8 International SEO Mistakes & Fixes for Your Expansion Strategy

Welcome and a big thank you to Raquel González for giving us her top 8 mistakes that businesses make when it comes to international SEO, and – more importantly – what you should do instead!

Expanding to international markets demands comprehensive research of each target market and audience. Unfortunately, many businesses enter the international pool without exploring every aspect, leading to unexpected challenges when it comes to ranking in search.

This guide discusses eight of the most common international SEO mistakes that brands make during international expansion. I’ll also be providing recommended fixes so you can succeed in your international SEO strategy.

Contents:

• Overlooking target market research
• Using a single ccTLD for multiregional targeting
• Forcing automatic website redirection based on user geo IP
• Incorrect implementation of hreflang tags
• Neglecting marketing-specific content
• Canonicalizing all versions to one
• Not performing multilingual keyword research
• Not developing a local link building strategy

8 international SEO mistakes and fixes

1. Overlooking target market research

It might not seem like an SEO matter, but businesses can benefit hugely from an international SEO strategy that is built on a thorough understanding of each target market. This market research should take place before launching localized site versions and engaging in international sales.

Discovering opportunities in new countries requires every brand to study important factors, such as:

• Consumer habits
• Cultural beliefs
• Legal aspects of each region
• Available resources

Why is it a problem?

It becomes a challenge when a business goes global without prior research, only to realize it's not making the expected profit or receiving good feedback on its product from its global audience.

Consider the case of Ford Pinto as an example. While it might sound like a nice name for a car, it took an unexpected turn in Brazil, where "pinto" is slang for a sexual reference. Subsequently, the brand opted for a name change to Ford Corcel, which translates to "stallion".

How to solve it?

First, you must consider if international SEO is the best approach for your brand. Improving your local SEO strategy might be a better approach.

Suppose you are ready to expand around the globe. In that case, it is helpful to work with local experts, conduct regular feedback and market testing, or be willing to adapt your marketing strategies when needed. It is also a good idea to look at how your competitors are doing and whether their strategies are working.

2. Using a single ccTLD for multiregional targeting

When creating a website for your business, you can choose between a gTLD (general top-level domain) such as .com or .org, or a ccTLD (country code top-level domain) like .es, .mx, or .ru, which is automatically associated with a specific country.

If you choose a ccTLD, problems can arise when aiming for global expansion.

Why is it a problem?

Many businesses overlook the importance of choosing between a ccTLD and a gTLD for your business until considering a possible expansion.

For instance, if you initially opted for a ".es" domain for your business in Spain and are now eyeing expansion into France, creating a subdirectory under your root domain like ".es/fr" might not be ideal. Google could interpret the domain as targeting French-speaking users in Spain rather than establishing a distinct presence in France.

How to solve it?

There are two possible options:

• Purchase ccTLDs for each target market if your budget allows. This approach simplifies ranking in specific countries due to the implied geolocation of the domain. However, additional effort is required to improve each domain's visibility and authority. Some big companies, such as Apple, acquire ccTLDs to redirect them to ".com" subdirectories for brand protection.

• Use generic domains like ".com" with subdirectories or subdomains. If you already have a ccTLD, you can always migrate it to a general domain, making long-term management more effortless.

3. Forcing automatic website redirection based on user Geo IP

Certain websites automatically redirect users to the most relevant country or language version after detecting the user's preferred language or location.

While this may seem practical initially, it can hinder Google's ability to crawl your website accurately.

Why is it a problem?

One of the issues we encounter is a bad user experience. Some users prefer to browse that specific website, not necessarily the one from their country. Redirecting them automatically can lead to confusing users and missing sales opportunities, for example if they’re buying for someone else.

Besides that, in its official documentation, Google highlights that it "might not crawl, index, or rank all your content for different locales". This is because the default IP addresses of the Googlebot crawler are mainly US-based, with some IP addresses located outside the USA. Therefore, referring users to their local websites redirects the Googlebot, hindering its ability to crawl every version of your site.

How to solve it?

A better alternative is to allow users to select the site version they prefer and let them know a page version in their language is available, instead of redirecting them based on their geolocated IP.

Amazon is an excellent example of offering users a user-friendly experience. As you can see in the image, their site detects your country and informs you of their specific site for it.

4. Incorrect implementation of hreflang tags

Hreflang attributes, widely known as hreflang tags, are HTML attributes that inform search engines of a webpage's language and targeted region.

They consist of one or two values separated by a dash—for example, "en-GB" (English in the UK). The first value corresponds to the language code, which uses the ISO 639-1 format, and the optional second value corresponds to the region code, which uses ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format.

Why is it a problem?

Many multilingual sites don't implement hreflang tags correctly, confusing Google regarding the different website versions.

Here are some of the most common mistakes:

• Incorrect order of hreflang attribute value: Instead of the proper “language-country” format, some sites use “country-language”, such as “GB-en”, instead of the correct “en-GB”.
• Improper use of ISO format: In some cases, sites deviate from the accepted ISO code, opting for non-existent ones like “en-UK”, when the correct way to write the United Kingdom is "GB", as in “en-GB”.
• Failure to implement hreflang attributes on every page with localized content: It's critical to input hreflang tags on each webpage with a localized version, not just on the homepage.
• Assumption of Google supporting continent codes: Some will incorrectly think that Google understands "eu" as Europe, and will use it as ”es-eu”.
• Not implementing hreflang tags on multilingual sites: While some sites might offer you a language selector to choose between different languages, they fail to implement the necessary hreflang code, deterring Google's ability to understand your site's different versions and properly index them.

