SEO beyond borders: Grow E-Commerce With International SEO

Some online businesses first thrive in their country and then choose to expand elsewhere.

Others go for the worldwide market straight away.

Many write success stories, but loads of them tank painfully.

And the reason for that is not really in better or worse products… Well, sometimes.

But the bigger reason is that Google isn’t the only player in the global arena; keywords get lost in translation, and people in different regions respond to different cues.

With global e-commerce expected to hit $6.3 trillion in 2024, and an online market space crowded with SEO heroes, you can quickly see why international SEO isn’t just a "nice-to-have".

Today, we’ll explore how to tailor your e-commerce SEO strategy for different countries and how sustainability and eco-conscious industry have proven that a SEO tactic tailored around a rising trend, can be a game-changer for connecting with targeted global audiences.

Because in today’s market, optimizing for local means more than just geography. It means mindset.

How International SEO Drives E-Commerce

Each company expanding internationally comes face to face with equally expanding complexity of reaching diverse markets.

Statista reported that Asia-Pacific alone accounts for nearly 60% of global e-commerce sales. One could say it's time for some SEO strategies tailored to the region.

But how do we do that? Does it seem like international SEO, is in fact, about tailoring your SEO game to cater global citizens? What about the claim that local doesn’t mean only geographically… it means mindset?

Let’s move through two case studies that will lay a solid ground for diving deeper into international SEO strategy aimed at boosting e-commerce businesses.

Case Study: ASOS

ASOS, a global fashion retailer, successfully implemented international SEO by using hreflang tags and country-specific content. This allowed them to capture markets like France and Germany, where search behavior and fashion preferences differ from the UK. By optimizing their site for local languages and preferences, ASOS saw a significant increase in organic traffic across Europe.

Case Study: Airbnb

Airbnb localized its SEO strategy by creating country-specific URLs and translating content into local languages, while also considering cultural nuances in descriptions. This move led to significant market penetration in Asia, especially Japan and South Korea, where tailored content and localized search terms helped them outpace local competitors.

What can we pull out of this?

Without implementing international SEO, your site can plummet in global markets, leaving you stuck with an approach that can’t scratch the itch of global users.

International SEO strategies help businesses to adapt to local buying behaviour, implement the right local search terms, consider cultural differences and local preferences, include them in descriptions and even understand which market’s preferences meet your products better.

Yes, you’re getting that right: best international SEO for e-commerce is seamlessly blending global reach with local SEO strategies.

And yes, there’s more to this: local targeting can sometimes mean… mindset.

What To Adapt: International SEO vs Regular SEO

Adapting your SEO to country-specific trends is about more than just translating your content—it’s about meeting your customers where they are, understanding how they search, and delivering what they want in a culturally relevant way.

Below are the key factors you’ll want to adapt to power your international SEO strategy.

Localized Keyword Research

Your keyword strategy must adapt to the unique language and search terms used in each country.

Make sure you implement local high-intent keywords.

For example, a British user might search for "trainers," while an American would type in "sneakers."

This difference may seem trivial, but it will impact your search rankings. A lot.

Use tools that allow you to perform region-specific keyword research, and help you discover high-intent keywords used locally.

Localized Content and Cultural Nuances

Translation isn’t enough. This has to be emphasized.

What is in Germany a big deal, might be a complete shot in the dark for U.S. consumers.

Germans love product details and specifications, whilst U.S. consumers are easily sold by emotional storytelling.

Which is why adapting content for each culture’s values and preferences is crucial.

E-commerce brands that adjust their tone, messaging, and even visual elements to align with local expectations seriously boost engagement.

See it for yourself:

Case Study: Nike

Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign may be global, but the brand tailors its messaging for each market.

In Japan, where understated branding and respect for community are valued, Nike shifted its focus to align with local ideals around fitness and group effort, rather than the rugged individualism that resonates in the U.S.

This kind of cultural tailoring led to stronger market penetration and supercharged their online presence in Asia.

Currency and Payment Preferences

Different countries often prefer different payment methods, and this affects SEO as well. In markets like India, cash-on-delivery dominates, while countries like Sweden prefer digital wallets.

Optimizing for these preferences—by localizing payment options and reflecting them in your SEO strategy, will drive conversions.

To prevent rather than cure: ensure that currency symbols, payment options, and checkout experiences are optimized for local audiences, so customers don’t abandon their carts at the last second. Ouch.

Technical SEO for Global Reach Made Easy

While content and keywords get most of the time on the pitch, technical SEO is the foundation that keeps your global strategy work seamlessly. And sharp.

As always, the devil is in the details.

The more of those technical aspects you tweak and adjust (like hreflang tags, country-specific URLs, mobile optimization, and CWV) the higher your success story will grow, by ensuring a seamless UX and higher search visibility in every target market.

Show Your Good Angle: Hreflang Tags and Country-Specific URLs

Implementing hreflang tags helps search engines understand which version of your website to show in different regions or languages.

If you’re targeting users in Spain and Mexico, hreflang tags tell Google to display the Spanish content to the correct market.

This prevents your U.S. content from accidentally appearing in Spanish-speaking countries and vice versa.

