The advantages of an international SEO campaign

Yes, English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. However, one should never forget that the world has many more languages—and this fact has prompted some companies to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns, which aren’t just for English.

For sites that want to attract readers outside of the United States (US), global SEO campaigns are necessary.

In a recent column in Search Engine Watch, Ron Jones—president and CEO of Symetri Internet Marketing—said that an international approach to SEO is an element that sites should consider. However, Jones outlined that there are different techniques to this compared to traditional SEO campaigns.

One example he gave was the domain extension—Jones says that it has to be applicable to the country a site is applying the campaign on.

Another example is language selection. Clearly, writing articles using the native language of a target country will be beneficial to an international SEO campaign. But, this can prove to be very difficult, he says.

“If you have similar languages (e.g., American English and British English), you might want to consider spelling certain words accordingly, such as ‘soccer’ or ‘football,’” explains Jones. “These little changes can make a lot of difference.”

Another tip Jones gives is to optimize for other search engines, not just Google. Sites should research which search engine is the most used in the target country (it’s not always Google).

Source: Search Engine Watch