What is international SEO?

International SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank in search engines across multiple countries and languages. It involves technical setup (hreflang tags, URL structure), content localization (not just translation), and market-specific strategies.

Three URL structure options: 1) Subfolders (example.com/fr/, example.com/de/) — best for most businesses. Consolidates domain authority. Easy to manage. 2) Subdomains (fr.example.com, de.example.com) — treated as separate sites by Google. Use only when regional sites are truly independent. 3) Country-code TLDs (example.fr, example.de) — strongest geo-targeting signal but splits authority across domains. Use only with significant resources per market.

Hreflang tags tell Google which language version to show which users. Every page needs hreflang tags pointing to all its language variants plus an x-default (fallback). Getting hreflang wrong is the most common international SEO mistake — and it's subtle enough that you might not notice for months.

Content strategy: translation is table stakes. Localization is what ranks. A French page about SEO should reference French search behavior, French competitors, and French regulations — not just be a word-for-word translation of the English page.

Prioritize markets by search volume, competition, and commercial intent. Don't launch 20 languages simultaneously — launch 2-3, build authority, then expand.