Tactical link building
The easiest and most obvious way to gain links for your new site is by linking to it from your company's website, but this really isn't an effective strategy. Links from your company's original site won't be enough to boost your new microsites, and they will often be considered less valuable links by search engines. In order for your sites to succeed, you'll need relevant outside links. Links from local businesses, directories specifically for the target market, and local interest sites are a great way to build credibility and firmly establish your site as part of the region.
Assuming you're using a search engine to find local link partners and sites, you should look for foreign links a little differently than you would for domestic links. When you're looking for domestic links, you don't need to worry about the locality of the results since Google caters to your location based on your IP and TLD. However, in order to find quality foreign links in a timely manner you'll need to search on the Google TLD that corresponds to the market you are targeting.
You may find it difficult to find local link potentials with general queries, so here are several more advanced queries and how to use them to accomplish your foreign and domestic link building objectives.
- inurl: query: You can use this advanced search function to look only for sites that contain your keywords in the url. While it may seem redundant because the search engine results pages will have sites that rank well for your general query, it can be particularly useful to find sites that rank well for certain keywords but are not always focused only on that topic. Sites that have a more narrow interest and focus primarily on the topic of your query will be more likely to give you a link. For example, to find sites that are only in the U.K., you can use inurl:.co.uk.
- intitle: query: This function finds sites that have your query in the title tag, and it's valuable for the same reasons as the "inurl" query.
- linkdomain: url: This query can be performed in Yahoo and shows you all of the backlinks to a site. This can be extremely helpful if you're new to a particular region. By finding sites linking to your competitors, you can usually find a number of places to start getting links.
Google tools
One of the many great features of Google Webmaster Tools is the ability to tell Google what country your website is focused on. It's extremely easy to do and will help Google properly categorize your international microsite.
Putting your plan in action
Focusing on international SEO can increase your overall web presence if done properly. However, while microsites are an excellent source of traffic from untapped resources, they also have the capability to damage current SEO efforts and create the wrong brand image in a foreign market.
A large international SEO push will require multiple microsites targeting the various countries and regions your company is marketing to. One of the challenges of international SEO is maintaining consistency in your brand messaging. Subtle things such as site design and word connotation may be particularly hard to grasp in a foreign market, but they may also have a large impact on how consumers view your brand.
The topics listed above are a good foundation for using SEO to global effectiveness, but a good dose of caution, professionalism, time, and effort will be required to make sure you reap the benefits of an international SEO campaign.
Brian Easter is the CEO of NeboWeb.
On Twitter? Follow NeboWeb at @NeboWeb. Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.
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