How to be culturally understanding and inclusive when dealing with international SEO

1. Culture &
Inclusivity
In SEO
Sarah Presch

2. Sarah Presch
Award-winning international SEO consultant with 10+ years of experience helping some
of the world's biggest brands grow their online presence internationally. With a
background in cross-cultural communication and international marketing, I am
passionate about combining psychology, sociology, and international experience to
create campaigns and content that not only rank, but are culturally sensitive and
inclusive too.

3. Culture

4. What is
culture?
•Social behavior, institutions and norms
•Knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs,
capabilities, and habits of the individuals
•Attributed to region or location

8. Vygotsky's
Sociocultural Theory
Human development results from dynamic
interaction between individuals and society.

9. What This Means In
Real Life
● International communication
● International negotiations
● International management
● International marketing!!

10. International
communication
What might be considered polite in one country
could be very rude in another.
● Verbal communication
● Non-verbal
● Etiquette (gift giving, dining, customs, etc.)

11. International
negotiation
How you negotiate depends on where you come
from.

12. International
management
It’s important to be sensitive to cultural
differences among your teams.

13. International
marketing
You need to understand how people think to
market your product to them effectively.

14. What does this mean
for SEO?
To get inside the mind of your international
target audience, you need to understand their
needs and motivation from a cultural
perspective.

15. Language &
Identity

16. Northern
Ireland
Ireland gained its independance from the United
Kingdom in 1922. However, that meant giving up
the North.
This led to "the troubles" from the 1960s to the
late 1990s, with republicans fighting for a United
Ireland, and loyalists fighting to stay part of the
UK.

17. The Irish Language
Ireland is a bilingual country, where people
speak English and Irish.
The Irish language is very different to English
and is spoken in areas of Ireland called the
Gaeltacht.

18. Northern Ireland &
The Irish language
● The language has become politicized
● Irish Language Act has caused tension between
communities
● Restricting the use of Irish has been used to control
nationalists

19. Why should we care?
This demonstrates the link between
language and identity, and the need for
cultural understanding.

20. Spot the problem
Why did Just Eat’s branding cause
controversy in Belfast?

21. Culture & Buyer
Behaviour

22. Things Czech people
like
● Cheap
● Decent quality
● Being "out-there"

23. Things Czech people
like
● Cheap
● Decent quality
● Being "out-there"

27. Things German
people like
● Security
● Environmentally Friendly
● Trust

28. Things German
people like
● Security
● Environmentally Friendly
● Trust

31. Mistakes CZ & SK
Companies Make

32. Research Your Brand Names!

33. Invest in a Proper Translation

34. Stop Talking About
Yourselves

35. Inclusivity

36. Trigger Warning
The examples in this talk have been taken from
real life content on the internet.
The point is not to make a joke about it – these
kinds of marketing faux pas are hurtful for the
groups they’re aimed at.

37. What is DEI?

38. Why does it matter?
Have you ever seen those campaigns that
should never been approved?!
That’s why it matters!
And understanding why it happens can help you
avoid that!

39. Why does it matter?
Have you ever seen those campaigns that
should never been approved?!
That’s why it matters!
And understanding why it happens can help you
avoid that!

40. Stereotyping,
Prejudice &
Discrimination

41. Categorization
•People use mental schemas to speed up
cognitive processes
•This involves categorizing people into groups
But this can lead to some undesirable side
effects…

42. Affect
Cognition Behaviour
Prejudice & In-Group Favouritsm
Stereotyping Discrimination

43. Catholic or Protestant?
•Area of residence
•School attended
•Name (first & surname)
•Appearance
•Speech (e.g. “h”)

44. You Can't Mix Catholics &
Protestants!

45. Bringing This Back to SEO
•Be aware of any biases you may have
“China is the home of cheap goods” vs “New
Retail marketing techniques are much more
advanced than here”
•Use in-country research for each of your
markets to avoid categorizing your target
audience based on stereotypes

46. Social Learning
Theory

47. SLT - Bandura
People learn from one another through
observational learning from a very early age
•Observing behaviour
•Encoding behaviour
•Imitating behaviour

48. Mediational Processes
•Attention
•Retention
•Reproduction
•Motivation

49. Bringing This Back to SEO
If you’re a business owner, make sure that you
have a culture of psychological safety.
As individuals:
•Make sure you’re not behaving in a biased way
that people can imitate
•Don’t “reward” biased behaviour

50. Social Identity
Theory

51. Social Identity Theory
1.People categorize themselves into groups
2.They identify within that group
3.Their sense of self-worth comes from group
membership
4.They start to compare themselves with people
outside the groups

52. Henri Tajfel
We all belong in groups and we compare our
group status in relation to other groups
•Social class
•Nationality
•Language
•Religion
•Sports teams etc.

53. How it Starts

54. How it Ends

55. Bringing This Back to SEO
Marketing is all about marketing to certain “in-
groups”.
•Make sure you’re not marketing at the expense
of an “out-group”
•Ensure your campaigns bring people together
and don’t take an us/them route

56. Real Life
Examples

57. Stereotyping

58. Discrimination

59. Nothing About Us Without Us

60. Antisemitism

61. AI Images

62. Inclusive SEO
Checklist

63. Inclusive SEO Checklist
•Change the way you listen
•Ask appropriate questions
•Shift your frame of reference
•Manage conflict constructively
•Recognise unconscious bias &
stereotyping

64. Inclusive SEO Checklist
•Show respect for other ways of doing
things
•Interact meaningfully with people you see
as “different”
•Don’t be judgmental
•Make decisions using a cultural lens

65. Nothing About Us Without Us
•Languages
•Countries (e.g. UK vs SA)
•Minority Groups (LGBTQ+, Disabled,
Religious minorities etc.)

66. linkedin.com/in/sarah-pokorna
sarah.presch24@gmail.com
Thank You