This document summarizes strategies for optimizing websites to target specific countries through search engines. It discusses using country-specific top-level domains, hosting in specific countries, using the correct language, obtaining inbound links from within the target country, geo-targeting websites in Google Webmaster Tools, and avoiding duplicate content filters. The document also provides tips on how to find good hosting providers in China and how to properly target Google AdWords campaigns to different countries.

1. Myth-Busting:
Global Geo-targeting Google
Presented by:
ANNE KENNEDY
International Search Strategist
Managing Partner, Beyond Ink
Global Partners - Nordic eMarketing

2. Anne Kennedy
• Search Marketing consultant for 15
years for hundreds of companies
• Founded Beyond Ink, Helium,
Joblr.net and SEONews.net
• Specialized in architecture then --
Launched Zillow.com with 67 million
pages -- now International --search
Marketing in 20+ languages around
the world
• Advisory board SES and SEMPDX;
speaker worldwide for 10 years,
SES, SMX, PubCon, International
Search Summit, International Writer:
Classified Media, Association WebMarketingToday.com,
SearchCowboys, Whitepapers
and new book “Global Search
Engine Marketing - fine-tuning
Your Search Engine Results”

3. Search Engine Location
Top Level Domain
Factors
www.yourcompany.au
or www.yourcompany/au
or au.yourcompany.com
+ Hosting
+ Language
+ Location information and/or Google Places
+ In-Country Links from sites with in country ccTLD’s
+ WebMaster Tools Geo-location Mapping
Global Search Media 2011

4. Bot Looks for ccTLD
• Country-coded Top Level Domain
• Or directory extensions on your.com domain
– credits link value of your.com
– accepts same set of country-code
extensions, e.g. your.de, your.com.au,
your.in
– verified in WMT under your core domain
• Or subdomain, e.g. in.your.com
– requires separate verification in WMT

5. Generic or International
TLD
• E.g. your.com or your.net
• Google Support Forum says
• Google needs other signals!

6. IP Location
• Carries weight for generic domain
– a .com hosted in Japan is a Japanese site
• Low level signal can be overridden
– Webmaster Tools, hreflanguage tags
• Local Hosting
– may add speed of delivery of pages
– quick response may increase visibility
• Exception: Great Firewall of China

7. How to Find a Good Host in
PRC
• Find a domain that is ranking well
• Find servers on whois
• suss out host
– Thanks Bill!

8. Language
• Signals your target country
– but many languages shared by countries
• English content on non-English domain
• Use the hreflanguage tag:
– for multiple language versions of a website, each
language must use rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x”.
– A page in German needs to have a rel=”alternate”
hreflang=”x” link to the English and Spanish
version and the English and Spanish version must
include a link pointing to the German site.

9. Using the hreflanguage tag
• http://www.yours.com/ – contains the general homepage of a
website, in Spanish http://es-es.yours.com/ – is the version for
users in Spain, in Spanish http://es-uk.yours.com/ – is the
version for users in United Kingdom, in Spanish
http://en.yours.com/ - is the generic English language version
• Use the following markup to specify language and region: <link
rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”http://www.yours.com/” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es-ES” href=”http://es-
es.yours.com/” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es-UK” href=”http://es-
uk.yours.com/” />
• <link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”http://en.yours.com/” />

10. Inbound links
• Powerful authority in any country
– From local domains
– With anchor text in relevant keywords
– To local content on your site
– With local keywords in the content

11. How to Find In-Country
Links
• Open Directory Project dmoz.org
– 1.9 million listings in 46 languages, from
Afrikaans to Ukrainian
• www.dmoz.org/World
• Wildcard search
– E.g. for lists of directories in Argentina use
• www.web directory site:*.com.ar -Google
• Google Translate helps you find your way around
results in a foreign language

12. GWT Geo location
• Reads mapping in your Google Webmaster
Tools account
• Sets Results to that Country ONLY
– do not use if you want to target multiple
countries with a single language (not
recommended)

13. How to Map in GWT
• Geo-targetable domains listed at Google Webmaster
Tools forum answer here.

14. Avoid Duplicate Content
Filters
• WMT geo-location
• In-country links
• Unique page titles and directory URLs
in the language you are targeting
• Rewrite your session ID’s!

15. What Not to Do
• Fallback English Content + foreign domain
• Make up extensions -- your.com/lasp
• Link to your own sites only:
– your.in + your.de + your.co.uk all >your.com
• Rely on mostly on US links

16. How to Target Adwords
1. Set up a separate campaign for each
country
2. Use location targeting and Language
targeting to reach expats
- e.g. Brits living in Spain

17. AdWords Clarity Tips
• 1. Set up a separate campaign for each country
• 2. Use location targeting and Language targeting
to reach expats
– e.g. Brits living in Spain
• Create keyword list & ad text in same language
• Allow for time zones
• Adwords Resource
– Google Support Forum and click on AdWords

18. A discount for you . ..
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19. Thanks!
Anne Kennedy
International Search Strategist
MANAGING PARTNER | Beyond Ink
Global Search Partner: Nordic eMarketing
Beyond Ink
Portland Maine & Portland Oregon, USA
Reykjavik , London, Rome, Beijing
anne@beyondink.com| Tel: +1 207 671 6131
@ GlobalSEMPro