When you are trying to get a slice of the international market and establish yourself as a household name, you must take the time to hatch a long-term plan, one that starts with finding the right keywords for you to focus on, a process referred to as keyword research. Implementing the proper words into your content can end up yielding you significant search engine optimization benefits, not to mention that it will be of great help when it comes to getting your business on its feet. And so, to help you out with the process, here are a few certain elements you need to take into account when doing keyword research for the international market.
Look up Niche Keywords
The keyword research process should start with you isolating the keywords that pertain to the niche you are trying to make it in. In other words, you will need to find keywords that are aimed specifically at your target audience (people who are actually looking to buy what you are offering). These niche keywords are necessary in order to help the search engines and your visitors identify what your website is all about.
It is recommended that you refrain from using complex words as your keywords, sticking to simple terms that the average Joe is going to use when searching for what you are providing. You can (and probably should) use a keyword research tool, such as Google Analytics for instance, in order to find the most rewarding niche keywords in your industry.
Accommodate your Keywords to International Demands
As someone who is trying to get into the international market, you are probably looking to attract people from many different countries to your business, and while it is true that in general people are similar, it cannot be ignored that those coming from different cultures have different behaviors and beliefs. Long story short, markets are different in every country, whether it’s in term of customer behavior, their interests, their attitude towards the concept of purchasing things, or their needs as human beings. In other words, the keywords used need to be adapted to what the people living in your targeted country are searching for and their consumer behavior. If you don’t take the time to do this, you will end up missing out on a ton of opportunities and maybe even fail to penetrate the markets you had your eyes set on.
Pay Attention to Spelling Variations
One of the many criteria search engines use in order to determine a website’s ranking in a country is the spelling used for the keywords and whether or not it is up to par with the standards. Most languages, English included, are spoken in different places around the world, leading to the development of different dialects and methods of spelling; if you want your site to rank at the top of a country’s rankings, the spelling needs to be in accordance with the country’s variation of the language.
To give you a very simple example in order to illustrate this point, let us imagine that you have a shovel-selling company named Everest. You are based in the United States, and as such, you use their spelling variations. At some point, a potential customer from Great Britain, having heard of your company, launches a search through Google: “green colour Everest shovel”. Your website is only going to be amongst the top results if you used the British spelling (colour) rather than the U.S. one (color). While it may seem benign, one letter can truly make a difference in how search engines are going to perceive your site, at least on the international market.
Use a Reliable Translation Service
Seeing as how you are going for the international market, you’ll want your site to be available in multiple languages. The good news is that there are plenty of freelancing translators (as well as cheap applications, although they should only be used as a last resort) who are ready to do the job for you at a very affordable cost. Needless to say, once your site becomes available in more than language, the amount of people who can visit it increases exponentially.
All things considered, keyword research may very well be one of the most important steps when it comes to determining an online business’ success. In order for this process to pay dividend though it is important to understand what your target audience is searching for and why. You can start your own research, but don’t forget the tips listed above, as not following them will be the equivalent of trying to build a house of granite on a base made of nothing but hollow sand.
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