What Is International SEO? What You Need to Know

Ella Pybus | 1 September, 2025 | 3 minute read | Blog, Digital Marketing, SEO

If your business wants to grow, but your website only speaks to one country, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities. 

That’s where international SEO comes in. International SEO is about making sure your website is optimised to reach audiences across different countries and languages. It helps search engines understand who you’re targeting, and it ensures that people in other regions actually find and understand your content. 

In this blog, we’ll break down what international SEO is, why it matters, and how you can start thinking about it in a practical way.

So, what is international SEO? 

International SEO is the process of optimising your website so that search engines can serve the right version of your site to the right audience, whether that’s based on their country, language, or both.

Think of it as tailoring your site so that:

• A user in Spain sees your Spanish content.
• A user in the UK doesn’t end up on your US site by mistake.

Search engines use signals like language tags, hreflang attributes, site structure, and even hosting locations to determine this. Done right, it improves visibility, avoids duplicate content issues, and ensures that your global audience has a smooth experience.

Why does international SEO matter? 

If you only focus on one market, you’re automatically limiting your growth. Even if you sell worldwide, if your SEO isn’t set up correctly, international visitors may struggle to find your site, or worse, they may find the wrong version of it.

That means:

• Lost sales from frustrated users.
• Confusing duplicate listings in search results.
• A weaker overall online presence in global markets.

Want to learn more? Check out our blog: The real benefits of international SEO

How to get started with international SEO

Getting started with international SEO can be broken down into manageable steps. 

Step 1: Define your target audience 

Before making any changes, you need clarity on which countries or languages matter most. Are you targeting English speakers globally, or specific countries like Germany, Spain, and Japan? Your approach will look different depending on your goals.

Step 2: Choose Your Site Structure

There are a few ways to set up your website for international SEO:

• ccTLDs (country code top-level domains) like .de for Germany.
• Subdomains like de.example.com.
• Subdirectories like example.com/de/.

Each comes with pros and cons, but the main idea is to send clear signals to search engines about your targeting.

Our final thoughts 

International SEO isn’t just a technical process, it’s about making sure the right people in the right places can find and connect with your brand. By defining your markets, structuring your site correctly, and sending clear signals to search engines, you’ll expand your business to global growth.

Do you want to learn more about international SEO? Read our ultimate guide to international SEO.