International SEO Done Right for Global Reach and Rankings

If your goal is to attract people from different countries to your website, then you can't just add Google Translate to your site and call it a day. Instead, you need to incorporate an SEO strategy. International SEO requires structure, strategy, and making sure your content actually shows up where and how people need it.

Let’s start with the basics on how to structure your site for multiple countries. You’ve got three main options:

First up, you’ve got country-specific domains – like yoursite.fr or yoursite.ca. These are great for strong local signals, but they also mean managing separate websites and building domain authority from scratch for each one. The problem is that this process takes a lot of time.

Then there’s Subdirectories – like yoursite.com/uk/ or yoursite.com/de/. Everything lives under one domain, so your SEO strength is consolidated. It’s easier to manage and perfect if you’re not a huge global brand (yet).

And finally, there’s Subdomains – like uk.yoursite.com or ca.yoursite.com. They sit somewhere in the middle, not quite separate sites, but still distinct enough to be treated differently by Google. They work… but they’re a bit more faff to set up properly!

Whichever route you choose, what matters is consistency and clarity - for both users and Google.

Implementing Hreflang Tags

Next you need to think about your Hreflang Tags.

These are like little signposts that tell Google what page is intended for whom. You can even signal that a page is targeted to French speakers based in Canada instead of France! Or that another version is for German users based in Germany.

They stop Google from getting confused and showing the wrong version of your site to the wrong people.

But hreflang tags are sensitive. You need to add them to every single version of your page - and make sure each one links back to all the others, including itself. Get this wrong, and it can tank your international visibility without you even noticing.

Language vs Location Targeting

Here’s where a lot of businesses trip up: just because someone speaks Spanish doesn’t mean they all want the same content.

A Spanish speaker in Madrid isn’t the same as someone in Buenos Aires or Mexico City. Different words, different cultures, different expectations.

Same goes for English speakers in the UK vs the US vs Australia. It’s not just spelling differences - it’s tone, pricing, regulations, and even what products or services make sense in that market.

So always bear in mind the locality, not just linguistics.

Content Localisation Strategy

If you want to rank well and actually convert customers, you’ve got to go deeper than word-for-word translation.

Prices should be in the right currency. Content should reflect the way people talk in that country. Examples, images, even legal disclaimers — they all need to feel local, not just translated.

And keep in mind that Google’s not the king of search everywhere! In China, people use Baidu. In Russia, it’s Yandex. South Korea? Naver. So do your homework.