Country-specific URLs

Like ccTLDs: .co .uk or .de

Or subdomains, subfolders: like example.com/de/

Also play a huge role in helping search engines differentiate between localized versions of your site.

But what’s the best structure? For brands targeting multiple countries, ccTLDs (like .co.uk or .de) provide strong signals to search engines but can be expensive to manage. On the other hand, subfolders (like example.com/de/) are easier to implement and still offer localization benefits, although they don’t carry the same SEO weight as ccTLDs.

Mobile Optimization for Global Users

Mobile-first indexing is critical everywhere, but how users access your site varies depending on the country.

In markets like India or Southeast Asia, many consumers rely on mobile devices as their primary form of internet access. Making sure your website is optimized for mobile users, especially where it matters most, is essential to capturing these markets.

Google’s Core Web Vitals(linked to the other article) emphasize site performance metrics like loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability, which are key to boosting mobile rankings.

Case Study: MercadoLibre

The largest online marketplace in Latin America, MercadoLibre, prioritized mobile optimization across the region. By compressing images, leveraging accelerated mobile pages (AMP), and refining mobile UX, they significantly reduced load times, particularly in regions with slower mobile networks.

This led to an increase in mobile traffic and engagement, cementing their position as a leader in the region’s e-commerce market. Simple optimizations with valuable results.

Site Speed and Core Web Vitals

Because in some countries, internet connections aren’t as fast or stable as they are in developed markets like the U.S. or the EU, site speed can drastically affect your site’s performance.

Websites that load slowly in these regions will see higher bounce rates and lower search rankings.

For an in depth article on Core Web Vitals click here.

Below are the 3 CWV metrics for improved international SEO:

- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Ensure your pages load within 2.5 seconds.

- First Input Delay (FID): Keep your site’s interactive elements responsive.

- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Prevent unexpected layout shifts that frustrate users.

Content Delivery Networks (CDN) are tools that help improve performance, especially by reducing latency and improving loading speeds globally. While CDNs help enhance CWV metrics, particularly LCP, by speeding up content delivery, they are not CWV metrics themselves.

Adopting those 4 metrics will help you fight (and win) the bounce rates and low search rankings.

Case Study: IKEA

IKEA is a prime example of a brand that excels in global site optimization.

They’ve implemented country-specific URLs, ensuring that users in Germany see content tailored to local shipping options, product availability, and pricing.

Another tactic that allowed them to distribute content more efficiently, and improved their site performance, in regions with slower internet infrastructure was: optimizing their site speed globally by using CDN.

International SEO And Sustainability: Leveraging Mindset Trend

Although many see sustainability as just another buzzword, it has proven to reshape both consumer behavior and SEO strategies.

It is also a prime example of success, when adapting international SEO strategies not only geographically… but to the mindset of your target market.

Eco-conscious shoppers are actively seeking out brands that prioritize sustainability, and companies that optimize for these search trends are reaping the rewards, while shoppers swipe their cards.

The case studies below will demonstrate how identifying (and leveraging) a rising mindset trend can be a pivotal move in an international SEO strategy.

Case Study: Patagonia

Patagonia showed us how targeting a mindset, rather than just focusing on local relevance, can create an e-commerce blockbuster.

Known for its commitment to environmental responsibility, Patagonia has optimized its content with sustainability-focused keywords like “recycled materials,” “fair trade,” and “carbon-neutral.”

This strategy not only helps them rank for relevant queries but also reinforces their brand identity as an eco-conscious company.

By providing transparent product information and embedding their sustainability mission throughout their site, they’ve successfully attracted like-minded customers and boosted organic traffic.

Case Study: The Body Shop

Another great example is The Body Shop, which has incorporated sustainability keywords into its SEO strategy to attract the conscious mindset gals.

The company’s product descriptions and blog posts often focus on ethical sourcing and eco-friendly packaging. In doing so, they’ve captured the attention of a growing base of consumers who prioritize environmentally friendly and cruelty-free products.

This earned them a dominant spot in search results for queries related to sustainable beauty and ethical skin care.

Leveraging Green Certifications and Sustainable Content

Google’s algorithm recognizes these certifications as indicators of trustworthiness.

So finding what are the signals of the mindset trend (like certificates) and implementing them in the meta descriptions and product copy will not only help your organic SEO performance but also convert (in this case) “eco-conscious” consumers who align with your mission.

Merging The Mindset Trend With Regional Preferences

Let’s see how previously discussed international SEO practices can merge with a mindset trend.

Sustainability concerns vary across different markets.

For example, European consumers may focus more on reducing carbon footprints, while in the U.S., the emphasis might be on eco-friendly packaging.

This is why localizing your content to reflect these regional priorities and preferences, can greatly improve your international SEO strategy.

Many eco-conscious brands create country-specific blog posts, social media content, and product descriptions that highlight their sustainability efforts tailored to local values.

This makes their brand resonate more deeply with global eco-conscious crew.

Brands like Patagonia and The Body Shop are role models in leveraging the mindset trend, by prioritizing sustainability in SEO.

What they do isn’t just good for the planet—it’s good for their business.

