A Checklist to Succeed at International SEO Strategy

Back in the days, deciding to go international was a huge step in a company’s history. Businesses would enter another country only after 10 to 15 years of success in home country.

This is not the case now. Technology has shrunk the world and accelerated growth stages of a company. Today, companies are going international within a year of their business. In fact, start-ups are being launched with vision of a global presence.

Read on if you are spreading your digital presence online and want to know how your SEO efforts should change country to country.

Launching your site in a different country is more than just translating. In fact language is only one part of your site transformation. Sometimes, your site will have to change according to the region even in two English speaking regions. For example, Amazon has different sites for each country. (This is called country targeting).

A Checklist to Succeed at International SEO Strategy

Follow this checklist to launch your website successfully.

Domain Name viability

There is something that comes even before you figure out your regional hosting, target market and translation. It is your business name feasibility in other countries.

Launching popular Dublin whiskey brand “Irish Mist” was an embarrassing mistake in Germany because ‘Mist’ means manure in German!

It’s important to test your product name, brand name and domain name in another country before you think of implementing SEO strategy. P&G had to change its brand “Mr. Clean” to Flash in Ireland as the name was already taken.

In case of such legal complications and cultural misfit you may want to consider buying a different domain name altogether.

Competitor Market Research

One reason why international SEO strategies fail is because they do not adapt to the different competitive landscape of the new market.

New regions will have new players who could be more competitive or more aggressive in their ad spends.

Besides, Google is not the primary search engine in some countries. China has ‘Baidu’ and Russia has ‘Yandex’ as the most popular search engines.

You will have to find how search results are ranked here and tweak your SEO strategy if you want to launch in these countries.

Looking at the country’s top competitors will give you good idea of what SEO strategy is working. Use tools such as SEMRush and Google Trends to find keywords others are using for successful SEO strategy.

Keyword Research

Keywords are crucial to your SEO strategy. Search terms and context change from country to country depending on products and services.

A search for flights will be more or less similar throughout the world. However, search terms for clothing may be completely different. Soft sport shoes are called ‘sneakers’ in the U.S. and ‘trainers’ in U.K.

This is why going into a new market may mean doing your keyword research all over again.
Never assume the same keyword will work in another country. You will also have to re-purpose your content keeping the new keywords in mind.

Localize Content

The next step after deciding on your keywords is to localize your content of your website.
This includes translation to language, change in currency, metric systems etc.

Translation is a major part of it although you may need to re-position your content in some cases. Remember that different audiences interpret words, messaging, and colors differently. It is advisable to involve local digital marketing firm or consultants to be sure that your brand message is coming across correctly.

Website Structuring

There are various ways to structure your international website. Here is a video of terms you must be familiar with before you consider your options:

Here are some additional terms to know for international SEO:

  • Country code top level domain (ccTLD) – these are country specific such as ‘.fr’ for France in ‘www.example.fr’
  • Sub-Directory- It is simply a folder on the site. ‘fr’ in ‘www.example.com/fr’
  • Sub Domain – A unique subset of the domain name. It appears just before the domain name. ‘www’ in ‘www.example.com’

As of 2018 the international SEO consultants recommend that you use Sub-directories to differentiate country specific sites. This is because Google does not treat this as a separate site and uses your root domain name authority to rank page.

Localization Signals

Google also provides webmasters with various tools to help it rank the right localized page for the intended audience. Here are some tools and signals that your web developer / web master must optimize targeting:

1. Hreflangs – This is an attribute (‘just a part of site code’) which tells Google how different versions of your site are related and which page is meant to be shown in a country / language search.

2. Geo-targeting Settings– You can also set your target country in the country targeting tool in Google Search Console. Select this for site versions that you want to restrict to one country only. Do not set this if you want to target multiple countries with the same site.

3. Backlinks – It would benefit your Germany targeted website if most of its backlinks came from German sites. Backlinks from all over the world could confuse the geo-targeting signals.

