The three letters at the beginning of most web addresses stand for World Wide Web. However, a lot of people managing their own blogs seem to have forgotten that and often close their eyes to the International Internet. Be it for business or for personal use, there is a whole world out there just waiting to visit your blog. English is one of the most spoken languages throughout the entire globe, so it doesn’t matter if you can’t speak Chinese, Spanish or Russian. A big portion of the world browses the web in English, so there is already a huge market out there ready and waiting for your blog to arrive.
The following includes some core advice when it comes to content and the more technical aspects of your web content. You could quickly have an International Blog by taking care of certain aspects with your blog. These simple adjustments will result in an internationally friendly blog for all to see.
Run the Numbers
Before you do anything, you should take some time and take a look at your readership. If you’ve never done this before, you can do so using Google Analytics as well as Google’s Webmaster Tools. The first time you do this, you might be surprised to see how many of your readers are overseas. Taking a look at just where in the world your readers are is a great place to start. This way ,you will be able to see which parts of the world you need to be targeting and which parts of the world are frequently visiting your site.
If you have come to the conclusion that you have small pockets of readers in multiple parts of the world, you will know that those areas are the best places to focus on. Similarly, if you have large readerships in a couple parts of the world, you can either focus on keeping them, or try and boost those smaller pockets.
Get to Know Your International Audience
Chances are that you have no idea what users in Brazil or Hong Kong are searching for or what their general online habits are. By taking a look at different territories using Google’s Consumer Barometer and the TNS Digital Life services, you can glance at what product categories and such are popular, and where. This is important because it can point you in the right direction, and help target the best regions. For instance, your blog might be full of investment ideas in startups but if that is not the case in Mexico, there is no point in targeting Mexico. Instead, you can focus on different regions that are interested in that subject.
Keywords Are Important No Matter Where You Are in the World
Keywords are important everywhere. Regardless of whether you’re searching through Baidu in China or Yandex in Russia, keywords will determine what results you get. For someone running their own blog, it matters what keywords will allow their blog to be discovered overseas.
There are two ways you can do this, depending on whether or not you are going to be using a different language other than English. If you are going to be writing in German, Spanish or even Russian, then you will need to find out the best keywords used in those languages. While Google’s own tool is good, it is not great at getting the exact phrase and thus isn’t as precise as it could be. Instead, you can try out UberSuggest which is much more commonly used across the globe. If you are going to stick with English, then generic keywords are probably going to be your best bet. However, looking for what English keywords are used in your target regions will help you refocus your keyword usage.
Keep Those High Standards for Content
No matter what you are using your blog for, be it business or for personal use, you should have the highest standards when it comes to quality content. That sort of work ethic shouldn’t change because you’re targeting different parts of the globe. In fact, you should be making sure your content is even better, especially if you are trying to boost a smaller readership overseas. Content is key, and you shouldn’t sacrifice that for anything. Although following the advice laid out above will bring readers to your blog, it really is your content that will keep them coming back for more. Be sure to offer nothing but your best.
Do you have any other advice for making your blog better for international audiences?
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