Top Myths of International SEO by Kaitlin McMichael
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-This webinar covers 15 common myths and misconceptions about international SEO -We'll discuss why international SEO is so confusing, and cover how its changed over the last few years -Myths fall into 3 categories: URL Structure, Page Tags, and Localization -By the end of this Mozinar, you’ll have a much clearer understanding of how international SEO works, and how to apply the proper strategies and tactics to your website
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Top Myths of International SEO by Kaitlin McMichael
- 1. By Kaitlin McMichael Join us on Twitter at #Mozinar Questions or problems? Email community@moz.com MYTHS
- 2. • 6+ years of SEO & digital marketing experience • Specialize in International SEO at Getty Images • Experience in-house & agency, consulted on dozens of international sites • Also have an SEO consultancy side business Kaitlin McMichael @kakefin
- 4. • Not everyone reads Google Webmaster Guidelines • Guidelines vary among search engines • Guidelines change over time • It’s difficult to implement best practices in the wild Why is International SEO so confusing?
- 6. 2006 Google ramps up international webmaster efforts, focuses on Eastern Europe 2007 Support of international domain names Support of geo-targeting in WMT If no geo- targeting, they rely on ccTLDs and IP of server Geo- targeting of gTLDs adds country tags to SERPs 2008 Google Ajax Language API and Transliteration APIs announced 2009 Google Translate widget for web pages announced Bing relies on ccTLDs, reverse IP lookup, language of body content, server location, locale of backlinks History of International SEO
- 7. 2010 NAP info, local currencies, links from local sites, and Google Local Business listings are geo-targeting “hints” Pros & cons for geo- targeting with the 3 main URL structures Hreflang tag introduced Support for hreflang tags in xml sitemaps 2011 Google Ajax Language API and Transliteration APIs announced 2012 Hreflang tags now support multilingual and multiregional content; canonical tag recommendation removed -Only one language per page -Don’t use cookies to change lang of page -Don’t use automated translations -Don’t use automatic redirection -Google ignores meta lang tags (but Bing uses them) -Use UTF-8 encoding Hreflang tags were originally meant to help Google sort out multiregional (same language) pages International Help Center article created 1 million+ sites use Google Translate plugin
- 8. 2013 Bing announces geo- targeting in Bing Webmaster Tools Yandex supports hreflang tags in XML sitemaps and HTML code International Targeting feature added to Google Search Console Locale- adaptive search crawling improvements 2014 2015 Region TLDs like .london are treated like gTLDs Show banner to users to suggest a localized version of a page -Hreflang tags supported in HTTP headers -Hreflang tags must use ISO code values and must be self-referential “x-default” hreflang tag introduced Server location is irrelevant with ccTLDs and gTLDs with geo- targeting in webmaster tools. It’s a small signal for gTLDs with no geo- targeting.
- 9. • Hreflang tag introduced in 2010, but it was super confusing • Updated hreflang tag recommendations in 2011-2013 • Hreflang tag reporting added to Google Search Console in 2014 • Only Google and Yandex support hreflang tags Why is International SEO so confusing?
- 10. According to NerdyData, 1,748,872 sites currently have at least one hreflang tag.
- 11. According to NerdyData, 1,748,872 sites currently have at least one hreflang tag. 438,417 sites have hreflang=“uk” 7,829 sites have hreflang=“en-uk”
- 12. According to NerdyData, 1,748,872 sites currently have at least one hreflang tag. 438,417 sites have hreflang=“uk” 7,829 sites have hreflang=“en-uk” At least 25% hreflang tags are incorrect Source: nerdydata.com
- 14. URL Structure
- 17. Myth #1 I need to have multiple websites in order to rank around the world.
- 18. Answer #1 You do not need multiple websites to rank internationally.
- 19. Without even trying, sites can get traffic from multiple places
- 20. Many global brands have only one site Booking.com Spotify.com EA.com Microsoft.com Adobe.com Ikea.com Apple.com Skype.com Atlassian.com IBM.com iStockPhoto.com
- 21. A new domain starts with ZERO domain authority.
- 22. Myth #2 The best site structure for international rankings is _________.
- 23. Answer #2 There is no one answer for site structure. There are pros and cons to each.
- 27. Country-Coded Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) example.co.uk Sub-Domains uk.example.com Sub-Directories example.com/uk Site Structure Choose this if: • You want to target by country • Your products/services change per country • You have the resources to build up domain authority to multiple websites Choose this if: • You want to target by country or language • You want to consolidate domain authority • You want more immediate results Choose this if: • You want to target by country or language • You want a clear separation of sites • You have the resources to build up page authority to your new sub-domains
- 28. Country-Coded Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) example.co.uk Sub-Domains uk.example.com Sub-Directories example.com/uk Site Structure Choose this if: You’re Godzilla. Choose this if: You’re MacGyver. Choose this if: You’re Wallace & Gromit. Godzilla via Flickr MacGyver via Flickr Wallace & Gromit via Flickr
- 29. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% ccTLDs Sub-Directories Sub-Domains Accuracy of SERPs per Site Structure Type Source: SEMRush Blog
- 30. Things to Consider Before Expanding Your Site for International Markets • Marketing efforts to build up domain authority • Crawl bandwidth and crawl budget • Number of pages on your site(s) • Market research • Language or Country targeting • Localization costs • Site performance & maintenance
- 31. Myth #3 I can duplicate my website on separate ccTLDs or geo-targeted content, and then each will rank in their respective Googles.
