8 content SEO tips for international websites

1. Pinpoint your markets

The foundation of a successful international SEO strategy starts with selecting the markets you want to enter and setting clear goals for each. But before jumping in, you need to ask yourself a critical question: Is expanding into a new market necessary for our business?

Not every market is worth pursuing, and targeting a country just for the sake of going global can waste valuable resources. Instead, base your decision on your company’s objectives and the insights gained from regional research.

The key to choosing the best markets lies in identifying gaps and growth opportunities.

Here are three ways to uncover promising markets:

• Dive into your website data: Review your website’s analytics to identify the top-performing countries driving traffic to your site.
• Analyse your competitors: Use tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer or SEMrush’s Distribution by Country report to see where your competitors are thriving. Are there regions generating significant traffic for them that you’ve overlooked?
• Conduct location-based keyword research: Look for high-potential international keywords relevant to your niche to uncover regions with strong demand (more on this below).

By focusing on data-driven insights and market potential, you can prioritise the markets that align with your business goals and offer the best chance for success.

 2. Do international keyword research

Keyword research is the compass that guides your international SEO strategy, helping you discover the search terms that truly matter in each target market.

To succeed, you’ll need more than just a list of words—you’ll need an understanding of cultural context, language variations, and regional search habits.

Consider this: In Germany, people commonly search for winter holiday ideas in October, while in Australia, searches for the same term peak in May as they plan trips to escape the southern hemisphere’s winter. If your strategy doesn’t account for these seasonal differences, you could miss key opportunities to reach your audience.

Below, we share some top tips for international keyword research.

Leverage SEO tools

Use platforms like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to uncover search volumes, trends, and keyword variations in each market. These tools provide valuable insights to shape your strategy.

Study the competition

Look at what keywords your competitors are ranking for in specific regions. Their success—or gaps—can provide inspiration for your own approach, helping you target untapped opportunities.

Adapt to local nuances

Keywords aren’t just about translation—they’re about localisation. For example, a word that works in Portugal might need a tweak to align with Brazilian preferences, even though both countries share the Portuguese language.

Moreover, two markets that speak the same language might use different terminology for the same concepts. For instance, Australians go on ‘holiday’, while Americans take a ‘vacation’.

Embrace long-tail keywords

While these keywords have lower search volumes, their specificity often attracts highly targeted traffic. Long-tail terms can help you connect with users who have clear intent, leading to higher conversion rates.

By aligning your keyword research with regional trends and cultural preferences, you can create content that truly resonates with your audience while boosting your visibility in global markets. It’s not just about finding the right words—it’s about speaking directly to the people behind the search.

3. Research competitors in each market

Understanding the competitive landscape in your target regions is key to refining your strategy. Take a close look at how local competitors approach SEO, content marketing, and paid ads.

This research can reveal valuable opportunities, especially if your rivals haven’t yet tailored their content for specific markets or languages.

By leveraging international SEO, you can step into these gaps, reaching untapped audiences and gaining an edge in markets where others may be falling behind.

 4. Localise each piece of information

International SEO goes beyond optimising keywords and content—it’s about delivering a fully tailored user experience.

Think beyond the basics: offer forms in their preferred language, display prices in their local currency, and incorporate multimedia featuring native speakers. Every detail counts when building trust and ensuring your site feels tailored to the needs of your global audience.

 5. Stick to one language per page

When it comes to optimising your website for international audiences, simplicity is key.

Keeping each page dedicated to a single language not only ensures clarity but also helps search engines deliver the right content to the right audience.

For example, if you’re targeting both English and Spanish speakers in America, create distinct URLs for each language:

• www.yourbusinessname.com/us-en/ for English-speaking users
• www.yourbusinessname.com/us-es/ for Spanish-speaking users

While it might be tempting to use dynamic or automated content to translate pages based on a visitor’s location, this approach can backfire.

It may work for users, but search engine crawlers struggle with dynamic translations, potentially harming your visibility in search results.

A well-organised, language-specific URL structure doesn’t just make your content easier for crawlers to understand; it also simplifies your management process.

