Building a new site and want to be found in both Google.co.uk and Goolge.ie. What is the best practice?
-
We are building a new site which is a .com site and the client would like to be found in both Google.co.uk and Goolge.ie. What is the best practice to go about this? Can you geo-target two countries with the one site?
-
Hi Peter,
A generic domain name's website can geo-target more than one country only it is follow a geo-targeting subfolders or subdomains strategy.
For instance, domain.com may geo-target its root on UK and its subfolder domain.com/ie/ on Ireland (or ie.domain.com, in case of subdomain).
If the site you are talking about is http://www.wsidigitalweb.co.uk/, then I see it hard to follow a subfolder/subdomain strategy, because the content will be substantially the same. Not impossible, but complicated.
An option could be:
- creating duplicating everything but the blog both in the root (for UK) and a /ie/ subfolder;
- then creating to properties on Search Console (1 for the UK version and 1 for the IE one) and geo-target them appropriately;
- then localizing as much as possible the two versions. if you have prices, convert them in Euros for Ireland. If you can buy an Irish phone number, present it in your contact information and so on;
- then implementing the hreflang in order to tell Google to show the UK version to British users from Great Britain and the Irish version to Irish users from Ireland.
I suggest to not duplicate the blog, because in that case you should be always paying attention in implementing the hreflang correctly every time you publish a new post, and because - a even greater bias - you will have to double your efforts in promoting the blog's content.
Remember, then, that backlinks are very helpful also for geotargeting, so try to create content that answers to real needs your geo-targeted audiences have, and remember to dedicate some of your posts to topics particularly urgent for one or the other specific country target.
-
Hi Robert,
thanks for your answer, but I think it is not on topic.
Peter is asking about International SEO and geotargeting, not about optimizing for multi-location, which is more Local Search than International.
If the "new site" is a new version of http://www.wsidigitalweb.co.uk/ (the one Peter indicates in his Moz profile), your solution is not valid either, because they have only one physical address in Belfast.
-
Hello Peter,
There is only 1 strategy I can think of that will make this possible, and I'm sure other Mozzers will have their own tactics.
For me, you are looking at building a silo into your site architecture. Basically, you use the website folders to create geo-targeted locations pages for areas you wish to rank for. You always start from the largest geographical area (country) and work your way down to the smallest (city). For example:
yoursite.com/United-States/New-York/New-York
would be found through Google.com.
It follows that:
yoursite.co.uk/UK/Suffolk/Ipswich will be found in the UK and
yoursite.ie/ireland/leinster/dublin will be found in IrelandThis will result in you building a link to a "Locations" page through your Home Page from which you can break down your service areas according to regions and cities. A direct example you can use for your client is:
yoursite.com/uk/suffolk/ipswich
yoursite.com/ireland/leinster/dublinThis way you retain geographical relevance but are able to hit multiple countries/regions/cities from the same domain TLD. Don't forget to add the keyword you are targeting for topical relevance!
For example:
yoursite.com/uk/suffolk/ipswich/ipswich-plumber
I have several clients I have performed this service for in the US and the UK who have service areas that are separated geographically but serviced by the same company. Google has responded quite well, with most of them featuring 1st page rankings within 3-6 months. You might even shorten the internal link path to reduce the amount of drain on your link juice from your Home Page.
The other benefit of this approach is it automatically creates landing pages that you can use for additional targeted link-building campaigns.
Hope this helps and let me know if you need further clarification - always happy to help!
Best regards,
Rob
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Hreflang: customize, selection the best URL structure
Hi All,
Local Website Optimization | | SergeyFufaev
We have two websites:
example.info - this is a working site in Russian hreflang="ru"
example.com - this new site We want to start with US. For the US, we will have: local address and phone, currency in $, fully translated content.
In the future we want to expand the business (ie en-GB, en-CA, de-DE, fr-CA, fr-FR). For each country, a regional dialect, currency, address and telephone number will be used. I need to choose the right URL structure so that there won't be problems in the future. 1. When configuring geotargeting (ie fr-CA and en-CA ) in the URL of the page specify: • http://example.com/ca/ - hreflang="en-CA" - Can use Search Console geotargeting
• http://example.com/ca/fr/ - hreflang="fr-CA"
or
• http://example.com/en-ca/ - hreflang="en-CA" - Can I use a geo-targeting search console?
• http://example.com/fr-ca/ - hreflang="fr-CA" .
or
• http://example.com/ca-en/ - hreflang="en-CA" - Can I use a geo-targeting search console?
• http://example.com/ca-fr/ - hreflang="fr-CA" . quote: To geotarget your site on Google:
o Page or site level: Use locale-specific URLs for your site or page. 2. If I set the target (ie "en-CA", "fr-CA" and "fr-FR"). Can I use the page http://example.com/fr/ with customized targeting (hreflang = "fr-FR") for french speakers worldwide (hreflang= "fr"), ie: french speakers worldwide quote: "If you have several alternate URLs targeted at users with the same language but in different locales, it's a good idea also to provide a catchall URL for geographically unspecified users of that language. For example, you may have specific URLs for English speakers in Ireland (en-ie), Canada (en-ca), and Australia (en-au), but should also provide a generic English (en) page for searchers in, say, the US, UK, and all other English-speaking locations. It can be one of the specific pages, if you choose." 3. Where is it better to place select of language and country on the page?
Header, footer, pop-up window ......
The page http://example.com will be used for hreflang = "en". In my case, do I need x-default? Can I use a page with hreflang="en"configured as the x-default version? ie: Is it right?0 -
What's the best international URL strategy for my non-profit?
