Reaching a global expatriate audience requires more than flashy web design. The fact is that over 70% of the worldwide online population do not speak English as their first language. So if your missing other countries as your targeting your marketing your missing a lot of people buying your products or services.
Key to quality expat SEO is optimization in multiple languages. Google Translate just won’t cut it.
The main reason you can’t just optimize a site in one language and translate it is that automated translators don’t handle alternate spellings and slang terms well (if at all). Unfortunately, many expat customers will search the way they speak. They won’t find a badly-translated site, and even if they do they surely won’t come back. Taking shortcuts is a surefire way to cheapen your brand.
Below are a couple other global SEO tips:
Use country domain extensions and language-specific urls. A country-specific domain extension, combined with targeted content, can give even big multinational brands a local touch. Foreign language URLs, meanwhile, allow you to target keywords in those languages (for which there’s usually much less competition than in English).
Develop an eye for language. We stress how important it is to understand the nuances of language. Americans will search for “vacations,” for example, while Brits and Australians want “holidays.”
Coordinate your efforts. Given the level of detail involved in global SEO, it’s critically important to have clear objectives and goals. This is crucial for large firm or websites targeting customers in several different languages and countries. Consider an organizational structure that offers comprehensive oversight.
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