Simon Lesser, CEO, Dragon Metrics at C3 2018 It's a big world out there, and the US is only less than 10% of the world's total internet users. A killer global SEO strategy is crucial for success in the global marketplace, but international SEO brings its own set of unique challenges.We'll dive deep into the top regional search engines like Baidu, Yandex, and Naver, learning about differences in the algorithm, SERP, and how to optimize for each one. Then, we'll focus on the top tips and considerations for optimizing your site for international audiences and non-Google search engines.

1. WINNING TACTICS
#C3NY @simonlesser
INTERNATIONAL SEO: OPTIMIZING YOUR
SITE FOR A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
Simon Lesser
Co-Founder and CEO, Dragon Metrics

2. 2
Simon Lesser
Co-founder and CEO
Dragon Metrics
@simonlesser

3. All-in-One SEO
Software Platform

4. 4
1 2 3
Challenges of
International SEO
Intro to
Non-Google Search
Engines
10 Quick Tips for
International SEO

5. 5
IT'S A BIG
WORLD OUT
THERE
US is only 7% of the world's
total internet users

6. 6
30% of the
world's total
internet users
are in a country
where Google is
not the #1
search engine
Region Internet Users % of total
China 692,152,618 22%
India 340,873,137 11%
United States 239,882,242 7%
Brazil 122,796,320 4%
Japan 118,131,030 4%
Russia 105,311,724 3%
Nigeria 86,436,611 3%
Mexico 72,945,992 2%
Germany 70,675,097 2%
United Kingdom 59,538,545 2%
Indonesia 56,612,527 2%
France 54,536,418 2%
Vietnam 49,265,575 2%
South Korea 45,213,802 1%
Turkey 42,275,017 1%
Philippines 40,984,654 1%
Italy 39,209,342 1%

7. 7
1
Challenges of
International SEO

8. 8
Same Challenges as Single-Country SEO,
Plus More
High ranking
The right content
Single-Country SEO
High ranking
The right content
The right localized site
International SEO

9. 9
Localization Challenges
Content Images Payment Methods
Currency Products Laws & Regulations

10. 10
Duplicate Content Challenges
example.com/watches example.co.uk/watches example.au/watches

11. 11
Competitive Challenges

12. 12
Top Sites in China

13. 13
Organizational Challenges

14. 14
Major Non-Google Search Engines Around the World

15. 15
Search
Engine
Market
Share in
China

16. 16
Google China
https://www.google.cn

17. 17
Google China

18. 18
360 Search
https://www.so.com

19. 19
Sogou
https://www.sogou.com

20. 20
https://m.sm.cn
Shenma

21. 21
Baidu
https://www.baidu.com

22. 22
Baidu is Chinese-only
https://www.baidu.com/s?ie=utf-8&f=8&rsv_bp=0&rsv_idx=1&t…

23. 23
Baidu SERP

24. 24
Zhidao (Q&A) Baike (Wiki) Wenku
(Document sharing)
Tieba (Forums) News Maps
Images Video

25. 25
Baidu keeps the
best positions for
themselves
Baidu Properties / PPC
Organic

26. 26
SERP with 10
Organic Results
Baidu Properties / PPC
Organic

27. 27
Can you spot the difference?
AD
Organic

28. 28
Some SERPs Display Only Ads Above the Fold
https://www.baidu.com/s?ie=utf-8&f=8&rsv_bp=0&rsv_idx=1&t…

29. 29
Image-heavy
SERPS

30. 30
SERP Features

31. 31
SERP Features

32. 32
SERP Features

33. 33
Mobile Transcoding for Non-Mobile-Friendly Sites
Original page
Transcoded page
Original page Transcoded page

34. 34
Hosting in China

35. 35Foreign Hosted Libraries Cause Issues

36. 36
Backlinks Not Trusted?

