This document provides guidance on optimizing a website for international SEO success. It discusses the pros and cons of different domain structures like country-specific domains, country subdomains, and country subfolders. It also covers technical considerations like geo-targeting and implementing hreflang tags. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding international audiences through research, providing unique localized content, and using interpretation instead of direct translations between languages.

1. F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L S E O S U C C E S S
Backing
theRight
Domain
How to prepare your gaming site for international SEO success,
the pros and cons of different ways of positioning your domain
structure and how to optimise your site to gain the best organic
visibility in a specific international territory.
Choosing Your
Domain
C O U N T RY D O M A I N S
C O U N T RY S U B D O M A I N
PROS CONS
Likely to increase
local SEO authority
Easier to
communicate brand
locally
Often a new setup
which takes time to
build SEO authority
Higher technical
maintenance
Longer ROI curve
Higher registration
and hosting costs
Specific cultures
engage better with a
local domain
Can provide better
click through rate in
search engines
PROS CONS
Partly inherits
domain authority
from root domain
Offers flexibility
on sub domain
naming
Not as much local
authority as a
country specific
domain
Natural links can
easily point to
wrong URL versions
for users and search
engines
Risk of diminished
trust from web
users
Cost saving versus
country specific
domain
Technical capabilities
often more agile and
cost effective
PROS CONS
Overall domain
authority greater
due to one domain
Lower
maintenance
costs
Often harder to
gain local country
authority
Often less likely to
get user to link to
specific country
sub folder
Less trust from a
conversion
perspective if the
brand is small
Existing CMS
easy to integrate
Shorter ROI curve
Technical
Considerations
Ideally the host country
of your site should be
the same as the domain
Use Google webmaster
tools to configure
your language and
geo targeting
Implement Hreflang code to tell search engines
which page should rank in which country search engine
Settings
Geographic target
Preferred domain Don’t set
Display URLS as www.get.com
Display URLS as get.com
Target users in USA
http://www.example.com http://en-gb.example.com
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en”
href=”http://www.example.com/” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-gb”
href=”http://en-gb.example.com/”/>
Understanding
the
User
Research the relevant information
United States
Norway
USA
United Kingdom
Sweden
Denmark
Poland
Canada
Finland
Netherlands
Other
G A T R A F F I C B Y C O U N T RY / T E R R I T O RY
S E O V I S I B I L I T Y S P R E A D B Y C O U N T RY
Check different variations by country
India
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
Germany
Netherlands
Philippines
Pakistan
Indonesia
Analyse search intentions
Plan for your international audience
Use Google planning tools
Provide unique content per region
Each country search engine has different keyword variations
Sports betting
Sports betting tips
Sports betting
Sports betting sites
Sports betting tips and tricks
Sports betting
Sports betting tips
Sports betting online
Sports betting strategies
Sports betting mate
www.google.co.uk
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/planning-tools/
www.google.com.au
WordReference.com is a good resource to use for intpretation
Content
Key
Success
Ingredients
for
Considerations
Literal translations can provide the wrong context
More Unique Keyword Referrals
Translation Issues
More Keyword Variations
Use interpretation not translation
® ®
Eat your fingers off
“It’s finger lickin’ good
“ ” ”
=
Select the best domain
Implement standard technical
SEO requirements
Identify regional demand
Understand user context
Use interpretation, not translation
www.latitudegroup.com
Sources:
http://suite.searchmetrics.com/en/research/domains/organic/
world-seo-visibility
http://www.gbm.scotiabank.com/English/bns_econ/IT_gaming.pdf
http://www.merlinox.com/suggest/index-en.php
https://clevergizmos.com/keyword-researcher/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/research-study/10-ex
port-maps-for-british-businesses/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/planning-tools/
http://businessculture.org, http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/
domain.co.ukexample:
uk.domain.comexample:
domain.com/ukexample:
C O U N T RY S U B F O L D E R S