advertisement
SEO Internationalization and localization
SEO Localization
Consider a scenario. Mary is at home in Los Angeles. She decides to purchase some bakery items and launches the Google search engine to see where she can find them. She uses the search term 'bakery' and is delighted to find several places nearby that give bakery items. It is to be noted that there will be several bakery shops around the world. The search engine intelligently showed the top results of the local area. These results are shown due to SEO localization.SEO localization is the process of adapting the Website content on a cultural level of the new location. This ensures that the cultural references and social attitudes of the new location are taken care of, and more customers can reach the product or service. When performing SEO localization, it is important to understand:
- How do customers search for a product or a service?
- Search terms used by customers.
- Transactional keywords - keywords that potential customers use to find a product or service, such as purchase, discount, and online shop.
- Informational keywords - keywords that help users learn more about a product, such as how and where.
- Brand keywords - keywords that potential customers use to find specific information about a brand's products or services.
- Product keywords.
- fitness equipment
- run
- run
Parts of Speech
- noun
- verb
- noun
Context
- ...
- ...
- running as a part3. Add suggested topics in the target language to the list of keywords created: Include a native speaker when doing so.Keyword(source)
- fitness equipment
- run (verb)
- run (noun)
Suggestions(Target)
- (suggested keywords in the target language: keyword 1, keyword 2... and so on)
- (suggested keywords in the target language: keyword 1, keyword 2... and so on)
- (suggested keywords in the target language: keyword 1, keyword 2... and so on)Once the suggested topics are ready, use a keyword tool to analyze the search volumeKeyword(Target)
- (keywords in target language)
- (keywords in target language)
- (keywords in target language)
- (keywords in target language)
Volume
- 720
- 3000
- 45
- 2900
Competition
- 1.64
- 1.11
- 1
- 1This exercise can help find more keywords. Next, sort the keywords according to the search volume.4. Find a match between the source terms and target terms: Ask the speaker to find a match between the source terms with the target the most searched-for term should be chosen.Keyword(Source)
- fitness equipment
- run
- run
Parts of speech
- noun
- verb
- noun
Context
- ...
- ...
- Running as a sport
Keyword(Target)
- (keyword in target language)
- (keyword in target language)
- (keyword in target language)Note that it is possible that a few source terms might not match the target language. Keywords in the target language for such source terms can be later identified.5. Use Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools: Translators can use CAT tools to get a real-time translation of the termbase. Some of the popular CAT tools include Memos, SDL Trados Studio, and Wordfast.6. Proofread the translation: Ask the proofreader to proofread the translation. Ensure that all keywords are retained and terminologies remain the same. In addition, the proofreader must ensure that the translation is natural.7. Localize remaining elements: Localize name, address, phone number, and schema markup. In this step, those target keywords can be added wherever appropriate that did not find a match with source keywords.
SEO Internationalization
SEO internationalization is the process of making a Website multilingual. It is implemented when products or services are to be marketed internationally. In such scenarios, the Website is optimized so that search engines identify target countries and languages.For example, the Website of Amazon's online marketplace is available for different countries in their respective languages. This helps customers use their preferred language to discover deals and discounts, read detailed product information, pay for their orders including money transfers, and track their orders. In addition, if native speakers query for something in a search engine using their native language, the search engine identifies the language and shows results that include sites in that language.SEO internationalization includes the following elements:- International-friendly URL Structure: With this, a specific country or region is targeted.
- Language Tags: These are essential to indicate the languages Web pages are targeting.
- Content: It should be ensured that content is developed in the target users' language.It is important to note that targeting a country and language is a business goal, such as maximum sales. Certain businesses might require targeting specific languages instead of countries.Search engines also understand that a site targets a specific country when any of the following conditions exist:
- A site is hosted on a local IP
- Links are built from local resources
- Links point to local content
1. URL Structures
URL structures for international Websites can include the following elements:- Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD): This is a domain extension and is a two-letter code. ccTLD appears after the domain name. Users and search engines use this code to identify a country or a specific region. For example, ca indicates the site for Canada, and .co.uk indicates the site for the United Kingdom. A list of ccTLDs can be viewed here: http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db.Subdomain: Here, content is placed in the subdomain, also called the third-level domain. The targeted country is found at the start of the domain. For example, uk.domainname.com. Subdomains are usually used for content that has a variety or specifically targets a language.Subdirectory: Here, content is placed in a subdirectory, for example, domainname.com/uk. Subdirectories are used when content is for a target language. A disadvantage of using a subdirectory is that the number of pages within the URL increases. However, it is a popular choice when setting up international content.General Top-level Domain (gTLD) with language parameters: Some of the popular gTLDs include net, edu, .com, and .org. Language parameters can be used at the end of a URL after a question mark to target specific language speakers. For example, domainname.com/?lang-en-us can be used to target US English-speaking audience.Different domain name: Here, the internationalized content is placed on a different root domain, for example, domainnameuksite.comIt is recommended to consider all the pros and cons of each URL structure before implementing and maintaining a similar hierarchy for each section of the site. This would make the Website easily crawlable.
