--- title: "Set up international SEO so each market finds its own version of your site" description: "Pick a ccTLD, subdirectory, or subdomain structure, add hreflang, localize content and keywords, and measure each market on its own." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/international-seo-guide" date: "2026-03-20" modified: "2026-09-25" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - 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A company translates its site into German and launches it on a Monday. Six months later, German searchers still land on the English pages. The German pages rank for almost nothing, and the German sales team asks why. Translation alone does not make a site rank in Tokyo, Berlin, or São Paulo. International SEO combines technical signals, a site structure, localized content, local keyword research, and local links. This article covers each part in the order you decide it, for teams that plan an expansion or repair an existing multi-regional site. ## Know which case you have International SEO makes sure search engines show each user the version of your site for their language and location. It differs from standard SEO in three ways. You manage near-duplicate pages across regions. You add technical signals such as hreflang. You adapt content for each culture and language. There are two cases: - A multi-language site serves speakers of different languages, sometimes in one country. Canada, with English and French, is an example. - A multi-regional site serves users in different countries, sometimes in one language. English for the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia is an example. Most global sites combine both: several languages for several regions. ## Choose the site structure The structure decides how search engines and users reach each regional version. There are three options. ### Country-code top-level domains A ccTLD uses a country extension such as `.de`, `.uk`, or `.jp`. Each market runs on its own domain. A ccTLD gives the clearest country signal to search engines and to users, who often trust a local extension. It also allows separate hosting in each country. The cost is high. You buy and manage many domains. Links split across domains instead of building one domain. Each site needs its own maintenance, and you must manage near-duplicate content across all of them. A ccTLD fits large enterprises with dedicated resources in each market. It also fits brands that put local trust first and businesses with a legal entity in each country. ### Subdirectories on one generic domain Subdirectories put each region under one domain: `example.com/de/` and `example.com/uk/`. Links build one domain. One domain and one hosting setup are cheaper and simpler to maintain. A new region launches faster. The country signal is weaker than a ccTLD, so you need hreflang to connect the versions. All regions share one origin server, and a content delivery network (CDN) removes most of the speed cost of that. Subdirectories fit most businesses, startups that test new markets, and teams with limited resources. ### Subdomains on one generic domain Subdomains separate regions as `de.example.com` and `uk.example.com`. Each subdomain can have its own hosting and technical setup. A problem on one subdomain stays on that subdomain, and regional teams can get separate permissions. Google states that it does not prefer subdirectories over subdomains. In practice, each subdomain often needs its own links and its own Search Console property, so it takes more work than a subdirectory. Its country signal is also weaker than a ccTLD. Subdomains fit large organizations with independent regional teams, or regions that need separate hosting or a distinct offer. ### Pick subdirectories unless you have a reason not to For most businesses, subdirectories give the best balance of cost, simplicity, and search performance. Choose ccTLDs only when you have the resources and the local presence to justify separate sites. Keep URL patterns consistent across regions. If the English version uses `/services/`, the Spanish version uses `/es/services/`, or `/es/servicios/` if you translate slugs. Inconsistent patterns confuse users and make hreflang harder to maintain. ## Connect the versions with hreflang Hreflang tags tell search engines which language and regional versions of a page exist. Google then shows each searcher the right version. Without them, Google can show your English page to a Spanish searcher. Translations are not a duplicate-content penalty risk, but the wrong version in results costs you the visit. Each tag names a language code from ISO 639-1 and, if needed, a region code from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2: ```html ``` A language-only tag, such as `hreflang="es"`, covers all Spanish speakers. A language-region tag, such as `hreflang="es-mx"`, covers Spanish speakers in Mexico. The `x-default` tag names the fallback page for everyone else. You can deliver hreflang in the page ``, in HTTP headers for files such as PDFs, or in the XML sitemap. The sitemap method scales best for large sites. Whichever method you choose, follow four rules: 1. Link in both directions. If page A names page B, page B must name page A. 2. Include a self-reference. Each page lists itself. 3. Give each version a self-referencing canonical tag. Do not point all regional pages at one "master" page. That tells Google you want only one version indexed. 