37. 37
Meta Keywords
Still Used by Baidu

38. 38
Harsh on Duplicate
Content

39. 39
Doesn't Really
Crawl Javascript

40. 40
Check out our guide at
www.dragonmetrics.com/baidu-seo-guide

41. 41
Yandex
https://www.yandex.com/

42. 42
Key Yandex algorithm differences
User behavior
important
ranking factor
Claims backlinks
are no longer
important
Slow indexation
Domain age very
important
Onpage SEO
higher priority

43. 43
Seznam
https://www.seznam.cz/

44. 44
Search
Engine
Market
Share
Korea

45. 45
Daum
https://www.daum.net/

46. 46
Naver
https://www.naver.com

47. 47
The Massive
Naver SERP
Organic

48. 48
Tiny Organic Results Area

49. 49
Organic Vertical Search

50. 50
10 Quick Tips for
International SEO

51. 511. Choose How to Segment Your Site

52. 52
Country ≠ Language

53. 53
Do Not Use Flags for Languages
English
Spanish
French
German
Portuguese
Chinese
Japanese
English
Español
Français
Deutsch
Português
中文
日本語

54. 54
Site Segmentation Options
Country Language Country + Language

55. 55
2. URL Structure – 3 Rights, 3 Wrongs

56. 56
URL Structure
ccTLD
example.co.uk
Subfolder
example.com/uk/
Subdomain
uk.example.com

57. 57
Each Configuration Has Tradeoffs
ccTLD Subfolder Subdomain
Clear geotargetting 1
Consolidated Domain Authority 1
Easy setup 1 1
Can target in Google Search Console 1 1 1
Independent server location 1 1
Easy separation of sites 1 1

58. 58
Do Not Use These 3 Configurations

59. 59
URL Parameters
example.com/green-widgets?lang=en
G R E E N W I D G E T S
example.com/green-widgets?lang=fr
W I D G E T S V E R T S

60. 60
Same URL, Different Languages
example.com/green-widgets
G R E E N W I D G E T S
example.com/green-widgets
W I D G E T S V E R T S

61. 61
Auto-Redirect Based on IP Address
example.co.uk
G R E E N W I D G E T S
example.fr
W I D G E T S V E R T S

62. 62
3. Localization is More Than Translation

63. 63
Localize Everything
Content Images Payment Methods
Currency Products Laws & Regulations

64. 64
4. Localize User Experience
UX Persona 1 UX Persona 2 UX Persona 3
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

65. 65
Top Sites in China

66. 66
http://www.qq.com

67. 67
http://www.sohu.com

68. 68
http://www.sina.com.cn

69. 69
http://www.zol.com.cn

70. 70
5. Never Use Machine Translation

71. 71
6. Use Hreflang
Effectively

72. 72
Hreflang is Difficult to Get Right

73. 73
HTML Head Elements
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
<link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/en-us/
green-widgets" hreflang="en-us" />
<link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/es-es/
green-widgets" hreflang="es-es" />
<link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/pt-br/green-
widgets" hreflang="pt-br" />

74. 74
HTTP Headers
1
2
3
4
5
6
Link: <http://example.com/en-us/green-widgets>;
rel="alternate"; hreflang="en-us",
<http://example.com/es-es/green-widgets>;
rel="alternate"; hreflang="es-es",
<http://example.com/pt-br/green-widgets>;
rel="alternate"; hreflang="pt-br"

75. 75
XML Sitemap
1
2
3
4
5
6
<url>
<loc>http://example.com/en-us/green-widgets</loc>
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="http://example.com/en-us/green-widgets" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="http://example.com/es-es/green-widgets" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="pt-br" href="http://example.com/pt-br/green-widgets" />
</url>

76. 76
Only Supported by Google and Yandex

77. 77
Source: Distilled
Should I Use
hreflang?

78. 78
7. GSC
Targeting is
Not Enough
On its Own

79. 79
8. Build Links
Locally

80. 80
9. Leverage Global and Local Strengths

81. 81
Both Have Complimentary Advantages
More specialized
Brand knowledge
Local market knowledge
Can be more agile
Headquarters Regional Teams

82. 82
10. Make
International
SEO an Integral
Part of Your SEO
Process

83. 83
10 Tips for International SEO
Choose How to Segment Your Site
URL Structure – 3 Rights, 3 Wrongs
Localization is More Than Translation
Localize User Experience
Never Use Machine Translation
1
2
3
4
5

84. 84
10 Tips for International SEO
Use Hreflang Effectively
Google Search Console Targeting is Not Enough
Build Links Locally
Leverage Global and Local Strengths
Make International SEO an Integral Part of Your SEO Process
6
7
8
9
10

85. 85

86. 86@simonlesser#C3NY