Rina and Phelan talking about International SEO.
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Want to Get Found Globally? Here’s What You Need to Know About International SEO

ByLiddleworks

Thinking about growing your business beyond your home country? That’s exciting, but if you want people in other countries to actually find you online, there’s a bit more to it than translating your homepage.

Whether you’re selling products overseas, working with international reps, or opening new offices abroad, your international SEO strategy needs to fit the way your business is structured. In our latest Geekspeak episode, we walked through what that means and how to get started.

Start with Your Business Model

Before diving into multilingual websites and fancy SEO tools, start with this:

What type of business are you running internationally?

Are you:

  • A single company with offices in multiple countries?
  • Selling products internationally from one central location?
  • Working with independent reps in other regions?

The structure of your business shapes everything—how your website should be built, what kind of domain you use, and how search engines understand your presence in each country.

For example, Amazon uses country-specific domains like amazon.ca, amazon.fr, and amazon.de. But that strategy only makes sense for large companies with fully localized operations. Smaller businesses might be better off using subdomains (like fr.yoursite.com) or subdirectories (yoursite.com/fr) to serve content in different languages.

Local SEO Still Matters

If you’re working with international reps or have branch offices, you’ll want to create Google Business Profiles for each location. Even if those reps have their own company names and sites, it’s possible to list your products on their profiles and link back to your site. Just make sure you’re using UTM parameters so you can track which locations are actually driving traffic and leads.

Not familiar with UTM links? You’re not alone. It’s one of the most underused tools in local SEO, and it can give you super clear data on what’s working.

Translating Your Website: What to Know

Google Translate is a great starting point—but it’s not the long-term answer if you’re serious about serving a language market.

Instead:

  • Translate your content with a fluent speaker who understands the local context.
  • Use hreflang tags to let Google know what language and region your content is for.
  • Create separate subdomains or directories for each language version.

And yes, if you’re targeting Quebec, hire someone who speaks Quebecois French. Parisian French won’t quite cut it for that audience.

Off-Page SEO for Different Languages

If you’ve created a French version of your site, make sure to build backlinks from French-language directories and media. You’ll also want to list your business in French-language directories using a consistent name, address, and phone number (a.k.a. NAP). Google says they’re flexible, but in our experience, consistency still gives you an edge.

What About Social Media?

This is where it gets tricky. If you’re posting content in multiple languages, you’ve got a few options:

  • Alternate languages in the same feed (common in Canadian public sector accounts).
  • Run separate social accounts for each language.

If you’re linking to blog posts, be intentional about whether you’re sharing the English or French version. Most platforms offer automatic translation for post captions but not for the links themselves.

The bottom line is, if you’re actively doing business in a language market, it’s worth investing in someone who can help you manage content in that language—especially for social posts, where tone and cultural nuance matter a lot.

When You’re Ready to Expand

There are lots of ways to approach international SEO. You don’t need to tackle it all at once, but you do need a plan that fits your business model. Whether you’re experimenting with Google Translate or hiring a translator for a full site build, your structure should reflect how you actually do business in those regions.

Need help sorting out your international SEO strategy?

Book a discovery call, and let’s figure out what makes the most sense for your business. We’ll walk through your goals, your current setup, and what next steps will get you found by the right people in the right countries.

We have more content and strategies to help your business grow. Check out more articles like this or reach out to us anytime. We’re always happy to chat!

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