As search engines continue to become more sophisticated, there are plenty of tactics you can use to gain exposure for your brand or business. Unfortunately, this is a by-product of the increased demand by users of the internet and entities who wish to reach new and larger audiences, making most search niches very competitive. It is not nearly as easy to gain traction in select search results as it was five to ten years ago, as many search engines now use algorithms to prevent blatant trickery from boosting web pages to the top of results. One area that has become increasingly popular for many businesses and brands is international search niches, many of which are not nearly as saturated as many English-speaking niches. In the following article, we will discuss how you can begin utilizing an international SEO strategy to improve your performance and dominate in select search results.

Multiple Pages of Content Are Needed

Many multinational businesses have mastered the art of international SEO simply by ensuring that their websites have plenty of content available in various languages. Some businesses have tried to reach out to new audiences by offering an instant translation service or through the use of one page that details the brand or company’s offerings, but the reality is that international SEO must be handled in many of the same ways as traditional SEO. Multiple pages of content – whether that be product descriptions, blog entries or other pieces of information – must be featured before search engines will view your site favorably and index it in international niches. When you are pinging your website to search engines, please remember that one or two pages of content in a foreign language or tuned toward an international market simply will not suffice.

Use Unique Content

It is vital that your international content be unique and distinct from the content featured on your other pages. Many websites make the mistake of duplicating content from one country’s web portal to another, believing that they will not be penalized because they are the same domain or business. It is also a bad idea to use a simple translation service to convert content from one language to another, as many search engines will detect this (Google Translate, for instance, is obviously a perfect example of how this can backfire due to its integration with other Google services).

Understand Content Tags

Especially important with international SEO strategies, content tags can help search engines determine where and how to classify your web pages. One important tag is the content language tag, which is the single most useful tag when it comes to having your pages indexed in foreign search results. For some audiences (Australia, for instance), the content language tag is not nearly as effective, but should still be included on every page as part of proper SEO form. Once search engines are pinging your website in foreign search results, you will be grateful for this tip and how it can be the best way to have your site indexed properly.