SEO Guide: International Versions of Websites

15Sep2009 Filed under: Online Marketing Author: JW

This is the second post in a series of SEO guides aimed at answering frequently asked SEO questions. (The first one explained How To Properly Move Domains.) If you have an idea for another guide, please let me know in the comments below.

This structure of URLs is one element of a problem called internationalization. The internet evolved (or was intelligently designed for those not down with the Darwin ;-p) in a way that made TLDs (Top Level Domains like .com, .info, or .org) almost completely useless for determining the intent of a website. (The exception to this is regulated TLDs like .gov, .edu and some country specific TLDs) In theory, a .com is supposed to only be used by companies and .org by nonprofit organizations. Obviously, this does not happen. Combine this with the current trend to misuse country specific TLDs (ccTLDs) for shorter domains names (Hint: Bit.ly has nothing to do with Libya) and you can easily see why the semantic value of TLDs has became a relatively poor metric for categorizing websites.

So what are you supposed to do as an SEO who wants to build a search engine friendly website with international versions of content? Prepare to summon your inner SEO scientist. You are going to need to pick between three options each with different pros and cons.

SEO Guide: International Versions of Websites

Task: Weigh the following options and decide which is the best for your organization.

Subdomain – uk.example.com/

Great option for websites where strong international push is expected from within the company.

Pros:

Maintains some of the metrics (domain trust, domain popularity) of the root domain.
Users will easily understand that this is the country specific version of a site they are familiar with.

Cons:

While you maintain some of the value of the root domain metrics, you do lose a significant amount.
Higher risk of mislinking. Many linkers will link to the "www" of the site out of habit.

ccTLD – www.example.co.uk/

Great option for websites that have a strong attachment to country of origin and are vastly different from their foreign counterparts.

Pros:

Very obvious and intuitive to the user.
Good chance of getting correct links.
Provides the ability for each domain to be hosted on a country specific IP address. This can be essential for ranking in country specific search engines.

Cons:

Completely different domain than its foreign friends, amigos and amis. This means they do not share any of the benefits of inbound links.

Subfolder – www.example.com/uk/

Great option for an already well established website that is looking to expand into new international markets.

Pros:

All links to any version of the site help boost the domain. It’s a rising tide raises all boats situation.
Less prone to linking mistakes as this format follows the standard website convention www.example.com.

Cons:

Does not perform as well in local results.
Potentially confusing for users looking for a ccTLD (.co.uk) version of the site.

A couple more points worth making:

Google Webmaster Tools:

Google provides a service for making the problem of internationalization a little less nasty. If you sign up for and verify your website with Google Webmaster Tools, you have the option of geotargeting your website. See below:

If you go with the subdomain or ccTLD option, changing this setting will supplement your efforts. (Note: You can’t use this tool with subfolders as it only works for domains.)

IP Addresses:

The IP address of your server makes a big difference in country specific search engines. If you have a small to medium sized site, make it a priority to get a server hosted in the same country as your primary audience.

What if I am lazy and don’t want to think through all of the options?

First, consider a new career (perhaps a politician?) and then go with the subfolder option. It is not the best option for all situations, but it will suffice for most. (How bout them apples?)

If you have any internationalization tips, tricks or advice that you think are worth sharing, feel free to post them in the comments. This post is very much a work in progress. As always, feel free to e-mail me or send me a private message if you have any suggestions on how I can make my posts more useful. All of my contact information is available on my profile: Danny Thanks!

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