One of the best things you can do to grow your business in the digital age is to take it global. You need to do more than just translate your website to reach customers in other countries. To really do well, you need an international SEO strategy, and keyword and market research are at the heart of that strategy. If you do it right, it will help you connect with people all over the world and understand what they mean, both literally and figuratively.
This blog will show you how to do international SEO step by step, using keyword and market research. The tips will be useful for businesses all over the world.
Why International SEO Matters
Search engines are the most common way for people all over the world to find information, goods, and services. But people from other countries:
- Use local slang or unique phrases to search in a different way.
- Different platforms are useful in different situations. Google is the most popular search engine in the world, but Baidu is the most popular in China and Yandex is the most popular in Russia.
- Have a specific meaning (the same word could mean different things in different cultures).
People in the U.S. might look for “football shoes,” but in the U.K., “football boots” is the most common word. If businesses don’t do keyword research that is specific to their market, they could miss out on local demand.
International SEO helps you get high rankings in local search engines, bring in qualified traffic, and build trust with users by speaking their language and understanding their culture.
Step 1: Figure Out Who Your Target Markets Are
You should know what countries and languages you want to focus on before you start looking for keywords.
- You can see where your current visitors come from by looking at the data in Google Analytics or Search Console.
- You can use tools like Statista or SEMrush Market Explorer to see how much people want to buy your goods and services all over the world.
- Think about shipping, taxes, and customer service as well as how easy it is to find things.
For instance, an online clothing store might already get customers from Canada, Germany, and Australia. Instead of jumping into markets where you can’t see anything, it’s better to focus on these markets.
Step 2: Check out search engines in your area
Google is the biggest search engine, but you shouldn’t just optimize for it:
- China → Baidu
- Yandex in Russia
- South Korea → Naver
- Czech Republic → Seznam
Every engine has its own algorithms, keyword volumes, and ways that users act. Find out which search engines are most popular in your area, and then change the tools you use to do keyword research to fit those search engines.
Step 3: Look up keywords in more than one language
Keyword research isn’t just about translating. A direct translation often misses the way people talk or the cultural context. Instead, try these:
How to Find Native Keywords
Use AI and language tools or work with local speakers to find out how people really search.
In the US, “laptop” means “notebook,” but in Germany, it means “laptop.”
Tools for finding keywords in other countries
- You can filter by country and language in Google Keyword Planner.
- Ahrefs and SEMrush both give data for certain countries.
- Ubersuggest (helps you find keywords all over the world).
- Keyword Tool.io is a great tool for finding long-tail keywords in more than one language.
Aligning the Purpose of the Search
Understand why people search for things. In the US, “buy iPhone 15” means that someone wants to buy it, while “iPhone 15 review” means that someone wants to know more about it in India.
Local Market SERP Study
Search for keywords by hand using a VPN or your local IP address and see what comes up. This shows competitors, featured snippets, and different kinds of local content.
Step 4: Check out the other businesses in your field.
Keyword research isn’t done until you look at the competition. For every market you want to reach:
- Look for competitors in local search engine results pages. They might not be the same as the people who compete with you at home.
- Check out their domain authority and the links that lead to them.
- Check out how they write (long or short, formal or casual, etc.).
You can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and SimilarWeb to see how you stack up against competitors all over the world.
For example, in Japan, product descriptions with a lot of pictures and trust signals, like reviews and ratings, do better than long blogs.
Step 5: Think about how cultural differences change keywords.
Language and culture are very closely linked. When you translate something directly, you can make mistakes that are embarrassing or not relevant.
For example, the Spanish words for “computer” are “ordenador” and “computadora” in Spain and Mexico, respectively.
- Currency and Units: Check that the prices and measurements are in the right format for your area (dollars vs. euros, inches vs. centimeters).
- Some countries, like Germany and Japan, prefer a formal tone, while others, like the U.S. and Australia, prefer a more casual tone.
Step 6: Make Your Site More Useful for People from Other Countries
Keyword research helps you write, but technical SEO makes sure your content gets to the right people.
Tags for Hreflang
Tell Google what language and area each page is for.
Use hreflang=”en-gb” for people in the UK and hreflang=”en-us” for people in the US.
How the URL is set up
- ccTLDs, such as example.co.uk and example.fr, send the strongest local signal.
- It’s easier to deal with subdirectories (like example.com/uk/).
- Subdomains, like uk.example.com, aren’t as strong as ccTLDs, but they do work.
Creating Local Content
Don’t just translate; write in the language of the area.
Use examples, case studies, and words that are common in the field.
Making Metadata Work Better
When writing titles and descriptions that include target keywords, it’s important to use the right language and cultural tone.
Data that is well-organized
Add schema markup that is specific to the country, such as currency, information about local businesses, and product availability.
Step 7: Run paid campaigns to check the keywords
Before spending a lot of money on an international SEO plan, run Google Ads in the country you want to reach:
- Try different keyword variations and see how they change the click-through rate (CTR) and conversions.
- Make sure the keywords you picked bring in the right people.
- Use what you learn to make your strategy for organic keywords better.
This method keeps you from wasting months trying to rank for words that don’t make you money.
Step 8: Watch and measure how well things are going
SEO is something that happens all the time. After your international plan is put into action:
- You can use Google Search Console to see how many clicks and impressions you get by country and language.
- You can use SEMrush or Ahrefs to keep an eye on how well you’re doing in each target market.
- Check out conversions instead of just traffic. Traffic from another country that doesn’t bring in sales or leads is a waste of time.
How to Do Good International Keyword and Market Research
- Hire people who speak SEO or translation as their first language. They help you understand other cultures in ways that tools can’t.
- Don’t make too many broad statements. Even if they speak the same language, think of each country as its own market.
- Stay up to date on the news. Search trends change more quickly in different parts of the world. Watch for spikes in keywords that happen at certain times of the year or in certain areas.
- Do what you’re told. Laws about data privacy (like the GDPR in Europe) and censorship (like in China and the Middle East) could change how you plan your content and keywords.
Example Case Study (Not Real)
A U.S. skincare brand is now sold in Japan and France.
- France: Research shows that “crème hydratante bio” (organic moisturizer cream) is a very common search term. Competitors are putting a lot of effort into eco-friendly branding.
- Japan: People in Japan like short mobile content and trust review sites that are based in Japan. Most people use the word “敏感肌 化粧水” (toner for sensitive skin).
Instead of using direct translations like “moisturizer,” the brand gets more attention by making content and keywords specific to each market.
The End
You can’t just translate words for international SEO; you also need to know about different cultures, markets, and what users want. By doing in-depth keyword and market research, businesses can find global opportunities, attract qualified audiences, and build their reputations as trustworthy brands in other countries.
In short:
- Find the people you want to sell to.
- Check out search engines in your area.
- Do keyword research in your own language and in other languages as well.
- Check out the competition in each area.
- Know that cultures are different.
- Check that hreflang, URLs, and metadata are all right.
- Check keywords with paid ads.
- Watch what happens and make changes.
Brands that do well around the world use localized, user-first SEO strategies instead of one-size-fits-all ones. If you use keywords based on real market data, your business can do well anywhere in the world.
