engines like Google prefer to show search results in native languages and evaluate any website by this standard.
Use language tags to guide search engines “hreflang tag,” tells an alternative web page is available in a specific language.
People speak several languages and do not always want to search in their mother language.
Including a button on your website, web visitors can click on it to allow them to choose.
4. Create content that matched the search intent
It is important to match your content with the search intent a website user has. If you create content that matches what users are looking for when they search for your target keywords, your website will be more likely ranked successfully.
This goes further than creating content in the correct language. People want to see information that is relevant to them and search in diverse ways. Translating a keyword into a foreign language is not enough. You can use SEO tools to enter a keyword and set the country location you are interested in.
All types of content need to fit with your target audience. This includes your keyword research, the main topics for content creation and the data statistics you use.
5. Prioritize your target countries
Each country needs an individual global SEO strategy, including specific marketing strategies, channels, content, and creatives. It is a lot of work and means you must prioritize specific target countries.
Find out which countries offer the most value for your business in Google Analytics.
What countries people visiting your site are from?
What languages do visitors speak?
Which keywords in your industry are most often used?
Are these keywords worth targeting in different countries?
Do you have the resources to create a global SEO strategy? (Developers, translators, copywriters, and editors with knowledge of a specific country?)
In SEO it is better to rank number one for a few keywords instead of ranking a lower number for many keywords. This also counts for a global SEO strategy.
6. Create content in the local language of the user
People prefer content that is optimized for them specifically. Do not have content in one language and the rest of the website in another. Serve the user in their language.
7. Create country-specific content plans
Make country-specific content plans based on specific keyword research. Do not duplicate and translate the content you create in one country to another country. Content needs to be relevant to people and therefore adapted to different countries, cultures, and languages.
8. Match your backlinking strategy to a specific target country
Global SEO needs a global backlinking plan. As a content marketer, you need to reach out to local publishers and aim to get backlinks from authoritative websites in specific target countries.
Focus on key countries to increase online sales, drive website visibility, and increase brand awareness in the target markets. Each country, location, culture, language, and unique buying habit must be considered.
Let native language marketing experts conduct keyword research in each country and create content that matches the user intent in each target market.
Create a strong backlink strategy that earns high authority with local backlinks that increase search ranking in each specific target market.
9. Be patient
To create an exceptional global SEO strategy for your b2b business, you need to be patient, as results are long-term. It will take four to six months to see the results of your global SEO strategy.
The more your business creates specific content according to a global SEO strategy, the more your global SEO strategy results will continue to grow.
10. Always test your assumptions with data
A global SEO strategy can be the right solution for your business. If your business meets the following requirements.
First, a sufficient size of target audience in a specific country. Second, the potential for a larger audience. Third, the ability to make sales in a specific country. Last, be sure to focus on specific target audiences with country-specific content strategies.
Before you start implementing a global SEO strategy for your business, you need to do sufficient market research. If data from market research shows you that your products, services, and content will do well with a specific global audience then go ahead.
Need help creating your global SEO strategy? Contact us.
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