4. Server Locations– A server closer to your audience is a signal for targeting the region. This means using a server located in Germany will help to target a Germany target site.

Final Thoughts

We are lucky to live in an era where the whole world is open to businesses old and new. Launching your websites across the globe requires some thought and planning. Checking everything off this list will take your international SEO strategy closer to success.

10 Ways Indian Startups Can Compete with Giants Using SEO

The importance of SEO needs no introduction. Every entrepreneur knows its potential and return on investment. But getting ahead of giants who have been producing great content for couple of years may seem a herculean task.

There is no need to sweat though. There are ways to get past this and stay ahead in  the competition.

Here are 10 ways startups can compete with giants using SEO:

  • Go Niche

Fighting for piece of the same pie will drain your time and energy. Instead, you could specialize in an area which have been explored not much. There are always pockets in the market which are not recognized by other players. Even if they are recognized, they are too small for the giants to focus on. This could be a good entry point for your page.

Talk about topics and aspects that the giants are not talking about. This strategy can be applied to your products, service, delivery channel, marketing channel and online content.

  • Localization

Most of the startups want to tap in on the immediate locality. This is even true if you are selling a physical product. Why not specialize in just that? No giant will think about connecting with the audience based on localities.

You can rank number one for a locality by writing and promoting your content to location specific audience using Facebook. You can also participate in local community events or sponsor events that have a good online presence.

  • Personalize

As a small business you must take advantage of more customer service available per customer. Huge customer base prevents big giants from having a one on one personal relation with their audience.

As start up on the other hand, you can have a close relation with the smaller base of customers. This can be deeply satisfying for many in the world of automation and machines. Use your small size to your advantage and engage in personalized conversation with your customers across various platforms.

  • Great content

Fortunately not everything is about size and big money. Quality content is about getting into your audience’s mind and answering relevant questions consistently. Create more visual content in infographics and videos.

Keep up to date with the latest trends and deliver what the readers want. It may take some time to beat the competition but it is better to start sooner than later. You don’t want to be in the same search engine ranking three years down the line.

  • Long tailed keywords

This goes with the strategy to go niche. Long tail keywords consist of keyword phrases that are much more specific than common keyword. For example- ‘Beach facing property in north Goa’ versus ‘Property in Goa’.

It is essentially a trade-off between volume and relevance. Long tail keywords will have lesser search hits but will be specific to what you are selling and mostly untouched by the big players.

Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Webmaster Tools to find the right balance between volume and specialization.

  • Develop an online personality

Just like humans, good websites and blogs also have a unique personality. What is your tone and mood? Maybe you want to come across as funny or authoritative? Witty or buoyant? Decide your personality and make it different from what your competitors have. As a start up you have more room to play around with and find your voice. So go ahead. Be different!

  • Build a Reputation

Building a strong reputation and credibility will earn you a lot of backlinks and trust. Maybe you did a survey of your market that was never done before. You can also have industry experts as guest blogger on your page. Give data and information or any other content that is your forte.

  • Be a step ahead

There is no easy way out here. You have to be sharp when you are competing with the best. Be smarter and faster. Study more of what your customers want and continuously keep improving on how you deliver that content.

  • Take advantage of your size

Small is not always weak. Having small teams means less hierarchy which ultimately translates into faster action. It is a well known fact that close knit informal teams produce innovative ideas compared to a formal process driven teams. The startup culture has its own advantages and you must use these to fight in SEO war too!

  • Market Intelligence

Do you know your competitor’s digital strategy? Where are they getting their traffic from? In the world of internet all the competitor’s moves are open to you. You can check the keywords they are targeting and the source of their traffic and following. Involving a digital and content marketing agency will give you deeper insights and infuse fresh ideas as well.

Conclusion

You can build considerable brand recognition, lead prospects, reputation, and sales conversions through SEO campaigns. Many multinational companies do not give focus on SEO as they want faster results by spending billions of dollars in marketing and promotional campaigns. You can use this to your advantage by investing more time in developing SEO strategies that give you sure success in the long term.