By strategically aligning your SEO efforts with mindset trends, you will not only improve your search rankings but also connect with a growing base of consumers who flock under the umbrellas of these trends.

Best Practices to Juggle International SEO Strategies

Before wrapping up, let’s take a look at the tools that have your back while you juggle all the international SEO best practices.

For optimizing e-commerce sites for global audiences Nightwatch can help you with:

Multilingual and Multiregional Keyword tracking

Nightwatch excels in tracking multilingual keywords across multiple countries, locations, and languages, allowing you to monitor your rankings in specific regions or languages without overlap. This ensures precise data collection for each target market, crucial for a successful international SEO strategy.

You can also customise keyword groups and segments based on various parameters, such as language or region. This helps to identify keyword trends specific to different markets, improving your ability to fine-tune your strategy based on local behavior​.

Visualized Reporting and Insights

Nightwatch integrates with Google Analytics and Search Console, allowing you to combine data from different countries and languages into a cohesive dashboard. This makes it easier to track performance across international markets, improving decision making.

Accurate Location-Based Data

Simulate searches from any location globally using Nightwatch’s tool. It will give you localized search results that reflect what users in those areas actually see. This helps in identifying how your website ranks in different geographical regions, a critical aspect of international SEO

Additionally, consider simplifying content translation and localization, as well as optimizing site speed, by leveraging these tools:

Phrase and WPML: Multilingual Content Management

For brands managing multiple language versions of their sites, tools like Phrase (for translation management) and WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) are critical. They simplify the process of translating and localizing content, making it easier to deliver consistent user experiences in every market while also ensuring proper SEO optimization across languages.

CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) for Site Speed

Using a CDN, like Cloudflare or Akamai, ensures that your website loads quickly across all target regions. By distributing content through servers closer to your users, CDNs minimize latency and optimize page speed, a crucial factor in Google rankings and user experience.

Tracking and Measuring International SEO Success

The only way to keep refining and fine-tuning the tactics and strategies is by tracking, measuring and knowing what indicates improvements.

KPIs for International E-Commerce

Key performance indicators (KPIs) will vary by region. But in a nutshell, focus on:

• Organic traffic by country: Are your international pages driving more visitors?
  
  

• Localized keyword rankings: Are you climbing the SERPs for region-specific search terms?
  
  

• Conversion rates: Are your efforts translating into sales in target regions?

Google Analytics is invaluable for tracking these KPIs. By segmenting traffic by country and device, you can gain insight into how different audiences interact with your site. If, for example, you notice that your U.S. audience converts better than your German visitors, you may need to localize content, adjust your pricing or test other tactics for the German market.

As mentioned, Nightwatch integrates with GA and Search Console allowing you to combine data in a cohesive dashboard. This tool is also available on all major search engines, including Bing, Youtube, Duck Duck Go and others.

A/B Testing for Localized Pages

Running A/B tests on localized landing pages can provide valuable data on what works best for each market. Testing elements like language tone, CTAs, and even imagery can help optimize user experience for different countries, leading to higher conversions.

Tracking Hreflang and Localization Performance

Ensure that your hreflang tags are functioning properly to serve the right content to the right audience. Nightwatch's location-based tracking allows you to see how your localized content ranks in various regions. While the tool doesn’t explicitly offer a standalone hreflang tracking feature, it supports tracking rankings across different countries and languages. This can indirectly help you monitor the effectiveness of your hreflang tags by observing how localized versions of your pages perform in specific regions and languages. If you notice inconsistencies, it can indicate potential issues with hreflang implementation or localization strategy.

Monitoring Local SERP Features

Keep track of region-specific search engine results page (SERP) features, like featured snippets, local packs, or even Google Shopping placements, that vary by country. Being aware of these will allow you to tailor your strategy to target valuable SERP real estate in different regions. Luckily, we covered that in detail here.

Adapting to Changing Search Algorithms

Global search engines aren’t all the same. While Google reigns supreme in most markets, Baidu dominates China, and Yandex leads in Russia. Each platform has unique ranking factors, and staying on top of algorithm changes is critical. For example, Baidu tends to favor websites hosted in China, while Yandex places extra weight on geo-targeting and mobile-friendly pages.

Use Nightwatch to monitor your performance in all major search engines. The tool is an all-rounder. Your SEO game will explode. You’re welcome!

Conclusion: Strategic Future for Global E-Commerce is Calling

The key to winning at international SEO today? And better yet, tomorrow?

It’s all about localizing like a pro. Tapping into country-specific trends, will do more than just boost your search rankings; it will align your brand with the consumers preferences, cultural habits, and yes, including the speed of their internet connection.

But true localization means more than harnessing country-specific trends.

It's about tapping into the mindset driving your audience's choices. Keep in mind the trend of sustainability, and think of how to integrate existing trends into your international SEO strategy.

As for what's coming tomorrow…

Expect AI-powered localization to play the lead role, and don’t hit snooze on voice search optimization—it’s gaining serious momentum.

The e-commerce brands that stay sharp and ride these trends? They’ll be the ones leaving competition in the dust on the global stage.