It is becoming more and more common for businesses to expand to new markets in different regions or other parts of the world. Even if you are only working locally, it is important that you have your page optimized for the right audience where you are.
To appeal to the right audience in the right place, the content that you produce should be localized.
This means several things:
- Translating your text into the languages of your target regions. You don’t want people in other countries to have to rely on Google Translate or other auto-translate services to get your message. This can be as detrimental to your cause as writing poor English to a local audience. If you want to reach other markets, make an effort to get professional-quality translations of your material. And be sure that the translators you use are ones that have a good feel for your brand voice. Translations go beyond technicality, after all.
- Altering design and layout. Now, if you have a brand whose logo and motto are firmly established, you should leave them as they are. However, it could be that certain subtle changes are called for in certain places. Only locals will be able to tell you for sure.
- Using geotargeting. Try to structure your website in such a way that you can have country-specific URLs or domains for the places you target. If you have an American site that you want to extend to potential viewers in the UK, see if you can get a co.uk URL. Another thing that you can do is use Hreflangtags, which are particular types of coding, so that search engines can automatically identify which languages your site is available in.
- Localizing for your own region. If you are local and looking to attract people to your store, make your contact information clear and consistent.
This means several things:
- Write out your whole address, and make sure that it is correct. Make sure there is no possible confusion between your street and others in your city. Include your phone number and directions to your business.
- Be sure that your contact information is consistent across all of your media (website, social media, leaflets, etc). Any inconsistency can confuse people and cause search engines to frown upon you.
- Make sure that your business appears correctly on Google and other search engines. Even if you have everything correct on your site, it could be that Google still has the name of the business that preceded yours in your address. If it isn’t updated, people who do a Google maps search for you might conclude that your website address is wrong.
These are all part of a comprehensive approach that you should take to SEO. To fully optimize your page, familiarize yourself with a
complete list of steps to take online.