As English search results – particularly those aimed at American audiences – continue to become more and more crowded, many SEO enthusiasts, bloggers and web masters have turned to new audiences in order to gain more exposure. After all, the internet is an open and expansive place where commerce, research and discussion can occur across borders with virtually no intermediary. If you want to reach new audiences from abroad, however, you will need to do a bit of research beforehand in order to properly target and appeal to these individuals. Below, we will outline three tips that you can use to begin this process and ensure that you do not make any crucial mistakes.

Research Audience Preferences

While the internet has certainly broken down many barriers that culture and isolation once maintained, the reality is that most international audiences still have particularly unique opinions, interests and ways of viewing products and services. Unless you are a multi-national conglomerate, you will need to research these demographics and determine what exactly your audience will want to see. Many sources exist that will allow webmasters to obtain socio-economic data and consumer level information on various audiences – this is a vital step of international SEO and will ensure that you are pinging users with relevant products and information.

Acquire Translation Services

In the wake of technology’s rapid expansion, there are dozens of translation services freely available on the internet. While these may be tempting and can assist in isolated circumstances, proper international SEO tactics will fall flat if your content is not properly translated. These free solutions are certainly better than they were in years past, but they do not provide the level of quality that you will need to appeal to select audiences. If you want your new international SEO project to succeed, then you need to enlist the services of a qualified translator (assuming the audience speaks a different language).

Determine Your Goals

It can be difficult to know what to expect from a foreign audience in terms of traffic and sales, but you can come up with some rough calculations based on what you know about the target audience. Particularly true if you already have domestic SEO websites in operation, you can compare country and/or language population sizes to that of your current audiences in order to determine reasonable goals. Before you begin building an international SEO website and start pinging users with information, you must first develop your goals and stick to them. With these aspects outlined, you will be able to chart your progress and ensure that you are performing as intended (or if not, know exactly how much you are off from your targets).

Conclusion

Any international SEO project presents certain issues and complications that you will not face with a domestic audience. Interaction with consumers and readers can be a big deal, as can relevant product and service selection. If you want to build a steady foundation from which you can launch a viable attempt, however, then you will want to research your audience beforehand, know what goals you wish to achieve and have proper translation services on standby.