Hi, I have a non-profit organization that advocates for mental health education and treatment. We are considering creating regional chapters of the non-profit in specific countries - France, UK, Russia, etc. What's the best long-term foundation for global organic growth? Should we simply internationalize our content (.org/uk/)? Or create a custom site for each ccTLD (.org.uk, etc.? Since it's an educational site, the content for each country would not be particularly unique, apart from: Language (regional English nuance for UK and AUS, or other languages altogether) Expert videos and potentially supporting articles (i.e., hosting videos and a supporting article for a UK Doctor versus a US Doctor) Offering some regional context when it comes to treatment options, or navigating school, work, etc. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks! Aaron
Local Website Optimization | | RSR1 -
On what pages of my site should I put schema.org structured markup for an Aggregate Review of a Concrete Construction Contractors work?
I have a concrete contractor that I do a site for. He has many reviews from Home Advisor. So I created a Structured Data Markup using HTML5\. I put the the AggregateReview near the bottom of the About Us page at [http://www.skv-construction.com/about-us.html](http://www.skv-construction.com/about-us.html). Question 1: Should I also put the AggregateReview on the home page, or on specific project pages. Question 2: How will Google use the data now if the About page is NOT searched or displayed in SERPs. Does Google display this markup when and where they want to? Question 3: Siince this is a Local Business, should I embed the AggregateReview within the LocalSearch tag. I passed the Google test as it is for the Aggregate Review! But I have the review wrapped in the HomeAndConstructionBusiness tag. Here is the code: "http://schema.org/HomeAndConstructionBusiness"> # Quality Workmanship w 50 Yrs Experience "http://schema.org/AggregateRating"> 4.37 stars-based on 54 reviews at ["http://www.homeadvisor.com/rated.SKVConstruction.18028291.html"](<a) target="_blank">Home Advisor "http://schema.org/PostalAddress"> 10005 Fair Lane <spam itemprop="addresslocality" union=""></spam> IL 60180 (847) 364 0161 ["http://www.skv-construction.com/contact-us.html"](<a)>Contact Us Price Range: All Jobs Custom; Call for Quote or Visit Web Site Would appreciate any help. This markup is so vague, I can see why few people are using it. Maybe you should do a Video training or extended training on how to's. Vernon Wanner 815-332-8062
Local Website Optimization | | VernonWanner0 -
Schema markup for a local directory listing and Web Site name
Howdy there! Two schema related questions here Schema markup for local directory We have a page that lists multiple location information on a single page as a directory type listing. Each listing has a link to another page that contains more in depth information about that location. We have seen markups using Schema Local Business markup for each location listed on the directory page. Examples: http://www.yellowpages.com/metairie-la/gold-buyers http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.jsp?CS=L&MCBP=true&C=plumber%2C+dallas+tx Both of these validate using the Google testing tool, but what is strange is that the yellowpages.com example puts the URL to the profile page for a given location as the "name" in the schema for the local business, superpages.com uses the actual name of the location. Other sites such as Yelp etc have no markup for a location at all on a directory type page. We want to stay with schema and leaning towards the superpages option. Any opinions on the best route to go with this? Schema markup for logo and social profiles vs website name. If you read the article for schema markup for your logo and social profiles, it recommends/shows using the @type of Organization in the schema markup https://developers.google.com/structured-data/customize/social-profiles If you then click down the left column on that page to "Show your name in search results" it recommends/shows using the @type of WebSite in the schema markup. https://developers.google.com/structured-data/site-name We want to have the markup for the logo, social profiles and website name. Do we just need to repeat the schema for the @website name in addition to what we have for @organization (two sets of markup?). Our concern is that in both we are referencing the same home page and in one case on the page we are saying we are an organization and in another a website. Does this matter? Will Google be ok with the logo and social profile markup if we use the @website designation? Thanks!
Local Website Optimization | | HeaHea0 -
How to build backlinks to brand new foreign website?
I want to rank a website based on 3 german keywords. i see there is possibility for that because i didn't see optimised website in first results. The domain name is based on my main keyword. how to start building high authority links to my website. Can i place my anchor text backlinks on English high pr websites?
Local Website Optimization | | malekmz0 -
Listing bundle info on site and on local SEO page.
We just finished a new telecom site, and like all telecom sites (think AT&T, Verizon, Suddenlink, etc.), we allow people to put their location in and find internet and phone service packages (what we call bundles) unique to their area. This page also has contact information for the local sales team and some unique content. However, we're about to start putting up smaller, satellite pages for our local SEO initiative. Of course, these pages will have unique content as well, but it will have some of the same content as what's on the individual bundle page, such as package offerings, NAP, etc. Currently this is the URL structure for the bundles: domain.com/bundles/town-name/ This is what I'm planning for the local SEO pages: domain.com/location/town-name-state/ All local FB pages, Google listings, etc. will like to these location pages, rather than the bundle pages. Is this okay or should I consolidate them into one?
Local Website Optimization | | AMATechTel0 -
Reconsideration request failed - New website?
I am looking at website with MOZ PA 34. The website belong to a shop in Manhattan. Simple shop, simple man, not one that do tricks. Reconsideration request failed twice! Never happened to me in the past.. Google ignored some domains in the two disavow files we submitted. All of these domains are asking $ to remove links that as much as I know we didn't even bought 😞 My Question Can I create a brand new domain/website and transfer the PA juice WITHOUT the bad links?
Local Website Optimization | | Elchanan0 -
Is translating my SEO meta data to new languages worthwhile?
When translating a website to additional languages, is it recommended, for Google SEO purposes, that the keywords, re-written URLs, meta titles and meta descriptions of each page be translated as well; or have those elements been completely depreciated?
Local Website Optimization | | sptechnologies0