
If you’re reading this, you may already have some basic knowledge of keyword research: brainstorming keyword ideas, analyzing them in a keyword research tool, and shortlisting your target keywords.
While these can achieve spectacular results when applied to a local SEO (search engine optimization) campaign, it needs some adaptation for the international scene.
That’s because when you start targeting international website traffic, there are entirely new considerations to cater to. For one, such website visitors may speak languages that aren’t the same as yours. Cultural differences may also affect the keywords that global searchers use for their online searches.
Do you typically take such issues into account during a local keyword research exercise? Probably not.
To enhance your website’s rankings in the international markets, you will need to conduct not just regular SEO keyword research, but international SEO keyword research.
Keep reading as we explore its importance for reaching a global audience and the four stages for conducting effective international SEO keyword research.
SEO keyword research is the process of identifying search terms, phrases, and questions that people key into search engines to look for information.
For example, a person deciding whether to buy an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy smartphone might use the keyword “iphone vs samsung” for their online search.
On the other hand, a person keen to know the average lifespan of a golden retriever might type the keyword “average lifespan of golden retriever” into a search engine.
If either of these keywords were helpful to your business, you’d want to identify them as you conduct SEO keyword research. That’s because as you generate relevant keywords for your business, you’ll be able to:
SEO keyword research is thus an important process in any content marketing strategy. And likewise for international SEO keyword research, which is SEO keyword research but applied to the global market.
If you’re planning and implementing a global SEO strategy, international SEO keyword research is definitely a step you can’t miss.
Carrying out international SEO keyword research naturally involves identifying keywords for which you want to optimize your website content.
And if you are creating digital marketing content for users who speak a foreign language, it’s also logical that you may need to translate your keywords.
But, a comprehensive international SEO keyword research strategy involves more than just executing these two processes. If you don’t localize your keywords and ensure they’re relevant to the local market, then your website may rank more poorly on the international search engine results pages (SERPs).
To get a head start, check out what search results look like in your target country. You'll have a better idea of how to present your products or services and even who your competitors are.
Let’s discuss the four main stages of international SEO keyword research in more detail:
As with any keyword research endeavor, whether for international or local SEO, the first stage is to identify potential keywords worth creating content for.
Below, we’ve listed some international keyword research considerations that help determine whether a keyword is a “good” one. You’ll likely find them familiar if you have some SEO experience:
It’s important not to assume the language of the keywords that would make the most impact. When AS Marketing was looking into targeting Norway for their clients’ ad campaigns, they noticed there was a more significant focus on English keywords.
"We found that while Norwegian keywords had a low search volume, so we had the competitor advantage here.” said Leigh Buttrey during the International Marketing Summit 2024. “And these keywords converted a lot more than the English ones because we're gaining that trust."
Use a keyword research tool such as Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush to get insights into the above considerations as you carry out international keyword research.
As mentioned, directly translating your keywords to the target language isn’t a complete international SEO strategy. However, it is still a necessary part of the process.
Once you’ve compiled a list of target keywords, translate them into all the different languages for which you want to create content. Manual translation may be manageable if you have only a handful of keywords to translate.
But what if you have hundreds or even thousands of keywords? Manually translating them all can take quite some time. Your translations may also not be the most accurate if you aren’t well-versed in the destination language.
This is where using an automatic translation tool such as Weglot will come in handy. Weglot uses sophisticated machine translation technology to instantly translate the content on your website, including your keywords.
The quality of your translated keywords will also be high, as Weglot uses a proprietary mix of machine-learning translations to produce the best translations for any given language pair.
If you’re a visual learner, here’s a video on improving your international SEO:
After Weglot has translated your keywords, you can review them and make further adjustments to ensure their suitability for your target audience.
You can also engage Weglot’s partner translators directly from the Weglot Dashboard if you’d like an expert to review your keyword translations.
And once you’re happy with your translated keywords, you’ll want to:
Simply translating your keywords doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a perfect fit for the local context of your target country. That’s because your translations may not have captured societal and cultural nuances present in these specific countries.
Here are two instances where this may be the case:
When doing a direct translation of your keywords will not accurately reflect how your new market uses them, you’d need to go one step further and localize your keywords. This involves adapting your keywords for the local context, such as rephrasing them or switching them out with more suitable keywords.
Keyword localization, and the localization of your website content as a whole, is essential to helping your website rank well in the SERPs and reach online searchers in your target market.
If you’ve used Weglot to translate your keywords, all your translations will be conveniently stored in a central Weglot Dashboard.
From there, you can search for the specific keywords that need localizing, and then refine or replace them with more appropriate alternatives.
Once you’ve translated and localized your identified keywords (as per stages two and three above), your resulting keywords may appear very different from those you originally identified in the first stage. This is where you’ll need to double-check their viability for your target audience.
After all, you don’t want to start producing content with your localized keywords in mind, only to realize that you should have directed your efforts toward targeting a different keyword.
Run your localized keywords through your preferred international keyword research tool to analyze their organic search volume, keyword difficulty, and other vital SEO stats. In addition, review the search intent of your localized keywords to see if they have changed. After that, decide on your next steps.
For example, if you find that the search volume for one localized keyword is very low, you may want to find a different localized keyword to target.
Alternatively, the search intent for one localized keyword might still be informational in nature, but the keyword itself relates to a different content topic. In this case, you’ll have to choose whether to create content for the original topic or the new one.
When you’ve settled on your localized keywords and your approach for each of them, you’re ready to use them for your website content!
Don’t forget to optimize your content using SEO best practices as well, such as using header tags and writing enticing meta descriptions.
If you want to get more website traffic or sales from the global markets, international SEO keyword research is one process to undertake as part of your SEO campaign. It helps you identify crucial keywords that international searchers are using so you can optimize your website for such keywords accordingly.
Then, with higher visibility in the SERPs, your website may receive more visitors – who may then purchase from you!
A successful international SEO keyword research strategy involves first identifying keywords and evaluating their usefulness to your business using metrics such as search volume and keyword difficulty. If these keywords aren’t in the language of your target audience, you’ll need to translate them.
While you could translate your keywords manually, using an automated translation tool can help you obtain accurate keyword translations within a much shorter turnaround time.
Next, localize your translated keywords to better suit the local context by tweaking them to include slang or replacing them with entirely different words. Finally, check the viability of your localized keywords for your SEO goals.
Once you’ve confirmed your localized keywords, you can start using them to optimize your content.
Weglot’s website translation solution is a useful tool for the translation stage of the international SEO keyword research process, helping you translate large quantities of keywords within your website content.
Weglot supports the translation of over 110 languages and comes with useful international SEO features such as:
Weglot seamlessly integrates with all leading website and ecommerce platforms, including WordPress, Webflow, and Shopify.
More than 110,000 websites use Weglot for their translation needs, and you can try Weglot on your website for free by starting your 10-day free trial.