By sticking to one language per page, you create a seamless experience for your audience while keeping your SEO strategy on point.

6. Adapt topics to local cultures

With users spending an average of just 54 seconds on a page, the challenge isn’t just attracting clicks—it’s keeping them engaged.

The key?

Content that feels tailor-made for your target audience in every market.

This goes beyond translation; it’s about localisation, aligning your topics with their values, preferences, and cultural context.

For example, Australian audiences are unlikely to engage with content that dives into the latest American political debates or fashion trends. It simply doesn’t resonate with their everyday interests.

Follow these tips to create culturally relevant content:

• Collaborate with native speakers or people who understand the nuances of the culture you’re targeting. Their insights can help shape content that feels authentic and relatable.
• Use tools like Google Trends to identify what’s currently capturing attention in your target region. From seasonal events to hot-button issues, staying relevant keeps your content fresh and engaging.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel without first seeing what your competitors are doing. Analyse their strengths and weaknesses to uncover opportunities where you can offer something unique and better aligned with local interests.

7. Build backlinks in each market

Earning backlinks from reputable websites in your target market is key to successful international SEO. These links act as endorsements, helping your site rank faster while driving traffic to your locally optimised pages.

But the value of a backlink depends on its origin—Google prioritises links from local domains as they signal relevance to that region.

For example, if you’re targeting users in Italy, earning backlinks from .it domains will demonstrate to Google that your content is highly relevant to Italian users. Similarly, links from .jp domains signal credibility to audiences in Japan.

Importantly, attracting these valuable links requires more than simply translating your content.

Tailoring it to reflect local interests, culture, and data is essential. Let’s say you create an infographic on e-commerce trends in Australia.

Translating it into Japanese won’t resonate with a Japanese audience. Instead, adapting it with Japan-specific data and visuals ensures it becomes engaging and link-worthy.

To gain traction, focus on creating content that’s not only useful but also shareable within the local context.

Here are some formats that tend to perform well:

• In-depth guides: Go deep into a topic to demonstrate authority and expertise.
• Exclusive research: Share unique data and insights that can’t be found elsewhere.
• Step-by-step tutorials: Offer practical solutions tailored to your audience’s needs.
• Eye-catching infographics: Simplify complex data with visuals that are easy to digest and share.
• Success stories: Case studies showcasing real-world outcomes build trust and interest.
• Interactive tools: Create quizzes, calculators, or engaging widgets that invite interaction and sharing.

The key to earning local backlinks lies in understanding your audience and delivering content that speaks directly to their interests and challenges. With the right approach, you can build credibility and drive traffic in any market.

8. Only direct internal links to pages in the same market and language

A common pitfall when expanding your website internationally is linking internally to the wrong version of your content. This mistake can confuse your users, landing them on pages in a different language, and may also send mixed signals to Google, harming your SEO efforts.

To avoid this, ensure internal links connect only to pages targeting the same country and language. Cross-linking between markets, even if the content is relevant, can create confusion for search engine crawlers, disrupting their ability to understand your site’s structure.

Here’s how to optimise internal linking on an international site:

• Map out your structure: Clearly plan and organise your site layout for each market to ensure logical navigation.
• Launch fully prepared: Don’t rush into a new market with incomplete or thin content—it undermines user trust and SEO performance.
• Stay local: Link only to pages targeting the same country and language for a consistent user experience.
• Audit regularly: Use website analysis tools to spot and fix any misdirected or broken links. (Learn more about our SEO auditing services here)

By keeping your internal links aligned with your international targeting, you’ll create a smoother user journey, avoid confusion, and strengthen your SEO across markets.

Optimise your website for multiple markets with Redback

To reach and resonate with international audiences, you need to craft content that feels relevant, local, and trustworthy—whether your customer is in Sydney, Singapore or Stockholm.

From market research and keyword localisation to culturally tailored messaging and structure, every detail in your content SEO international strategy plays a role in how well your website performs across borders.

At Redback, our international SEO specialists know how to adapt your messaging for different markets, without losing sight of what makes your brand unique.

Need help making your content work around the world?

Give us a call on (02) 4962 2236 or enquire online to get started.