Industries · International companies
SEO for international companies : one market, one strategy
We work with two kinds of company: foreign businesses that want to enter or grow in the Spanish market, and Spanish businesses that want to sell in other European countries. In both cases the most common mistake is the same: translating the website and hoping it works.
The search landscape
Every country searches its own way
The same product is searched for with different words in each market, even within the same language. A common term in Mexico or Argentina can sound odd in Spain; what is an “estate agent” in the UK is a “realtor” in the US. Volumes, competition, seasonality and result formats also change from country to country.
Users also expect local signals: prices in their currency, shipping and returns terms for their country, payment methods they know, local contact details, reviews from customers like them and, in many sectors, country-specific legal or tax information.
Technically, the international structure (country domains, subdirectories or subdomains), hreflang and the handling of duplicate content across language versions are decisions with long-term consequences. Fixing them later costs far more than getting them right at the start.
- Native keyword research in each market
- Localisation, not just translation
- The right international structure and hreflang from day one
Two starting points
Coming into Spain or going out from Spain?
Foreign companies entering the Spanish market
They need to understand how Spanish customers search, which local competitors dominate the results and what users in Spain expect (language, customer service, payment, legal requirements). A brand strategy is often worthwhile too, so Google and AI assistants associate the company with the Spanish market.
Spanish companies expanding into Europe
They need to prioritise markets by real opportunity, decide on the structure of the international site, localise with native speakers and build authority in each country, where the brand usually starts from zero.
Businesses with international customers in Spain
Businesses in places like the Costa del Sol, the Balearics, the Canaries or the big cities whose customers are foreign residents or visitors. The challenge is serving, in several languages, an audience that is local by location but international by origin.
Common challenges
Frequent mistakes in international projects
Translation instead of localisation
Literal, sometimes machine, translations that don't adapt search terms, examples, units or cultural references.
Broken or missing hreflang
Tags without return links, wrong language or country codes, or versions pointing to URLs that don't exist.
Redirects by IP or browser language
Automatic redirects that stop users and Google from reaching every version.
Near-identical versions
Sites for Spain, Mexico and Argentina, or for the UK and Ireland, with the same text and no real differences.
Authority only in the home market
All the links and mentions are in the original market, none in the new one.
Markets chosen by gut feeling
Expanding to countries because they are nearby or preferred, without measuring real demand or organic competition.
Our playbook
How we approach an international project
Market prioritisation
We measure search demand, organic competition and how far AI search has developed in each candidate market, and cross-check it with your commercial priorities and operational capacity (logistics, customer service, legal). The result is a reasoned order of entry.
Activities
Outputs
- Market ranking with rationale
- Expansion roadmap
International architecture
We decide on the structure (country domains, subdirectories or subdomains) based on your resources, brand and platform. We specify hreflang, how the default version is handled, navigation between languages without forced redirects, and tool setup per market.
Activities
Outputs
- International architecture document
- Technical specifications
Native research and localisation
We carry out keyword research in each language with native speakers, starting from how people search there rather than translating your original keywords. We localise priority pages, adapting terminology, examples, prices, regulations and calls to action.
Activities
Outputs
- Keyword map per market
- Published localised pages
Local authority
We build presence in each market: mentions in national media, local directories and associations, partnerships and, where you have a physical presence, Google Business Profile listings. We also strengthen your brand as an entity so Google and AI assistants link it to each market.
Activities
Outputs
- Mentions and links per market
- Stronger brand entity
Measurement per market
We track visibility, traffic, conversions and revenue by country and language, and compare each market's performance with the plan. Every quarter we review whether to accelerate, maintain or pause a market.
Activities
Outputs
- International dashboard
- Investment decisions per market
International structure
Structure options and when they fit
No option is universally best. This comparison sums up the criteria we weigh.
| Structure | Example | Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country domain (ccTLD) | brand.es, brand.de | Very clear local signal for users | Authority split across domains, higher management and registration cost |
| Subdirectories | brand.com/es/, brand.com/de/ | Consolidates authority, simple to manage | Local signal less obvious to users |
| Subdomains | es.brand.com, de.brand.com | Technical flexibility and separate infrastructure | Tends to behave more like separate sites |
FAQ
International SEO: common questions
Can I use machine translation or AI for the language versions?
As a starting point it can save time, but important pages should be reviewed and adapted by native speakers who know the market. A literal translation doesn't use the terms people actually search for, looks careless and struggles to compete with local websites.
Do I need a separate site for each Spanish-speaking country?
Only if your offer, prices or messaging differ significantly between countries and you have the resources to maintain genuinely different versions. Otherwise, one well-made Spanish version usually beats several near-identical ones.
What is hreflang and why does it matter so much?
It is an annotation that tells Google which version of a page corresponds to each language and country, so it can show the right one to each user. Misconfigured, it can cause the wrong version to appear or versions to compete with each other. Our hreflang guide explains it in detail.
Should we redirect users automatically based on their country?
Generally not. Automatic redirects can stop Google from crawling every version and frustrate users who want a different one. It's better to suggest the appropriate version with a banner and let the user choose.
Do you work in languages other than Spanish and English?
Our team works in Spanish and English. For other languages we coordinate research and localisation with native speakers, while strategy, technical work and quality control stay with our team.
We're a foreign company with no presence in Spain. Where do we start?
With research into the Spanish market for your sector: how people search, who dominates the results, what users expect and how much demand there is. With that data we decide whether to start with SEO, with paid search to validate demand, or both.
Related
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Plan your international growth with data
We analyse your website, your candidate markets and your local competitors, and propose a reasoned order of entry.