--- title: "International SEO" description: "International SEO from ShoutRank: hreflang, market URLs, and language versions for companies that truly sell in more than one place." canonical: https://shoutrank.com/international-seo markdown: https://shoutrank.com/international-seo.md --- # International SEO International SEO from ShoutRank: hreflang, market URLs, and language versions for companies that truly sell in more than one place. International SEO decides which countries and languages deserve a version of the site, and how those versions point at each other. Translating the homepage into ten languages is not a market strategy. A version should exist when the offer, the price, or the proof is actually different, or when the language is one your buyers use. We do not create country doorway pages. If you do not sell there, the URL should not exist. ShoutRank does not guarantee a ranking or a citation. ## The problem ### Hreflang is half finished. One template emits the tags. Another market was added by hand. Return links are missing, so the cluster never resolves. ### One English site is forced to rank everywhere. It can. It also mixes currencies, spellings, and proof that belongs to a single country. ### Automatic translation is indexed. The pages exist, the language is wrong often enough to embarrass a buyer, and they compete with the pages you wrote. ## How ShoutRank approaches it We list the markets you operate in. Each one gets a clear URL pattern. Tags are generated from that list, not pasted into a plugin field until someone forgets a country. Content is localized where the offer changes. Where it does not, we say so, and we do not pretend a translated slogan is a new page. ## What the work includes ### Market map Countries and languages that get a URL, and the ones that should keep using a default. ### URL and tag spec The pattern, the hreflang pairs, and the canonical inside each version. ### Localization notes What must change besides language: currency, proof, product names, legal lines. ### Index check Which versions are actually indexed, and which tags disagree with the sitemap. ## Process ### Discovery Confirm the markets with sales, not with a list of languages a plugin offers. ### Audit Audit the current versions, tags, and canonicals. ### Strategy Specify the URL model and what each version must contain. ### Implementation Implement with the team that owns the templates. ### Monitoring Watch each market’s queries on its own URLs. ### Optimization Fix return tags and accidental indexation of machine translations. ### Reporting A market table: URL, language, index status, and the queries it is starting to own. ## Why ShoutRank ### Markets you can defend We will ask where you can fulfill, support, and take payment. The URLs follow that answer. ### Tags are a spec, not a hope Hreflang is checked as HTML, not assumed because a plugin is installed. ### English is the working language The practice runs in English. Localization is specified with your team in the market, not invented here. ## How success is measured Index coverage by version. Queries per market landing on that market’s URL. Hreflang errors that remain after the template change. A named client result is published when that client clears the figure. Until then the report is the measurement. ## Questions ### Should we use subfolders or subdomains? Either can work. We pick the one your stack can keep correct, and we do not switch it for fashion. ### Do you translate the site? We specify what must be localized. Professional translation is a separate craft. Machine output should not be indexed by default. ### What about a single country we might enter next year? Do not publish the version until the offer is real. ## Related - [Enterprise SEO](https://shoutrank.com/enterprise-seo): When several teams own several markets. - [Technical SEO](https://shoutrank.com/technical-seo): Canonicals and indexation underneath the tags. - [SEO services](https://shoutrank.com/seo): The query assignment inside each market.