A Recruiter’s Guide to Optimising for International SEO and Google Ads

Expanding into a different market is an effective way to ensure the growth of your recruitment business. By tapping into a whole new set of prospects, you’re increasing your chances of finding more leads to qualified candidates and employers who might require your services. 

But what should you do to help ensure your recruitment site’s success if you want to target audiences in foreign countries? You can start by optimising your recruitment site for international SEO and Google Ads. 

What is International SEO?

International SEO is the process of optimising your site for foreign search engines, audiences, and languages. While this may sound challenging, it is a worthy consideration to make, especially if you’re looking into branching out in other markets or you have a growing number of international web visitors. 

If you’re still on the fence about targeting foreign audiences, here are a few reasons why you should consider having an international SEO-friendly recruitment site: 

• Google runs 192 search engines in different countries and regions.
• Bing offers search results in 41 languages.
• Baidu, China’s answer to Google, is the world’s second-largest search engine. 

The processes involved in international SEO may not be that different when optimising your site for local search engines. However, the most notable difference between international and local SEO is that instead of attracting traffic and leads from neighbouring cities or regions, you’re targeting prospects from other countries. 

How Do You Know If You Should Optimise for International SEO?

Targeting audiences from other countries is a serious undertaking. This is why you have to make sure that you are indeed ready. If you want to know if you should optimise for international SEO, see if there’s a significant portion of your visitors who are from other countries, speak different languages, or both. If this is the case, you should think about making your website international search engine-friendly.

It also helps to answer the following questions before you get started: 

• Which country am I targeting?
• Which language do I want to optimise my site for?
• Can I create foreign-language web content regularly and consistently? 

Let’s say you want to expand your recruitment business to Spain. You probably think that the first thing you need to do is optimise your site for Spanish-speaking audiences. However, take note that the Spanish language is not exclusive to people living in Spain. Other countries in South America, such as Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, also have Spanish as their official language. Therefore, answering the questions above can help you identify the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. 

International SEO Tips to Help You Get Started

Similar to standard SEO, there are certain best practices you should implement to help boost your ranking on international search engines. Here are a few tips you should consider: 

1. Conduct an SEO audit

Before you start drawing up an SEO plan, make sure to run an audit of your recruitment site. An SEO audit will help you determine the current status of your website, including what needs to be improved and adjusted. By identifying your site’s strengths and weaknesses, it will be much easier to pinpoint the strategies required to make your site international SEO-friendly. 

2. Use the right country-code domains for your site

Make sure to choose the most appropriate country-code domain for your site, regardless of whether you want to establish an online presence in one or several countries. Also, keep in mind the following tips: 

• If you have a regional audience, using a country-code top-level domain is recommended.
• On the other hand, it’s best to avoid a country-code domain if you only have one recruitment site, but you want to target foreign audiences.
• If you’re already serving international audiences, but you still want to establish an online presence in more countries or regions, consider using country-codes. 

3. Select the best URL structure

As with standard SEO, your site’s URL structure can also have an impact on your search ranking. As such, make sure to use the most appropriate one when targeting a specific country or language. Here are the different types of URL structures you can use: 

a. ccTLD

ccTLDs are URLs with two-letter codes that indicate the country or territory where the site is registered. Example: XYZRecruitment.uk 

b. Subdomain

Instead of creating a separate website for international audiences, you can set up a subdomain as an alternative. In a nutshell, a subdomain is a third-level domain where you can store content for foreign web visitors. Example: subdomain.XYZRecruitment.com. 

c. Subdirectory

In this URL structure, there is a specific subdirectory, folder, or root domain for your internationalised content. Example: XYZRecruitment.com/subdirectory. 

d. gTLD with language parameters

If you’re targeting foreign-language speakers, you can attach a URL parameter to your website’s domain name. Example: XYZRecruitment.com/?lang-eng-uk. 

4. Tailor your content for your audience

As with standard SEO, it’s vital to create tailored content for your target audience when optimising for international SEO and Google Ads. For starters, make sure your web content is in your prospects’ native language. You should also use the local currency, time zone, and other local information your audience will find useful and relevant. 

Optimise for International SEO

When venturing into other countries or territories, you must have a recruitment site that is tailored not just for international search engines, but for international audiences, as well. Not only will this make your site more relevant and appealing, but it can also help improve its search ranking and boost your chances of succeeding. 

If you need help making your recruitment site international SEO-friendly, we’re more than happy to assist you. At Recruitment Traffic, we can offer you bespoke SEO and Google Ads solutions to help you make the most of the opportunities Google can offer. Please speak with us today!