Top reasons for Hiring SEO Services in India (Especially In 2016)

As everyone knows, today, internet is available even in small villages. This worldwide network is spreading its possibilities around the globe rapidly and efficiently. The online marketing has reached a tougher competitive level because of this. Online businesses want to fare well in the market by improving their rankings in search results. Enhanced search results are crucial for brands to stay ahead in the market, as it brings better leads and clients to them.

As competition in the market is high, the demand for SEO services in India is going to increase in the upcoming years, especially in 2016.

If you are doing any online business, it’s time to devise new SEO strategies for your website success in the coming years. You might be thinking, why it is essential to seek the help of a professional SEO company.

Read Also: 6 Ways Hiring SEO Services in India is Vital for Your Success

As you know, today people do their shopping and come to know about a product via online. People chat and discuss on various products via online social media channels as well. This implies that everything is through online nowadays. So, what happens if your website is not properly SEO- optimized? Will it bring leads to your site? Truth to be told, if your site is not SEO- optimized, your venture is going to be a failure. It won’t matter how terrific your products and services are, unless people are able to find your products in top search results.

Recent updates on Google’s Panda and Penguin reveal that the future of online marketing is in the hands of SEO experts.

Here are some reasons why your business is going to fare with professional SEO services in India (especially in 2016).

Save Workforce and Money

If you are going to manage Search Engine Optimization related tasks of your website yourself, then you are unnecessarily wasting your valuable resources. You could have used it for some other productive purpose of your company. Hiring a professional SEO company can solve all your website related worries. As they know the latest SEO trends, they keep your brand stay live in the online market.

Save Your Time

As far as business owners are concerned, they don’t have enough time to manage all issues related to their websites. Time is a valuable commodity for an entrepreneur. Here comes the relevance of a professional SEO team. They will do all the keyword and SEO research for your e-commerce success. In addition, they will monitor all your marketing and social media efforts and ensure whether it is working or not.

This will give you room to focus on other things for the success of your business.

Proficiency and Experience

Handling your website with the employees in your company is not going to make results in the long run. You and your business associates might have a mere knowledge about SEO. You should understand that SEO companies stay ahead in the digital world because of their successful SEO campaigns. They know the ins and outs of SEO owing to their experience and expertise in this field.

They know how to provide you maximum services in tune with your marketing budget owing to their working experience with different clients.

You May Also Like: 7 Tips for Hiring the Right SEO Company in India for your Business

Stay ahead in SEO Game

It’s obvious that you have to beat your online competitors to stay live in the SEO game. For instance, you need professional players to win an international game. Like that, seasoned SEO experts are the best players in the SEO game. They know all the angles of SEO to beat your online competitors.

Enhanced Return on Investment (ROI)

Many people think that SEO is just to drive traffic to the websites. In fact, it’s much more than improving traffic. Better SEO gains the right customers by driving the right kind of traffic. Only professional SEO experts can find your potential customers. Potential customers can only give you better ROI.

So, start your ventures with professional SEO Services in India and feel the impact of professionalism in your business!

Should SEO Services in India Concentrate More on Content?

You might know that quality content is the backbone of successful online businesses. Right SEO strategy is the key to success for every business. Well researched content shows the credibility of SEO services. However, it depends on the creative skills of your content writers as well.

We can see that many of the SEO services in India uses blogging as a successful tool for content marketing. Truth to be told, most of the blogs are not up to the mark. Some of them are dull and uninteresting, lacks any informative element and not at all readable.

It’s true that all can’t write as interestingly as Hemingway does. But if you can make an attempt to get your audience engaged, it’s enough.

In this blog, we are trying to point out some of the reasons why should SEO services in India focus more on creating high – quality content.

Read Also: 6 Ways Hiring SEO Services in India is Vital for Your Success

  1. Convey your Idea Exactly

You may generate blogs for various purposes such as to make people aware of your services, to entertain or to make people visit your site. But what happens if your content is poorly structured? Will it work? No, obviously it won’t work.