2. Language Meta Tags
If an alternate version of content exists, it should be notified to the search engines using the hreflang attribute or language meta tags. Consider the following example that indicates the availability of the Spanish version: link rel="alternate" href="http://domainname.com" hreflang="es"Using language meta tags helps search engines show results to users searching in that language.3. Relevant Information for Target Audience
Consider the following factors when providing information to the target audience:- Local language: Native speakers understand the local language better.Currency: Native currency helps buyers clearly understand how much a costs. They would not have to do the conversion.Time zone: This helps in understanding the use of time by customers. One may understand the best time for a customer to make purchases. This would also help in setting up interaction time with customers.Cultural differences: These impact products, services, and interactions. Every geographical region is defined by its cultural elements such as societal codes and values, local customs, and colors. Considering the cultural elements of the target audience will make the product or service feel natural and local.These considerations would ensure that the information is suitable for the target audience. In addition, this will also serve as a positive experience for visitors and an SEO ranking factor.
4. Other Best Practices
Following are a few more best practices that a user should keep in mind while performing SEO internationalization:- Cookies: Avoid cookies to show different-language versions of the page. Search engines might not be able to crawl such dynamic content.Automatic redirection: Avoid automatically redirecting a user to a different language based on location. This is because the user could be a traveler or could be in that location for a particular reason. It is recommended to suggest an alternative language site.Primary language: Ensure that all content on the site is in the primary language of the targeted region.
Social Media Optimization and its Role in SEO:
Search engines make a note of the performance of the content on social media for page ranking. Performance such as user engagement is a ranking signal. Increased user engagement is taken as a positive ranking signal. User engagement is measured by taking comments, likes, and shares on content into account. Social media is a great tool for free exposure to quality content. In addition, remember that social media profiles are found amongst the top search results for most brands in the market. Social Media Optimization (SMO) refers to the process of using social media networks to grow an organization's message and online presence. SMO increases awareness of new products and services by connecting with customers. It also helps in identifying content that performs well on social platforms. This includes the following:- Identifying content that the audience is looking for.Presenting content on social media platforms, such as the use of hashtags, creating conversations, and so on. A hashtag symbol (#) is added before a relevant keyword or phrase in social media posts. This helps in categorizing posts so that they can easily be displayed in search.Executing content strategy.
1. SMO Tips:
Following are certain tips to optimize presence on social media:- Select the right social media platform: It is not important to share content on all social media platforms. Identify which platforms the target audience uses more. Do they use professional sites, such as LinkedIn, or do they use sites such as Facebook? Based on the maximum usage, optimize your social media efforts.Use hashtags: To help users discover content, use hashtags. Posts with hashtags have more user engagement than posts with no hashtags. On platforms such as Facebook, it is recommended to use no more than two hashtags. Using more hashtags might decrease user engagement. Social media platforms such as Instagram can have less than ten hashtags.Have a YouTube presence: After Google, YouTube is the second-largest search engine. In addition, the Google search engine and YouTube belong to the same company, Google. Therefore, there is an integration between the platforms. Hence, when a user searches on Google, a carousel of video content from YouTube and other platforms is also displayed in the search results.Encourage employees to share: Employees are an organization's valuable assets. Encourage employee advocacy so that brand promotion happens by employees. Have an organized employee advocacy program so that employees promote their organization on social media. Employee advocacy is a marketing tactic where employees are encouraged to share brand values and messages. However, ensure that employees are voluntarily participating so that this becomes an organic promotion. Promotion through employees boosts visibility and captures the attention of new customers. Some of the content that employees can share includes customer testimonials, leadership posts of their managers, and Webinars.Incorporate visual content: Research shows that social media content that has visual content gets more likes, and clicks, and is shared more. The content also gets attention from the user while scrolling through the social feed.
2. Key Steps to SMO
For an optimized social media presence, the user must follow five key steps:- Analyze audience
- Implement competitive analysis
- Define strategy
- Execute strategy
- Analyze results1. Analyze audience: Analyze the audience to identify social media platforms they mostly use.
- Perform competitive analysis: This is to know:
- Amount of social media engagement
- Content that is getting the highest engagement
- Define a strategy: Based on the analysis, define a strategy to reach goals.
- Execute strategy: Gather the team to execute the strategy. The team should include members including SEO specialists and content marketers. This is because social media optimization is closely associated with search engine optimization. The teams should work together to achieve the same goal.
- Analyze results: Once the strategy is executed, analyze the results. Revise the strategy as per the results.Following are certain SMO tools that can help achieve SMO goals:1. Audience research tools such as Serpstat and Alexa2. Marketing automation tools such as HubSpot and Marketo3. Social media scheduling services such as MeetEdgar and Sprout Social Image creation tools such as CanvaSEO SEO Internationalization SEO localization SEO Internationalization and localization Localization strategies for SEO How to optimize your website for global audiences Global SEO techniques Social media optimization for SEO International content marketi
advertisement
Conversation
Your input fuels progress! Share your tips or experiences on prioritizing mental wellness at work. Let's inspire change together!
Join the discussion and share your insights now!
Comments 0