Any business’ global marketing strategy relies significantly on international SEO. And while dealing with international SEO problems can be quite overwhelming, it can help you expand your brand to its maximum global potential, which can eventually lead to a significant increase in sales and revenue.
And while good SEO practices can help your business grow, a single error may prevent you from getting the desired results. So, whether it is an boston seo company or San Diego SEO company, it is essential to adapt and practice the best international SEO practices to help your business grow.
Here are some of the most common international SEO mistakes that may prevent you from making the most of your global marketing strategies:
Having Boundaries
When it comes to international SEO, there are no boundaries. For your brand to have a global presence, you need to think of more than just your native customers. Since different countries have different cultures, languages, laws, and expectations, your marketing strategies need to be diverse as well. Your SEO team needs to think on a global level to come up with ideas that go well with the ideologies of people living across the globe. These changes will also drive various SEO decisions, such as the selection of keywords, link building, and even the overall marketing strategy.
Only Targeting Google
While in most countries, Google is considered to be the most dominating search engine platform, there are quite a few countries where people use different search engines. For instance, China has Baidu, Russia has Yandex, and South Korea has Naver. Thus, if you are targeting any of the countries in which other search engines are used more prominently, you should try to optimize your data accordingly. Thus, it is important to carry out thorough research before going ahead with your global marketing strategy. For this, you can consult any best SEO agency as well.
Incorrect Keyword Selection
If you plan to take up the usual keywords and translate them to another language, you should drop the idea. This will probably backfire as you might not be well-versed with the language. Being familiar with the culture and language plays a major role in selecting the most appropriate keywords that best describe the product or service. The given international market and consumers should be able to understand what your brand is and what it has to offer.
This is even more important as local language tends to differ from city to city, state to state, and country to country. For instance, people in England refer to apartments as flats and cookies as biscuits. Thus, having proper knowledge of the language in a particular area is crucial.
Not Considering Legal Issues
As mentioned previously, different countries have different laws and regulations that govern sales and marketing content. Businesses might be unaware of these laws and might overlook them, getting them into serious trouble.
For instance, the European Union is known to have more stringent rules regarding sales and marketing content as compared to others. Also, in the UK, there are tighter regulations about superlative claims like ‘best’, ‘top’, and ‘number one’. So, merely translation and transcreation of web pages may not work for businesses.
Thus, it is important to carry out thorough research on the rules and regulations laid down by specific countries and markets to avoid any future lawsuits and fines.
Overlooking Local Competition
Even as one of the most prominent brands in your country, you should not overlook local competition. You are stepping into a whole new market where people may have different preferences, demands, and expectations. Then, there will also be brands that have already mastered this and have established a strong position.
No matter how renowned you are as a brand, you need to build a presence of your own in this new market. This is when competitor analysis comes into the picture. Once you will be able to understand your market and competitors, you will be able to adapt strategies and techniques based on this information that will help you make a place for yourself in the market.
We hope that you do not make any of these mistakes while building your global marketing strategy and are able to grow your business across borders.