International SEO

[Moira]

I recently received an email from an American company offering International SEO. I've attached an extract from the Email
"Our company is specialized in multilingual search engine promotions in 28 languages . From the Japanese Google to the German Yahoo, from the AOL in Spanish to the MSN in Chinese, we can show you how to develop a true international online presence by promoting your website on foreign search engines.

Let us show you how to develop a presence on the multilingual web without having to translate your website: It is not necessary to translate your website in order to submit to foreign search engines, however, you need to have at least 1 page in Japanese optimized with Japanese keywords and meta tags in order to submit to Japanese search engines, at least 1 page in Spanish optimized with Spanish keywords in order to submit to Hispanic search engines and so on..."

Effectively what they are saying is that the web has now moved on from an initial bias towards English to searching depending upon the particular countries language. Has anyone heard of this or is it just another company putting a different spin on SEO? I'm currently revamping my website and obviously want to show up when people abroad search. Thanks Moira

[Cassis]

Well, the foreign johnnies do tend to search using their own lingo so it makes sense to have at least one introductory page written in their language and optimised in terms of title, description etc..

You can then give them the option of getting more info from your English pages (if they happen to speak God's language) or links to your pages translated automatically by Google (if they don't understand even when you shout at them).

Phil

[Moira]

I suppose ultimately what I'm wondering is whether anyone has translated their key words/metatags into another language and this has specifically improved their ranking in that country and therefore the number of enquiries.

[Cassis]

In a word, Yes. Landing pages for specific languages can get you up the results in those countries, without needing to set up separate websites.

[Moira]

Thanks all, makes sense really. Something else to look into.

[CSE]

I suppose ultimately what I'm wondering is whether anyone has translated their key words/metatags into another language and this has specifically improved their ranking in that country and therefore the number of enquiries.

Yes we have done, but just do not use a simple translation. Sometimes the language/country you are aiming for uses a different word to what say google translates it to.

[Margaret]

We have separate websites in English and German. I have now persuaded our village to do the same - it means we can also have a different set of pages on each - there are a lot of German pages on the village website which do not need to be in English. The English website for our houses also has some pages which are not needed on the German version.

[paolo]

Effectively what they are saying is that the web has now moved on from an initial bias towards English to searching depending upon the particular countries language.

People have always searched the web in their own language. I would steer clear of these SEO companies that tout for business. If you are interested in getting Japanese enquiries you need someone to translate a page or more into Japanese. You then need to be able to respond in Japanese.

[Cassis]

You can get a few tips on keywords etc if you go to the local google site and start searching in the local language - experiment with different possible keywords and see what terms produce most results (relevant ones, obviously). Check out the meta tags and content of the top sites.

Between that and google you might be able to cobble together something for yourself that'll work even without speakingthe lingo fluently, as long as you stick to common, recurring phrases and have a vague feel for the language. If you can get a fluent native speaker to check it over, all the better.

This won't work for oriental languages but I've never seen a Chinese or Japanese tourist outside of Paris so it doesn't bother me.

[la vache!]

This won't work for oriental languages but I've never seen a Chinese or Japanese tourist outside of Paris so it doesn't bother me.

You've never been to Mont St Michel then? But they usually only visit on a day trip - from Paris.
I'd be wary of any SEO company cold calling tbh. And it is difficult to include SEO for all nationalities. I have a separate website for France, as I'm familiar with that and can do the SEO myself, so I think the best thing is to look at your market and gear your SEO to the 2 or 3 languages which most people speak who stay with you. English, French and German covers most of that base for me.

[Cassis]

Cheeky - you obviously know what I meant ...

[Cassis]

English, French and German covers most of that base for me.

Dutch is useful - for both Dutch and many Belgians. Many Dutch speakers also speak English but they don't search in English.

[CSE]

Dutch is useful - for both Dutch and many Belgians. Many Dutch speakers also speak English but they don't search in English.

Shh we can have that market all to ourselves!

[Martha]

I have a complete site in French and a landing page in Dutch, though I need to get these onto the new site.

I would LOVE Japanese clients and I do actually speak a little Japanese. There are a lot of Japanese in Chamonix but, like LV says, they tend to come on day trips only - understandable when you consider the distance, it's generally part of a big tour. I am still thinking of doing a Japanese page on the off chance.

Thinking about it, we have had some Chinese clients but he spoke impeccable English and French!

[la vache!]

That's interesting - the Dutch speak French, German and English so fluently I wasn't sure whether it was worth doing a Dutch version of my website. Another project for August.