International Link Curation
KEVIN GIBBONS
BLUEGLASS.CO.UK
@KEVGIBBO
Please tweet get well soon to
@ChelseaBlacker!
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
• BlueGlass EMEA,
Zürich, Switzerland
BlueGlass UK,
London, England
• .
We speak over 25 languages
Translated & promoted
infographic across 12 countries:
Generated high quality links &
social shares from authority
publications
http://fiz-x.com/how-to-make-a-lightsaber/
Promoted electronic
components infographic
Acquired 100+ links/co-citations
from 65 unique domains across
5 countries
@KevGibbo
Sharing Our Learning…
A one-fits all approach
just doesn’t work
Translation isn’t good enough!
You still need local knowledge
But without centralisation it looks like this!
International success needs to be tied into a
wider digital strategy
Centralised Strategy + Local Knowledge =
Best International SEO Success
@KevGibbo
International SEO Tips
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
Don’t wait. Algorithm changes happen in English about
6 months before rolling out in other languages,
anticipate how to improve link building issues before
updates lead you down the wrong path.
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
Many languages have very limited geographic reach,
ensure content can be tailored.
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
Low domain authority in small markets isn’t unusual,
it’s simply because these markets don’t attain the same
volume
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
Broken Bridges. Links of low quality
sites from bordering countries or
even worse different-language
countries can prove harmful. Build
logical bridges between content.
Understand local behaviour & European holiday
timetables
Outreach is Much Easier with Personal
Relationships
Timing is Important – it all Needs to Line-Up
HREFLANG Can Work Very Well – Especially for
Lower Populated Countries
@KevGibbo
Country Tips
@KevGibbo
• Hobby bloggers or webmasters of non-commercial
websites can be very sceptical of Outreach requests
• Good opportunities in other German speaking countries
such as Austria and Switzerland
• Target just a few websites and personally address them,
explaining the benefit to their site to share your link
• Content/emails must be written by a native speaker
• German people are quite straight forward – just tell them
what you want!
Germany
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
• Yandex has market share – and old-school tactics still work here,
but build carefully, focusing on natural links if you can.
• As a general rule, Russian web users are a bit younger than in
other western European countries so take this into account when
creating content for them.
• Outreach in English can work, better than other European
countries – but native speakers always have better success
Russia
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
• They have different characteristics, however one theme
runs through all of them: There is very limited resource
and audience compared with other markets.
• Nordic users are very web savvy, but SEO is far behind.
• While most users are fluent in English, they do search in
their mother tongue so it’s not enough to write content in
English.
• Lots of consumer protection laws around sending
unsolicited emails, personal relationships work better
Nordics
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
• When approaching French speaking webmasters, only
speak in French. Make sure your grammar is correct.
• Co-branded content partnerships work much better
than link exchanges for content.
French
@KevGibbo
• Italian market is very small, which means you can get
away building links from sites with standards below
those of English language websites.
• Even Italian national media websites often have very
average domain authority scores.
Italian
BlueGlass.co.uk
@BlueGlass @KevGibbo
• Very commercially savvy
• Building blogger relationships can be a long-process, but
pays off long-term
• To gain access to top quality sites, create a piece of
content which shifts a niche’s standards or knowledge
base.
• Don’t expect quick results, the American market takes a
while.
USA
Main Takeaways…
• Integrate a single strategy with a range of local expertise
• It’s all relative - understand the different market
approaches and limitations
• Implement HREFLANG - especially for markets where link
building is tough
KEVIN GIBBONS
KGIBBONS@BLUEGLASS.CO.UK
@KEVGIBBO
BLUEGLASS.CO.UK

International SEO & Multilingual Link Curation