If you can’t convey your message to your audience, there is no point in creating pages of content.

Every blog is meant for some sort of productive purpose (informative, inspiring or entertaining). It reveals what you want to say to your audience. For instance, a blog on your website tells people about the characteristics of your services or products or describe the benefits of your services either.

People do not understand your purpose or thought if your texts are carelessly written or structured. Do you have ever shown interest in a carelessly written piece of news or story? Of course, not. If you can’t understand the reader psychology better publish no blogs. Your blog should be the product of a fruitful thought. It should be free from spelling errors and comprehensible as well.

  1. Interesting Content Reduces Bounce Rate

Well researched and carefully structured blogs draw the attention of many readers. If you are able to create such kind of well written content, more visitors will spend your website for a long period. More visitors spending more time on your site means, there is low bounce rate. Search engines will give you higher rankings owing to low bounce rate.

Keep in mind, low bounce rate enhances Search Engine Optimization.

  1. Assure More Reliability (via sensible content)

As we all know, quality content shows the reliability of a website.

“Quality content brings you quality leads”.

After all, gaining the trust of your readers is important. If your content is readable and looks more professional, undoubtedly people will trust you. If people trust your blog, definitely they will show interest in your products as well. So try to converse with your audience more friendly via blogs. This will give results in the long run.

You May Also Like: 7 Tips for Hiring the Right SEO Company in India for your Business

  1. More Leads (via social media)

Just think what make you share a piece of information on social media. You share a post on social media only if you are convinced. So try to create sensible and convincing content.

Understand the psychology of users of these social media sites. People never share poorly written content on their timeline on Twitter or Facebook. It’s because they have lost interest in your post reading halfway. So, publish posts which are engaging.

We hope that these reasons are enough for SEO services in India to create incredible content. Always keep in mind, awesome content results higher conversions on your website in the long run. So, focus on publishing attractive texts .Good luck!

7 Tips for Hiring the Right SEO Company in India for your Business

If you are looking to hire an SEO company, it’s a big step for your business growth. Working with an SEO company will give you many benefits, but it can be unsuccessful if you entrust your SEO strategy into the wrong hands.

You need to learn the things to look out for before hiring an agency. We hope these seven tips will help you to hire an SEO company in India.

  1. Learn the Basics of SEO

It’s not necessary that you have to be an expert in SEO, but make sure you have a basic knowledge on Search Engine Optimization and how it is useful for your business.

If you don’t know the basics of SEO, you cannot analyze the performance of an SEO Company.

  1. Describe your SEO Strategy

As you know, SEO is done for improving the rank of your website in search engines and to ensure your online presence as well.

Be that as it may, you have to ask yourself for what reason you need a higher rank in search results. Be particular about your needs and the expected traffic for your website.

Try to prepare a profile about the nature of your customers and how you wish to introduce your brand. If you can give these details, your SEO company can work in tune with your expectations from the beginning itself.

Read Also: 6 Ways Hiring SEO Services in India is Vital for Your Success

  1. Do Research before accepting an SEO company

Make sure you don’t believe any agency blindly because of their reputation. All you need to do is to prepare a list of companies that can meet your needs.

Online sales pitch may attract you, but don’t forget to do your research before accepting an SEO company. You can seek suggestions from different businesses as well.

A keyword search will help you to ensure the rank of the agency. If they rank higher in search results, they are the best in Search Engine Optimization.

You could also do a keyword search to know the position of their clients. You can even contact these clients to know their feedback on the performance of the SEO Company.

Stay away from those agencies that send you unwanted emails offering to sell you keywords, because these are unethical practices.

  1. Feel free to ask questions

You should ask these questions before you invite an agency to offer you with a proposal.

  • You should ask them whether they know their Panda from their Penguin. You can understand from their response if they have knowledge on Google search algorithm updates.

  • It’s good if you ask them their experience with other clients doing the same business. This will help your SEO Company to get an idea about the nature of your business.

