SEO / International

International SEO services.

Our international SEO services help the right version of your site rank in each country and language you sell in. We choose the URL structure, set up hreflang so Google sends people to the right page, and localize content for how each market actually searches.

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76%

of online shoppers prefer to buy products with information in their native language.

Source: CSA Research, 2020

40%

will never buy from websites in other languages.

Source: CSA Research, 2020

67%

of hreflang setups had errors in a study of 374,756 domains.

Source: Ahrefs

What our international SEO services include

  • 01

    Market selection

    Search demand and competition checked country by country before you build.

  • 02

    URL structure

    ccTLD, subfolder or subdomain chosen for your budget, team and goals.

  • 03

    hreflang setup

    Every language version linked correctly, with an x-default fallback.

  • 04

    Localized keywords

    Research done natively in each language.

  • 05

    Content localization

    Prices, units, spelling, examples and trust signals adapted per market.

  • 06

    Market reporting

    Rankings, traffic and revenue tracked for each country.

Signs you need international SEO

When your US page ranks in the UK, Canadian shoppers land on US prices, or a new market stays flat months after launch, Google can't tell which version of your site belongs to which audience. Each of these is fixable once the structure and signals line up.

  • The wrong country version ranks. Your .com page outranks your /uk/ page in Britain, so visitors see the wrong currency and shipping.
  • Expansion has stalled. You translated the site, yet organic traffic in the new market barely moved.
  • Near-duplicate English pages. Versions for the US, UK and Australia look nearly identical to Google.
  • Visitors bounce at checkout. Prices, sizes or delivery details don't match their own country.

The fix usually sits in structure, signals and local detail: the signals that show Google and shoppers which market a page serves. Writing more content before those are right only adds more pages for Google to confuse.

ccTLD, subfolder or subdomain?

Most businesses should use subfolders, such as example.com/uk/, because they're easy to set up and keep every market on one strong domain. Google's multi-regional site guide lays out the tradeoffs for each option, and the right pick depends on budget, team size and how separate each market needs to be.

OptionExampleBest whenTradeoff
ccTLDexample.deEach country runs as its own businessCostly, more upkeep, one country per domain
Subfolderexample.com/de/You want one domain and simple upkeepHarder to separate markets
Subdomainde.example.comMarkets need different hosting or platformsUsers may not read it as local

We lean toward subfolders for most growing brands, since every link you earn strengthens the same domain. If you're not sure, they're the safe default. Moving one big market to its own ccTLD later takes a planned set of 301 redirects, while merging several country domains back into one is a far bigger, riskier job.

Get a free SEO review of your site.

Check my markets

hreflang done right, and localization beyond translation

hreflang is the tag that tells Google which page to show for each language and region. It only works when every version points to every other version, including itself. Google's localized versions guide says pages without matching return links may see their tags ignored.

Our Handshake Check runs five tests on every setup:

  1. Each page lists itself and every other version.
  2. Every link is returned by the page it points to.
  3. Codes use ISO 639-1 languages and ISO 3166-1 regions, such as en-GB.
  4. An x-default page catches visitors who match no version.
  5. Every URL in the set returns a 200 status and is indexable.

Translation is only the start. Google decides a page's language from its visible content, so a page with English menus and German body copy sends mixed signals. We localize prices, units, spelling, holidays, payment options and examples, so each market reads like it was written there.

Common mistakes and market reporting

The five mistakes we fix most often all come down to sending Google mixed signals about who a page is for. Here's where they usually show up in audits:

  1. Auto-redirecting by location. Google advises against redirecting users based on their perceived language or location, because it can hide versions from searchers and Googlebot.
  2. One-way hreflang. Tags that aren't returned get ignored.
  3. Country codes used as language codes. "en-UK" is invalid; the right code is en-GB.
  4. Machine translation with no review. It reads oddly and misses local search terms.
  5. Canonicals pointing every market to the US page. This tells Google to drop the local versions.

Reporting is split by market. Each month you see rankings, organic traffic and revenue for every country, plus which version Google showed in each one, so you can spot a misrouted page fast and fix it before your next peak season starts.

International SEO pricing

Each new market adds work, so cost follows the number of countries, languages and pages to localize. English-speaking markets reuse most of your US research, and every new language needs fresh research and native review.

  • Market Entry

    Custom quote
    • One new market
    • Structure plan
    • hreflang setup

  • Multi-Market

    Custom quote
    • Agreed number of markets
    • Local keywords
    • Market reports

  • Global

    Custom quote
    • Many languages
    • Localization reviews
    • Strategist calls

What affects cost

  • Number of countries and languages
  • Pages to localize in each market
  • Whether a site migration is needed

Every plan starts with a free review, so your quote matches what your site actually needs.

Is this right for you?

Right for you if

  • You sell, or plan to sell, in more than one country.
  • You can ship and support customers in each market.
  • You have native speakers to review copy.
  • Your home market already ranks well.

Not the right fit if

  • You only sell in the US.
  • You want instant translation of every page.
  • Your home site has serious technical issues.
  • You can't localize prices or shipping yet.

Your first 90 days.

  1. Days 1 to 7

    Market demand check and current setup audit.

  2. Days 8 to 30

    URL structure agreed and hreflang mapped.

  3. Days 31 to 60

    hreflang live, first localized pages published.

  4. Days 61 to 90

    Market reports reviewed, next market planned.

Related services.

Questions, answered.

Ask us directly
What is international SEO?

International SEO helps search engines show the right version of your site to people in each country and language. It covers URL structure, hreflang tags, localized keywords and content, so a shopper in Germany sees German pages, euro prices and local delivery details.

Should I use a subfolder or a ccTLD?

For most businesses, subfolders such as example.com/de/ work best. They're cheaper, easier to manage and keep all authority on one domain. A ccTLD such as example.de suits companies that run each country as its own business, with separate teams and budgets.

Should I auto-redirect visitors by location?

No. Google advises against automatically redirecting users to a language version based on where it thinks they are. Show a clear banner or language switcher, so people and Googlebot can still reach every version of the page, whatever country they're in.

How much does international SEO cost?

Cost depends on the number of markets and languages and how much content needs localizing. Each language adds its own keyword research, native review and ongoing market reporting, so a six-language launch is a much bigger build than one extra English-speaking market.

Is machine translation OK for SEO?

Machine translation is a useful first draft, but a native speaker should review every page. Raw output often misses local search terms and reads oddly to buyers. Reviewed, localized pages tend to rank and convert better, because they sound like they belong there.

How long does international SEO take?

Fixing hreflang and site structure can show results within a few weeks, once Google recrawls the affected pages. Building rankings in a brand-new market usually takes six to twelve months, much like launching SEO for a brand-new site in that country.

Appear now.

Rank in every market you sell in.

Your free market check

  • Which version Google shows in each country
  • hreflang errors, listed page by page
  • A quote for your next market
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