Global SEO vs. Local SEO

[Caitlyn_1990]

Looking to get opinions/ideas on whether you think for a Global company, that separate domains make more sense than implementing International SEO. Example: A german-based company (headquartered in Germany) recently open an office in the US, but the website is run in Germany, and not optimized for the US market (ranked on the 4th page of Google) but is very well known in Germany. Currently the website only uses translations for english (many words don't make sense in the US). The US is a massive market for the brand though - would you reccommend optimizing the current website with links/and subdomains for the US, or have 2 separate domains .de and .com? I've read lots of blogs and resources on this, but would looking for slightly less technical answers, but recommendations and things to consider for both. 

[SaschaHoffmann]

Hi Caitlyn, I'm a German SEO. I almost always build my websites on .com or any international domain. then use correct hreflang settings to create a German version. But I DO NOT just translate the content. That's I think a mistake that could cause problems because sometimes the keywords require a unique optimization or even different keyword to target. What can happen if you just translate your website, you might end up with many pages that don't rank and therefore hurt your overall SEO. Since a so-called Helpful Content Audit, the entire website can be dragged down but non-performing pages.
In general, German SEO is easier than English - but certain tactics like link building are more expensive.

If you need help with international SEO feel free to follow up with me - sh-media.co is my website where can you see that in action, too.

[HelenaMerritt]

In this case, considering the massive market in the US, I'd recommend having separate domains for Germany (.de) and the US (.com). It sounds like the brand is well-established in Germany, and optimizing the current website for the US market, especially with translations that don't make sense, might not provide the best user experience.

[AAbid21]

Thanks for giving information about Global SEO vs Local SEO, I'm also an SEO freelancer this is my site, Introspection Zone

How can I SEO globally 

[TomM2 · Accepted solution]

Hey @Caitlyn_1990 honestly, my short answer would be to go for a .com for a US audience. Local vs global generally really depends on your product, your brand and most importantly your market. There's not a lot of definitive answers I can give without knowing about your company, brand and products to be honest, but from my experience the US market engage a lot more with "local" brands. I found a .com is much more of a global domain, .de can push a person to think that it may not be a priority to serve their area, or that it might be a hassle. For example if you're selling physically products they may immediately think to shipping costs, if it's a consultation service they may immediately think of timezone or language barriers, if it's a service they may immediately think of support issues. 

My initial instict would be to go with the .com, but that's without any knowledge of your company, product or market. Realitically the first thing I would do is create personas for your new audience, find out who the market actually is and what they're interested in. If the personas are used to multinational companies or international work then it likely won't affect them, if you're primarly targeting people who are brand new to your business and might not be familiar with the EU/DE markets then .com might be your best bet. 

[Caitlyn_1990]

Hi Tom! Thanks for your reply. So this is sort of tricky for me, but I can give you a bit more context (from at least what I have). It's a software company (invoicing automation) that was founded/based in Germany, and now has an office in the US and wants to optimize their website for the US market. The website is translated into English, but with a German foundation. SEO hasn't been a priority - and after reading the resources about internaiontla SEO and then hosting two websites, I personally from my experience lean towards the separate domains only because of how complicated the linking can be. Your response has been super helpful and given me a lot to think about. Thanks so much for taking the time! 

[TomM2]

I definitely would be leaning more towards a seperate domain too! Happy I could help 🙂 

[BérangèreL]

Hi @Caitlyn_1990,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community!

I'd like to share these resources with you that might help:

- International SEO: How to Optimize Your Website for Other Countries
- The reply from @LBeresford-Ward and @Pagenoi on this post "International SEO: Domain Strategies?"

I also wanted to invite a couple of subject matter experts to this conversation @johnelmer, @GRajput and @Josh, do you have best practices to share to help @Caitlyn_1990, please?

Also, if anybody else has anything to add and/or share, please feel free to join in the conversation 🙂

Thank you and have a great day!
Bérangère

[Caitlyn_1990]

Thank you Bérangère! This resource is great, and I'll be sure to go through it more. I appreciate your response! 

Best, 

Caitlyn