My last column highlighted some critical actions necessary to execute a successful International Search Engine Optimization strategy.
This time, let’s take a look at the specific business benefits of creating that strategy, and its alignment with the organization’s strategy as a whole.
A well-articulated strategy forms the foundation for all activities within the organization, and how it is crafted will guide decision-making as your teams work to achieve your international SEO goals.
1. It Complements The Broader Strategic Plan
The company’s overall strategic plan will provide the foundation for your international SEO.
It defines the direction in which an organization must allocate resources, process, and establish realistic goals that are in line with the overall mission.
This alignment should elevate many SEO-specific considerations that are too often an afterthought in other companies.
For example, one multinational company announced a significant push into Russia using more digital advertising to investors.
The internal SEO team was unaware many months later despite a substantial expenditure on localized content and paid advertising.
2. Teams Become Proactive Rather Than Reactive
Armed with the target market, product set, and sales goals, leadership teams, you can then make decisions and identify the specific tactics to help them achieve the objectives.
This is even more important when leveraging SEO as a channel as part of the mix.
You can start making several critical decisions covered in my International SEO Guide with less risk and a better understanding of the key focus areas and goals.
One of the most overlooked decisions is the web infrastructure.
As I explained in 4 Reasons Why International SEO Fails, this lack of planning can derail your success and create an exponential amount of work with other expansions.
3. A Dedicated International Strategy Increases Operational Efficiency
By aligning the International SEO strategy with the overall strategic plan, it is much easier to create a roadmap to align the organization’s functional activities and correct budget allocation necessary to accomplish the set objectives.
The time savings, accurate decisions, and workflow adjustments will increase operational efficiency.
As I mentioned in my International SEO Guide, international SEO sits on top of traditional SEO.
When SEO fundamentals are well integrated into the new market websites, PR, and content creation, most SEO efforts are satisfied. This allows the team to focus on tasks that enhance traffic and move the needle.
4. Improved KPI And Goals Alignment
Unfortunately, there are often not enough “resources” to action critical SEO tasks, which is usually caused by a misalignment with IT or other executive goals.
As noted earlier in this article, when SEO is better integrated into the expansion workflow, many SEO-related tasks can be completed naturally as part of the overall workflow.
More mature SEO teams will align their efforts to the strategic goals and develop a “contributory share” of the overall sales goals.
During the market alignment workstream, the SEO team should have identified concepts and keyword phrases representing the topic of the content for the market.