Effective Search Engine Optimization on a Global Level

You may have started your SEO efforts on a local level initially; however, lately, you may have been thinking that it is time to expand and go global. If your business is at a point where you have done all that you can do on a relatively small scale, it is time to tap into other markets. There is literally a whole world out there for you to explore.

How do you get started?

SEO has been important in the past, it is important now, and it will be important for many years to come. When it comes to the technology, small shifts are constantly occurring and new tools and technologies are being introduced on a regular basis. As they are coming at you, only you can decide which ones work for your particular business. Those are the ones that you should leverage. You will want to do certain things that will help you to expand your efforts to meet global needs for your business and for your clients and potential clients. It is very possible that you will need to come up with a different, customized strategy for your global efforts. That won’t be a problem as long is you approach it correctly and cautiously. In fact, each country that you target should probably have a different marketing strategy. You will discover (if you haven’t already) that the way that people think in one country will be different than how they think in another country. Of course, it goes without saying that those differences are bound to affect your search engine rankings as well.

• Understand your clients well: This may seem very obvious to you (to the point of ridiculousness). However, sometimes, the simplest, most apparent things are the things that are overlooked most frequently. In order for you to understand your customers well, that means that you can empathize with them. You will need to have the ability to put yourself in their shoes and to think the way that they think. You will probably find it less challenging to accomplish this with your local customers but you will also need to make this happen for your international clients. It is critical to your success. Because you will be dealing with cultural differences (potentially) when you are interacting with your global market, it is imperative that you are sensitive to those differences. That fact makes ability to embrace the diverse cultures even more important. If your content can reflect those differences and blend them with what you represent, the search engines will pick up on that as well.

• Do your homework: Discussions about keywords have been happening for a very long time. You may think that coming up with the appropriate keywords and key phrases is so simple for you at this point that you don’t have to exert any effort in that direction. However, that is one concept that you should not be taking for granted. Don’t forget to incorporate the cultural differences into those keywords and key phrases as well. They will be very important for your global marketing efforts. The SEO may be slightly (or very) different in each country so it is very important that you make everything work. You want to make sure that the efforts of the people who are searching for your products and/or services have as easy a time as possible.

• Customize your content for your global customers: One thing that is universal is that if your content is top-quality, the people who are reading it will recognize the quality and it will grab their attention. Always remember to give your audience what they want and need. Once you start to interact with your online connections, they will reveal what they want and need from you. If you manage to successfully solve their problems, the results of your efforts will be very positive and you will start to develop a relationship together. No matter where those people live, human relationships are the same in one respect. They are all based on emotional connections. Humans are humans.

• Monitor your content: It is very important to have a good sense and a good understanding of how your social media marketing efforts are doing. You can capture a variety of analytics and if you see that some of your efforts are not paying off, you can redirect those efforts and do things that work more effectively for your business.

• The different versions of Google in different countries: It is important to keep in mind that Google has different versions of itself in different countries. The search results that you capture will be appropriate for that particular country but different than you might be used to seeing. In fact, the look and feel may be different entirely. You can start by registering and creating profiles on various social media channels from that country. They will get to know you and you can get to know them.

• Rankings across the globe: Your interactions in countries other than the United States will be important to your business; however, they won’t be as significant as your interactions in the U.S. It is important that you recognize the positive attributes in each country and make the best use of those attributes for your business.

• Using international search engines: You will discover that although it would be easy and convenient if Google were the only search engine that anyone used across the world, that is not necessarily going to be the case. In many countries, people will prefer to use local search engines and they feel that their needs are satisfied by taking that approach.

Conclusion

Now that you have made the decision to expand your social media marketing efforts to benefit your global clients and potential clients, you need to remember to embrace the cultural differences that are a definite reality in that situation. You may find that you need to approach your marketing differently than you would in the U.S. Your foundation will stay the same and you will have to make adjustments to fit those particular countries, which should not require a huge amount of effort, if you do it right. You may find yourself needing to make some language adjustments as well. Your efforts will undoubtedly be appreciated and they will go a long way.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.