  • Inquire them what all results other clients gained from their service. Ask them whether they were able to increase traffic within the specified time and tell them to share other ROIs. Reject the agencies that hesitate to share this data.

  • Inquire about the content writers in their team. Remember, fresh and quality content is vital for effective SEO.

  1. Know the SEO proposal

It is crucial that a proposal from an SEO Company should consist of their approach, services and a cost breakdown. These four key elements should be there, at least.

  • Quality strategies on link building

  • Aspects on Social media optimization

  • Strategies on Content marketing

  • Reporting methods and tracking, with special focus on ROI

The proposal should assure that the company understands your SEO needs and will work diligently for the success of your brand.

Recommended Read: How to Choose the Right SEO Expert for Your Company

  1. Regarding the costs

You should understand the costs required and your return on investment prior to signing a contract. You will not get quality SEO from a reputed SEO Company in India so cheaply. You should understand why to invest a big amount and ensure there are no hidden charges.

SEO charges can range from $750 to $5000 a month with respect to your needs. Usually SEO fee is fixed on the basis of upfront costs and a monthly maintenance charge.

  1. Consider as a long – term relationship

Consider hiring an SEO company for your business as the dawn of a long – term relationship. Openness and trust between you will deliver massive results.

Keep them updated with what’s happening and don’t hesitate to share certain confidences. Your SEO expert should have an enthusiasm to understand more about your business and should communicate with you regularly.

It will take time and money in order to improve your search engine ranking and reputation. So, hire an agency with a proven track record. You need to make sure that they are able to provide professional services and ROI in tune with your expectations.

6 Ways Hiring SEO Services in India is Vital for Your Success

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in increasing organic traffic to your website which will lead to higher sales and brand building.

SEO services includes all the things essential to optimize websites for better search engine rankings. As more and more business owners are opening online stores to offer products and services, it is important for you to promote  your business website. SEO services help in fulfilling this task through various tools and techniques. Learn why you need to hire SEO services in India for your online business website:

1.Reduces Gestation Period

Search engine optimization can help you in reducing the gestation period to great extent. Effective internet marketing strategies will assist you in promoting not only your company but also your products. These days SEO Companies have also started offering Social Media Optimization Services where your products or brand can be promoted at mass level. Apart from this, you can be benefited from organic traffic which would be coming from various search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Alta Vista etc.

Read Also: How to do SEO in 2016?

2.Website Visibility

Having a website is not sufficient, you need to make it visible on the web. Visibility of a website is enhanced when it starts appearing among the top search engine results. This is an important reason to hire SEO services so that your website follows the right track to achieve recognition. There are also activities such as forum submissions, social bookmarking, etc which can reach a different set of audience.

3.Traffic Diversion

If your website is not visited by the targeted audience, there is no use of having a website at all. In order to obtain more and more web traffic to your website, you must have your website listed among the top search results. This can be achieved faster and in a practical way by hiring SEO services in India and around the world.

4.Keyword Research and Utilization

Keywords are the building blocks of search engine optimization. However, you need to find the right keywords related to your niche and use them effectively to achieve search engine visibility. It may appear easy, but requires a lot of skills which only an SEO expert can offer.

You May Also Like: Role of SEO in Brand Awareness

5.Overcoming Competition

You are bound to face tough competition in your niche, as soon as you take your business online. Each of the rival website owners have the wish to appear among top search engine results. By hiring the expert search engine optimization services, you get the right platform to survive the competition.

6.Instant Results

The third reason for considering SEO Services is the availability of instant results. Once search engine optimization is done on your website, you will start seeing the results instantaneously. You can always search out for some professional SEO Service providers irrespective of the nature or type of your business.

Now a days, SEO services are essential for your online visibility. So you have to be careful while hiring an SEO Service provider. You must keep in mind that the service provider you choose must follow the guidelines provided by Google and other major search engines. Otherwise your website can get penalized for black hat tactics.