How to solve it?

Focus on establishing the correct implementation of hreflang tags by following the ISO format. Make sure that at least the language code is included in the attribute since region codes are not always mandatory.

You should always use a tool to verify if the hreflang implementation is valid, like Sitebulb's hreflang checker for international SEO. Sitebulb will check that your language and country codes meet the ISO standards and recognized formats, and will flag any invalid incoming hreflang annotations or outgoing annotations. 

Sitebulb will also highlight missing hreflang annotations and missing reciprocal hreflang (no return-tag), as well as checking that your hreflang annotations point to valid and indexable URLs. 

(canonicalized, broken URLs, redirects etc.)

5. Neglecting market-specific content localization and optimization

One of the aspects companies overlook the most is the significance of well-localized content. Creating content that resonates with the audience is crucial when preparing a global SEO campaign.

Why is it a problem?

Many companies want to cut costs by opting for a machine translation or launching websites partially translated into two languages.

However, this approach can miss cultural nuances meaningful to the target audience, resulting in a poor user experience.

Consider the example of the brand Revolve. In the screenshot of the Spanish version below, you can see how the menu shows in English and how the quantity descriptions are not localized to litres, commonly used in Spain instead of ounces.

This blend of machine-translated content and incomplete translation creates additional navigation difficulty for Spanish users.

How to solve it?

Hiring localization experts from your target country is essential to guarantee effective communication and higher engagement with your international audience.

Also, ensure your localized version is fully finished before making it available to users. Beyond textual translation, pay attention to details like currency, date format, measurements, etc.

Lastly, perform multilingual keyword research to optimize your translated content for international search engine rankings. Remember to translate URL slugs for a better user experience.

6. Canonicalizing all your versions to one to avoid duplicate content issues

Content can be similar across different country versions that share the same language, for example, Spanish in Spain, Mexico, or Colombia, and English in the UK, Canada, or the US. 

Despite being similar, the content should not be treated as duplicates if these country versions are accurately geolocated to their respective markets.

Why is it a problem?

Some sites use canonical tags to point all versions of the same language to one, even if those pages are intended for different countries or regions. 

In this situation, a canonical tag will signal to search engines that the content on the specified page is the preferred version and should be treated as the primary one. This can lead to difficulties in achieving optimal ranking in search engines of different countries, as the canonicalization suggests that the content is identical.

How to solve it?

To avoid this problem, it's recommended not to use canonical tags that point to the same URL across multiple country-specific sites. Instead, it's better to implement proper hreflang tags and localize the content for the intended audience of each version of your site. This will allow search engines to rank and display the appropriate content based on a user's location and language preferences.

However, Google indicates you can use canonical tags to avoid duplicates "if you provide similar or duplicate content on different URLs in the same language as part of a multi-regional site (for instance, if both example.de/ and example.com/de/ show similar German language content)". You can also use Sitebulb to audit your canonical tags.

7. Not performing multilingual keyword research for each international market

Multilingual keyword research goes beyond translating your keywords. It requires a strategic approach since it involves identifying search queries with a decent monthly search volume specifically used by people from a region searching for the product or service you are selling. 

Why is it a problem?

Simply translating keywords without delving into users' search trends can lead to missed opportunities for higher visibility and site ranking.

Additionally, it's essential to research the search intent for each keyword, as it can vary from region to region. By doing so, you can optimize your content to match the correct search intent for your target audience.

How to solve it?

Before translating your website, conduct comprehensive keyword research for all the languages you offer. This will help localization specialists incorporate keywords effectively into the translated content.

An excellent example of effective multilingual keyword research is the case of Massimo Dutti. The company sells women's jackets in both Spain and Mexico. A simple translation of the keyword to "chaquetas mujer" might work in Spain, but it wouldn't perform well in Mexico. This is because the more commonly used term for "jackets" in Mexico is "chamarras".

In this SEMrush keyword overview, you can see the contrast in monthly search volumes by country. This underscores the importance of adopting a winning localized keyword strategy.

8. Not developing a local link-building strategy

Establishing a multilingual link-building strategy for each foreign market you expand to is vital for international SEO success. This approach enhances visibility in local search engines and sends Google a stronger local signal.

Why is it a problem?

Some companies only focus on implementing a link-building strategy for their main domain, which is a bad practice.

For instance, when using different ccTLDs for each region, the domain authority and page rank won't transfer between these domains. 

Even when using subdirectories, securing backlinks from reputable local sites is crucial to building trust in your brand and improving your ranking in search results.

How to solve it?

Prioritize obtaining backlinks from sites in the local language of your targeted countries. Remember that when it comes to links, quality is better than quantity.

Here are some helpful tips to follow:

• Ensure your content is localized and resonates with your audience.
• Investigate your competitors' backlinks to identify relevant opportunities for your niche.
• Conduct outreach campaigns to local news sources.
• List your business in local directories.
• Reach out to local businesses to highlight your value proposition and collaborate with them.
• Participate in local forums or communities.
• Consider sponsoring or promoting local events.
• Incorporate local testimonials.

Nailing your international SEO strategy

Crafting a successful international SEO strategy involves many steps and thorough research. If you’re considering navigating international markets, avoiding these mistakes will help to ensure a seamless strategy. 

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• Sitebulb Hints: International SEO
• Sitebulb Hints: Indexability
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