Subdirectories or country domains?

Subdirectories are usually the pragmatic choice: they inherit domain authority and cost less to maintain. Country domains suit genuinely separate operations with local teams and infrastructure.

Can we just translate the site automatically?

Machine translation is a starting point at best. Without fluent review it damages credibility and conversion, and often misses market-specific terminology entirely.

Do we need separate pages for US and UK English?

Only if the commercial detail genuinely differs — pricing, terms, regulations, support. If the pages would be near-identical, one version with correct targeting is safer.

Should we auto-redirect by IP?

No. Forced redirects break crawling and frustrate users. Detect location, then suggest the appropriate version while leaving the choice with the visitor.

International SEO

International SEO without duplicate-market chaos

International SEO is the work of making a site appear correctly for the right country and language audiences. It covers URL structure choices, hreflang and canonical signalling, localisation of content and commercial detail, and market-level prioritisation.

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The problem

Multi-market sites commonly run several near-identical English variants with broken hreflang, machine-translated copy and pricing or contact details that do not match the market. Search engines then pick the wrong version, and conversion suffers.

How we approach it

We set a structure you can maintain, implement bidirectional hreflang correctly, and localise substance — currency, terminology, regulations, examples, contact routes — rather than swapping a flag icon.

Business outcomes

Correct market version surfaced for each audience
Fewer duplicate and competing regional pages
Localised pages that convert in their own market
A structure your team can extend to new markets
Reporting segmented by country and language

What's included

Structure and domain strategy

We compare subdirectories, subdomains and country domains against your resources, brand and hosting reality, then recommend one and document the trade-offs.

Hreflang implementation

Bidirectional annotations, self-references, correct language and region codes and x-default handling are specified and validated after release.

Market prioritisation

Demand, competition, fulfilment capability and support coverage determine which markets get pages at all.

Localisation standards

Copy, terminology, currency, units, legal requirements and contact routes are adapted per market, with translation reviewed by someone fluent.

Technical and geo signals

Targeting settings, currency and language switchers, and redirect behaviour are configured so users and crawlers are never forced into the wrong version.

Multi-region measurement

Search Console properties and analytics are segmented by market so performance is legible per country.

What you receive

Domain and URL structure recommendation
Hreflang specification and validation report
Market prioritisation model
Localisation guidelines and glossary
Language switcher and redirect behaviour spec
Per-market measurement setup
Rollout plan for new markets

How we work

1
Assess
Review existing market variants, current signals and demand data.
2
Decide structure
Agree domain and URL architecture before any content is produced.
3
Implement signals
Roll out hreflang, canonicals and targeting, then validate.
4
Localise
Adapt content and commercial detail market by market.
5
Expand
Add markets using a repeatable checklist as demand justifies them.

How we measure it

Impressions and clicks by country property
Correct market version served in local results
Hreflang error counts after release
Conversion rate by market
Duplicate or cross-market cannibalisation incidents

Honest limitations

Hreflang is a signal, not a directive — search engines can still show another variant. Localisation also has a real content cost, which is why we recommend fewer, properly localised markets over many thin ones.

Frequently asked questions

Subdirectories or country domains?: Subdirectories are usually the pragmatic choice: they inherit domain authority and cost less to maintain. Country domains suit genuinely separate operations with local teams and infrastructure.
Can we just translate the site automatically?: Machine translation is a starting point at best. Without fluent review it damages credibility and conversion, and often misses market-specific terminology entirely.
Do we need separate pages for US and UK English?: Only if the commercial detail genuinely differs — pricing, terms, regulations, support. If the pages would be near-identical, one version with correct targeting is safer.
Should we auto-redirect by IP?: No. Forced redirects break crawling and frustrate users. Detect location, then suggest the appropriate version while leaving the choice with the visitor.

Related services

Let's build your growth system.

Tell us where you are now and what you need to reach. We'll come back with scope, sequencing and what we'd do first.

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