4. Use language-region codes when content differs by region. If Mexican and Spanish content differ, use `es-mx` and `es-es`, not `es`. The [hreflang implementation guide](/articles/hreflang-implementation-guide) covers syntax, platform code, and the common errors in full. The [canonical tag guide](/articles/canonical-tags-developers) covers the canonical side. ## Send the right signals for each country Search engines use several signals, beyond hreflang, to decide which version to show: - The ccTLD, where you use one. It is the clearest country signal. - Content signals: a local address, a local phone number, the local currency, and the language. - Links from local sites. Links from `.de` sites support relevance in Germany. Links from `.com.br` sites support relevance in Brazil. - The searcher's location and language settings. Two older signals no longer apply. Google removed the country-targeting setting and the International Targeting report from Search Console in September 2022. Server location is a weak signal. Google's documentation notes that many sites use CDNs, so it does not treat server location as definitive. Do not redirect users automatically based on their IP address. Googlebot crawls mostly from US IP addresses, so an IP redirect can hide your other regional versions from Google. It also frustrates users who want a different version. Detect the likely region, suggest the matching version in a banner, and let the user choose. Remember the choice. ## Localize, do not only translate Translation converts text into another language. Localization adapts it to the market. Localize six things: 1. Cultural references. Idioms, humor, and references that work in one market confuse or offend in another. "Piece of cake" means "easy" in English and nothing in many direct translations. 2. Currency and units. Show prices in the local currency, and use metric or imperial units as the market expects. 3. Date and time formats. The United States writes MM/DD/YYYY. Most other countries write DD/MM/YYYY. 4. Examples. Replace US examples with local ones. A UK reader knows Tesco better than Walmart. 5. Legal text. Privacy policies, terms, and disclaimers must meet local law, such as the GDPR in the European Union. 6. Keywords. People search differently even in the same language. US searchers type "sneakers." UK searchers type "trainers." Quality matters. Google's spam policies target low-value content produced at scale, and unreviewed machine translation can fall into that category. Use professional translators or native-speaking writers. Machine translation with review by a native speaker is an acceptable middle path. ## Research keywords market by market Demand and wording differ by country. A product that sells well in the United States may have no search demand in Japan. Set Google Keyword Planner to the target country and language. In Ahrefs or Semrush, switch the database to the target country. Study the sites that rank in each market, and review their keyword targets. Check regional vocabulary. British English says "lorry" where American English says "truck," and Spanish in Spain differs from Spanish in Latin America. The [keyword research process guide](/articles/keyword-research-process-guide) gives the full method to run for each market. Check which search engine each market uses. Google leads most markets. Yandex leads in Russia, Baidu leads in China, and Naver holds a large share in South Korea. Optimize for the engine your market uses. ## Handle the technical details Create a separate XML sitemap for each regional section, such as `sitemap-en.xml`, `sitemap-es.xml`, and `sitemap-de.xml`. Submit each one in Search Console. Separate files make errors easier to find on a large site. Serve every market fast. A CDN such as Cloudflare, Fastly, or AWS CloudFront caches content on servers near users. That cuts latency and improves Core Web Vitals in each region. The [CDN configuration guide](/articles/cdn-configuration-seo) covers cache rules that do not break hreflang or canonical tags. Test mobile performance in each market. Mobile use dominates in many markets, especially in Asia and Africa. Test on the devices and network speeds common in each market. ## Earn local links Links from sites in the target country signal local relevance. Five methods work in most markets: - Local directories and citations, such as Yelp in the United States and Yell in the United Kingdom, plus the equivalents in each market. - Regional PR and outreach to local journalists and writers. - Local partnerships, such as event sponsorships and community projects. - Articles for regional blogs, industry publications, and news sites. - Social profiles for each region, with content made for that audience. ## Measure each market on its own Track each region separately: - Organic traffic by country, from Google Analytics 4 or Adobe Analytics. Find which regions bring the most traffic and conversions. - Rankings by country, from a rank tracker set to each target country. - Index coverage for each regional section, from the `Page indexing` report in Search Console. - Hreflang errors, from a crawler such as Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit. Search Console no longer reports them. - Conversion rate by region, to find the markets that need work. Expect three to six months before traffic improves in a meaningful way. Hreflang, localization, and local links all need time to affect rankings. ## Avoid five common mistakes Do not publish raw machine translation. It produces errors and awkward phrasing that hurt users and rankings. Do not ignore hreflang errors. Broken tags send users to the wrong version. Check them after every release. Do not launch every region at once. Start with one or two priority markets, fix the process, then expand. Ten regions at launch produce errors and exhaust the team. The [international SEO guide for product managers](/articles/international-seo-product-managers) covers market scoring and a phased rollout. Do not skip local link building. A technically perfect regional section with no local links struggles to rank. Do not forget mobile. 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