- 33. Duplication does not give you an added ranking boost, it gives you added CRUFT.
- 34. ccTLDs do not necessarily rank higher than gTLDs in their country version of Google
- 35. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% ccTLDs - localized ccTLDs - dupes Accuracy of ccTLDs in SERPs
- 36. Answer #3 ccTLDs is not enough to ensure global rankings will improve. Avoid simply duplicating your site for global audiences.
- 37. Myth #4 Geo-targeting in Search Console will be enough for search engines to understand and rank my content correctly.
- 38. Answer #4 Search engines rely on a variety of signals. Geo-targeting in search console is only one of them.
- 39. International Ranking Signals • ccTLDs • Geo-targeting settings in Search Console • Use of local language on site • Links from other local sites • NAP info • Use of Google My Business page • User IP address • User language settings • Server location*
- 40. Myth #5 Why reinvent the wheel? There are multinational companies who have invested millions in R&D – so just copy what they do on their sites.
- 41. Answer #5 A lot of large multinationals get SEO wrong. And many do things differently anyways. Don’t emulate the big companies without thinking it through first.
- 42. ccTLDs Sub-DomainsSub-Directories Global Brands with Different Site Structures TripAdvisor.com Amazon.com Freelancer.com GettyImages.com eBay.com Lush.com GoreApparel.com Rakuten.com Expedia.com Asos.com Booking.com Spotify.com EA.com Microsoft.com Adobe.com Ikea.com Apple.com Skype.com Atlassian.com IBM.com iStockPhoto.com Alibaba.com WordPress.com Facebook.com Craigslist.com Wix.com Shop.com Beatsbydre.com
- 43. Myth #6 Using URL parameters to indicate language is OK.
- 44. Answer #6 Google and Bing have clearly said that they do not recommend URL parameters for changing the language of a page.
- 45. Example of Language Parameters (what NOT to do) http://www.example.com?language=english http://www.example.com/example/?lang=en
- 46. Myth #7 I can just proxy localized content into my existing URLs.
- 47. Answer #7 Google and Bing have clearly said to keep one language on one URL. Proxied content, content served by a cookie, and side-by-side translations all make it very problematic for search engines to index a page in one language.
- 48. You always want to have 1 URL = 1 language
- 50. Myth #8 Adding hreflang tags will help my multinational content rank better.
- 51. Answer #8 Hreflang tags are not meant to boost search engine rankings. Rather, they are intended to ensure the correct localized page is shown in the correct localized version of Google.
- 52. With hreflang there is NO MARGIN for error
- 53. <rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-gb” href=”http://www.domain.com/uk/page-B.html” /> “en” indicates the language according to ISO 6391-1 format. “gb” is the country in ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format. Hreflang Implementation Requirements
- 54. • Exact ISO codes • Return tags • Self-referential tags • Point to correct URLs • Include all URLs in an hreflang group • Use page tags, xml sitemaps, not both • Can use HTTP headers for PDFs, etc Hreflang Implementation Requirements
- 57. Hreflang Sitemap
- 58. Hreflang tag generator: http://www.internationalseomap.com/hreflang-tags- generator/ Hreflang validators: http://flang.dejanseo.com.au/ http://hreflang.ninja/ http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk Hreflang XML sitemap generator: http://www.themediaflow.com/tool_hreflang Hreflang Tools
- 59. Myth #9 I can’t use a canonical tag on a page with hreflang tags.
- 60. Answer #9 The best practice is to use self- referential canonical tags on all your pages, even those with hreflang tags.
- 62. Myth #10 I can use flag icons on my site to indicate the site’s language.
- 63. Answer #10 Flags are not languages! flagsarenotlanguages.com
- 64. The UK does NOT equal English. Thanks to the course of history, there are at least 101 countries in the world where English is a common tongue.
- 65. Source: flagsarenotlanguages.com Not good. Much better.
- 66. Myth #11 I can get away with automated translations.
- 67. Answer #11 Automated / machine translations are getting better, but can still be low quality and a signal of spam. Err on the side of caution and use professional human translators.
- 68. Myth #12 Whichever site layout and user experience works best in our core markets should be rolled out across all our markets.
- 72. Answer #12 The key to international success is localizing while still maintaining a globally unified brand.
