International SEO
International SEO is the discipline of making websites visible in multiple countries or languages, with attention to hreflang, regional targeting and local content.
International SEO first requires an architecture choice: ccTLDs (shop.nl, shop.de), subdomains (nl.shop.com, de.shop.com), or subfolders (shop.com/nl/, /de/). Subfolders consolidate authority best, ccTLDs signal strongest local ranking. Then: correct hreflang, content adapted locally (not pure machine translation), and local backlinks in each target country.
Example
Webrock Media uses subfolder architecture (webrockmedia.nl/en/, /de/) with hreflang tags and dedicated NL/EN/DE content. One domain consolidating authority while each language can rank independently.
Frequently asked questions
Which architecture is best?
Depends on target markets. Serious per-country presence: ccTLD. Starting or budget-constrained: subfolders.
Related terms
Further reading
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