International SEO is where scope complexity multiplies — literally. Every additional market adds another set of keyword research, content localisation, technical checks, and reporting requirements. An agency that scopes international SEO like single-market work will either under-deliver or over-commit.
The core problem: "We want to rank in Germany and France" sounds like one requirement. In practice, it's two separate keyword strategies, two sets of localised content, hreflang implementation across all pages, market-specific link building, and reporting per market. Without explicit per-market scoping, one engagement becomes three — priced as one.
Who this is for
- SEO agencies working with clients expanding into new markets
- Teams scoping multi-language or multi-region SEO for the first time
- Account managers pricing international SEO without deep technical experience
- Agencies managing hreflang, subdirectories, or ccTLD structures
Variables that drive international SEO scope
| Variable | Impact |
|---|---|
| Number of markets | Each market multiplies keyword research, content, and reporting effort |
| Domain strategy | ccTLDs, subdirectories, subdomains — different technical complexity |
| Language vs market | Same language, different markets (US/UK/AU) vs different languages (EN/DE/FR) |
| Content model | Translation, localisation, or net-new content per market |
| Hreflang status | Not implemented, partially implemented, implemented with errors |
| CMS capabilities | Native multi-language support vs manual management |
| Market priority | All markets equal vs tiered (primary/secondary/tertiary) |
| Existing presence | Entering new markets vs optimising existing international structure |
International SEO scope components
| Component | Per market? | Effort range |
|---|---|---|
| Market and keyword research | Yes | 8–16 hours per market |
| Domain strategy recommendation | Once | 4–8 hours |
| Hreflang implementation | Once (affects all markets) | 8–20 hours |
| Technical setup (subdirectory/ccTLD) | Once per structure change | 4–12 hours |
| Content localisation strategy | Yes | 4–8 hours per market |
| On-page optimisation | Yes | Varies by page count per market |
| Local link building | Yes (if included) | 8–20 hours per market |
| Market-specific reporting | Yes | 2–4 hours per market per month |
Scope definition
- Markets in scope (list countries/regions)
- Languages in scope (list languages, noting market variants: e.g., PT-BR vs PT-PT)
- Domain strategy (ccTLDs / subdirectories / subdomains / Shopify Markets)
- Market priority tiers (primary / secondary / tertiary)
- Content model (translation / localisation / net-new per market)
- Current international SEO status (new setup / optimisation of existing)
Market and keyword research (per market)
- Market-specific keyword research (not translation of English keywords)
- Search landscape analysis (local search engines, SERP features, competitor landscape)
- Keyword prioritisation by market (search volume, difficulty, commercial intent)
- Content gap analysis vs local competitors
- Local search behaviour differences (query patterns, seasonality)
Technical implementation
- Domain structure setup or verification (subdirectory, ccTLD, or subdomain)
- Hreflang tag implementation across all markets and languages
- Hreflang validation and error correction
- XML sitemap per market/language (or sitemap index)
- Geotargeting configuration in Google Search Console (per property)
- Canonical tag strategy across language/market versions
- Content duplication handling (same-language, different-market pages)
- CMS configuration for multi-language content management
Content localisation (per market)
- Localisation of priority pages (not machine translation — human review required)
- Market-specific metadata (title tags, meta descriptions — not translated, rewritten)
- Market-specific structured data
- Local address, phone, and trust signals where applicable
- Cultural adaptation of imagery, examples, and references (if scoped)
Link building (per market, if included)
- Market-specific outreach and prospecting
- Local digital PR or guest posting (language-appropriate)
- Local citation and directory building (where relevant)
- Monthly link acquisition targets per market
Reporting (per market)
- Market-level traffic and ranking breakdown
- Hreflang health monitoring
- Cross-market performance comparison
- Local competitor tracking per market
- Indexation status per language/market version
Exclusions
- Content translation or copywriting (scoped separately unless included above)
- Website development or CMS changes
- PPC or paid media in any market
- Market research beyond search landscape (pricing, product-market fit, regulations)
- Legal compliance review (GDPR, local data laws — client responsibility)
- Server or CDN configuration for geo-targeting
- Work in markets not listed in scope definition
Access requirements
- Google Search Console (per domain/subdirectory property)
- Google Analytics 4 (with market-level data views or segments)
- CMS access with multi-language content permissions
- Rank tracking tool configured per market and language
- Native-language reviewer access (for content QA)
Timeline
- Market research phase: [X] weeks per market
- Technical implementation: [X] weeks
- Content localisation: [X] weeks per market (sequential or parallel)
- Ongoing optimisation: [X] hours per market per month
- Note: Markets can be launched sequentially (recommended) or in parallel
Market prioritisation framework
Not all markets deserve equal scope. Prioritise by business potential and SEO feasibility.
| Tier | Criteria | Scope depth |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Highest revenue potential, existing demand signals, executive priority | Full scope: research, technical, content, links, reporting |
| Secondary | Growth opportunity, some existing presence, moderate competition | Research + technical + on-page, no link building initially |
| Tertiary | Exploratory, low current revenue, high competition | Technical setup + monitoring only, expand based on results |
This prevents equal investment in markets with unequal opportunity.
Domain strategy decision guide
| Strategy | Best for | Complexity | SEO signal strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| ccTLDs (example.de, example.fr) | Established brands with market-specific operations | High — separate properties to manage | Strong geo-signal, but authority split across domains |
| Subdirectories (example.com/de/) | Most businesses, single-brand presence | Medium — one domain, consolidated authority | Good geo-signal with hreflang, consolidated domain authority |
| Subdomains (de.example.com) | Rare — mostly legacy setups | Medium-high — treated as separate by Google | Weaker than subdirectories for most use cases |
| Shopify Markets | Shopify merchants | Low — platform handles structure | Good for Shopify; limited customisation |
Default recommendation: Subdirectories unless the client has compelling business reasons for ccTLDs.
How RuleDox helps
International SEO scope multiplies by market count — but the multiplication is predictable. The same components recur per market. The challenge is assembling them without missing market-specific requirements or double-counting shared work (like hreflang, which is implemented once but affects all markets).
With RuleDox:
- Market count scales the scope automatically — 2 markets vs 5 markets generates different deliverables and hours
- Shared vs per-market work is separated — hreflang appears once; keyword research appears per market
- Market tiers adjust depth — primary markets get full scope; tertiary get monitoring only
- Content model changes deliverables — translation scopes differ from localisation scopes differ from net-new
- Exclusions protect against unbounded expansion — "markets not listed" are always excluded
FAQ
Should I translate English keywords or do market-specific research? Market-specific research, always. Direct translation misses how people actually search in different languages. "Car insurance" translates literally to German, but German searchers use different modifier patterns, ask different questions, and have different commercial intent signals. Budget keyword research per market.
How many markets can an agency manage simultaneously? Depends on team size and language capability. Most agencies can effectively launch 2–3 markets simultaneously. More than that and quality drops — especially content localisation. Recommend sequential market launches unless the client has dedicated per-market resources.
What about markets with different search engines (Baidu, Yandex, Naver)? Scope these as entirely separate engagements. Baidu SEO (China), Yandex SEO (Russia), and Naver SEO (South Korea) have different ranking factors, different technical requirements, and different content policies from Google. "International SEO" in this template assumes Google-centric markets.