- 73. Things to Localize • URLs • Titles & Meta Descriptions • Navigation labels • Headings • Image file names & alt text • Body content
- 74. US UK Color Colour Inseam Inside leg Sweater Jumper Sneakers Trainers Undershirt Vest Keyword Variations
- 76. Myth #13 We an just use IP sniffing and auto-redirect users to the right place.
- 77. Answer #13 Google recommends against automatic redirection. It can be inaccurate, can prevent users and search engines from indexing your whole site, and can be frustrating.
- 78. All the Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Auto-Redirection • User agents may have a hard time reading all versions of your page if you keep redirecting them • IP detection can be inaccurate • Multiple countries that have multiple official languages • Multiple languages that are official in multiple countries • Server load time can be negatively affected by additional redirects
- 79. All the Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Auto-Redirection • Shared computers between spouses or children who have different language preferences • Expats & travelers in a foreign country • Internet café users, hotel computer centers, school computer labs • User prefers to browse in one language, but make transactions in another • A person sends a link to a friend, but that friend lives in a different place, and can't see the same thing as her friend sees
- 80. Source: Google Webmaster Blog
- 82. Myth #14 I need local servers to host my content.
- 83. Answer #14 Local server signals are not as important as they once were. (But you definitely need a local server for hosting sites in China)
- 84. Myth #15 I can’t have multi-country targeted content that’s all in the same language, because that would mean I would incur a duplicate content penalty.
- 85. Answer #15 You can have multi-country targeted content in the same language. It’s just that you need to combine hreflang tags + some localization in order to get it right.
- 86. Source: RavenTools 2016 On Page SEO Study
- 87. Hreflang Tags + Localization = Awesome
- 88. • Hreflang tags • Localized keyword optimization • NAP info, currencies, Google My Business profiles • Localized HTML sitemaps • Localized navigation and home page features that cater to specific audiences • Localized images that resonate with the audience • Trans-created content • Obtain links from local ccTLDs pointing to your localized content Ways to Avoid Dupe Content Problems
- 89. Email: kaitlin@kateideas.com Twitter: @kakefin Website: http://www.kateideas.com Find this recorded #Mozinar and slide deck at http://moz.com/webinars very soon!
Notes de l'éditeur
- The server location is no longer an important factor for international SEO, since many sites rely on CDNs. Do not get obsessed by having a local IP. When deciding which structure to choose, there needs to be a compelling business reason (such as entirely different audiences with different ways of thinking that require different web layouts, or entirely different cultural reasons, or entirely different product categories) to pursue ccTLDs. In almost all circumstances, directories under one domain is best because consolidated link authority under one domain far outweighs the benefits of ccTLDs.
- The server location is no longer an important factor for international SEO, since many sites rely on CDNs. Do not get obsessed by having a local IP. When deciding which structure to choose, there needs to be a compelling business reason (such as entirely different audiences with different ways of thinking that require different web layouts, or entirely different cultural reasons, or entirely different product categories) to pursue ccTLDs. In almost all circumstances, directories under one domain is best because consolidated link authority under one domain far outweighs the benefits of ccTLDs.
- The server location is no longer an important factor for international SEO, since many sites rely on CDNs. Do not get obsessed by having a local IP. When deciding which structure to choose, there needs to be a compelling business reason (such as entirely different audiences with different ways of thinking that require different web layouts, or entirely different cultural reasons, or entirely different product categories) to pursue ccTLDs. In almost all circumstances, directories under one domain is best because consolidated link authority under one domain far outweighs the benefits of ccTLDs.
- Hreflang annotations are used by Google and Yandex to identify the language (and also country) targeting of a page to make sure they always show the right version to the relevant user.
- Return tag errors are when Page A does not have a tag pointing to Page B. When there’s a missing link there’s a return tag error.
- Here’s how TripAdvisor has hreflang on their sites – the page tagging method.
- Example for sitemaps: You have an English language page, targeted at English speakers worldwide. You also have equivalent versions of this page targeted at German speakers worldwide, and German speakers located in Switzerland. This is pulled directly from Google’s instructions for hreflang sitemaps: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2620865?hl=en
- Once keyword lists for each targeted country or language are ready, begin rolling out on-site SEO optimization using the targeted keywords. Translated and localized keywords should appear in all these places. Remember, the whole purpose of International SEO is to create custom web experiences for users in your target locations. So, users need to see your products written in a way that speaks to them. This process is especially important for content that is in the same language but targeting different regions. That content needs to be differentiated across those regions in order to avoid duplicate content issues. For example, US, UK, and IE sites should all have unique content that differentiates one page from the next. Hreflang will help Google to understand that these pages are meant for different users, but to really help those pages improve rankings in your targeted locations, you need to optimize the content for users in those countries.
- Example of regional vernacular, spellings
- Example of regional vernacular, spellings