SEO glossary · Updated
International SEO: serving the right version to each country and language
International SEO is setting up a multilingual or multi-country website so search engines show each visitor the right language and regional version.
Founder, SEO·AEO·GEO
Builds SEO·AEO·GEO and writes the crawler, schema, and citation research published here.
International SEO is making sure that when someone in Germany searches in German, they find your German page, and someone in India finds your Indian page with rupee prices. It covers URL structure, language annotations and content that's genuinely localized.
Choosing a URL structure
| Structure | Example | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country-code domain | example.de | Clear country signal | Separate sites to build and maintain |
| Subdirectory | example.com/de/ | Easy to set up; shares one domain | Less clear country signal |
| Subdomain | de.example.com | Easy to host separately | Treated more like a separate site |
| URL parameter | example.com?lang=de | Simple | Google doesn't recommend it |
hreflang
hreflang annotations tell Google about the language and regional versions of a page so it can show the right one. Each version should list all versions, including itself, and the annotations must be reciprocal.
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-in" href="https://example.com/in/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de-de" href="https://example.com/de/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/">Things Google says that surprise people
- Google uses the visible content to determine a page's language, not code-level attributes such as the HTML lang attribute.
- Don't redirect visitors automatically by their location or language; let them choose, and let Googlebot crawl every version.
- Translated content is fine; machine translation without review may not be useful to readers.
Common mistakes
- hreflang pointing at URLs that redirect or return errors.
- Missing return links between versions.
- Canonical tags on every language version pointing to the English page.
- Translating only the navigation and leaving the content in one language.
Check it on your own site
What the free audit tests for this
- Hreflang
- Lang attribute
One URL, about 20 seconds, no login. You get the result of every check and the exact fix for the top three issues.
Audit your website freeFAQ
Do I need hreflang for a site in one language?+
No. hreflang is for sites with several language or regional versions of the same content.
Is a ccTLD better than a subdirectory?+
A country-code domain sends the clearest country signal; a subdirectory is easier to manage. Both work. Pick the one you can maintain.
What do international SEO services include?+
Typically market and keyword research per country, URL structure, hreflang setup, localization of content and a technical audit of each version.
Sources
- Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites — Google Search Central
- Tell Google about localized versions of your page — Google Search Central