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International SEO is about structuring and adapting your content – or your product database – so it ranks and converts across multiple markets and languages. It comes down to three things: the right technical setup, localised content, and cultural relevance. Get all three right, and you’ll show up for the right users in the right countries, both on Google and in AI search.
Who Needs International SEO – and When?
If any of the following sounds familiar, you probably need international SEO:
- You’re an e-commerce business looking to scale into new countries.
- You’re planning an international expansion and want to get it right from the start.
- You want to expand but aren’t sure how to approach it, or what it’s worth.
- Your website feels messy and doesn’t perform well internationally.
- You suspect something went wrong the last time international SEO was done.
And here’s one thing most companies miss: you may already have content that could reach a new market without rewriting a single word. More on that below.
Case Study: International SEO in Practice
Wallism wanted to scale its e-commerce operation into new markets. We did what it took to get it right: took their product database, translated it, built the technical framework around it, and then made sure everything was linguistically accurate before the final step – cultural adaptation. That’s the whole chain, in the right order. Skip a step, and you end up with a website that’s technically available in several languages but neither ranks nor feels right to the visitor.
The same approach shaped our work for Dometic:
“Where many providers in this complex field fall short due to overly junior resources or too many parallel commitments, Topdog, with Christian and the team, delivers clear results built on a genuine interest in and understanding of the client’s business. I can warmly recommend Topdog, Christian and the team if you want to run successful e-commerce SEO on a large international site.” — Vilhelm Hallström, Global Director Digital Channels, Dometic
How Topdog Approaches International SEO
International SEO is a specialist strategy focused on solving one particular problem. We build the strategy and help you carry out the action plan, following the same approach we use across all our SEO projects. The strategy has to answer four questions: What needs to be done? Who’s doing it? When? And how?
The hardest part of SEO isn’t the analysis – it’s the execution. Almost every organisation struggles with that. That’s why we structure the information so the work is easy to carry out: technical fixes get documented directly in your tech team’s project system, and we make sure leadership understands the consequences of each decision before it’s made. Should you use country-code domains or subfolders? How should translations be handled? Decisions like these are hard to reverse, so they need to be made with the right information at hand.
Many clients ask Topdog to project-manage the rollout. It works well because we’ve done it before.
What Does International SEO Include?
International SEO comes down to three core elements:
- Technical setup. Search engines need to understand which page belongs to which market. That comes down to your URL structure (country-code domains, subdomains or subfolders), hreflang tags pointing to the right language and country versions, and a site structure where each language version is properly linked internally. Hreflang errors are among the most common issues we find in our SEO audits.
- Localisation. Keywords can’t simply be translated – they need fresh research in every language, because search behaviour varies from market to market. The same goes for content: a direct translation produces text that’s accurate but not relevant. Local visitors need to feel the language is right for them, and that goes well beyond words – imagery and tone need adapting too. This is where keyword research and content work come together.
- Cultural adaptation. The final step, and the one that separates the good from the mediocre in international SEO. Terminology, dialect, and cultural references decide whether content feels local or imported. And this has become more important than ever – for a reason that deserves its own section.
International SEO and AI Search
As search becomes more AI-driven and fragmented, understanding local search behaviour and cultural differences by market is critical. Translating a text isn’t enough – content needs to be adapted to match each region’s dialect and terminology.
AI search engines are trained to pick up on and reward local language use. Here’s a concrete example: if you’re writing in English for a European audience, use “flat” rather than the American “apartment”. Getting regional terminology right significantly boosts semantic relevance and makes AI tools and voice assistants more likely to recommend your content to users in that region.
That means cultural adaptation, once a nice-to-have, is now a genuine ranking factor across AI channels. If you’d like to dig deeper into how we approach this, read more about AI SEO and GEO.
The Opportunity Most Companies Miss
International SEO isn’t just about getting things right when you expand. It’s also a way to uncover growth you didn’t know you had.
Here’s an example: around 10% of all searches in Finland are made in Swedish. A Swedish e-commerce business could take its existing Swedish product database and launch a Swedish-Finnish section, reaching Swedish-language searches in Finland without changing a single product description. Once the pieces are in place, it’s pure technical work: the right URL structure, the right hreflang, done.
Opportunities like this crop up more often than you’d expect. Part of our SEO strategy work for international clients involves systematically hunting them down and calculating their business value, so leadership can prioritise with real numbers on the table.
Ready to Grow Internationally?
International SEO is a complex project involving plenty of decisions that are costly to change later on. Best to get them right from the start. Get in touch and we’ll analyse your specific situation, then put together a concrete project and cost proposal.
Our services related to international SEO
Our clients
Why choose Topdog for international SEO?
At Topdog, we offer:
- Reliable, clearly defined processes
- Clear project planning
- Execution that delivers results
- A genuine interest in you as a client
- An approach tailored to your unique situation
Reviews
5/5
We hired Topdog to help with technical SEO, and are very satisfied with the collaboration. They have shown that they know their stuff, especially when it comes to more advanced technical challenges. Eugene, who has been our manager, has been both knowledgeable and responsive – a reliable partner to have with us in the work.
We appreciate Topdog’s ability to adapt to our conditions and needs. It has been a nice and professional collaboration all the way, and we feel that we have gained both concrete insights and implementation together with our engineering department.
We at Roxtec continue to use Topdog for our global search engine optimization
Jonas Lindblom
Global Digital Marketing Manager
Roxtec
5/5
We at Dearsam have had the privilege of working with Topdog and we are very pleased with the result.
Topdog has really made sure that the collaboration works in practice – from the first planning meeting to ongoing deliveries, they have taken responsibility and ensured that things happen. When new information or technical limitations arose, they have shown great flexibility and adaptability, which meant that the project never stopped but flowed smoothly.
We also appreciate that Topdog follows up continuously – they make sure that we both understand what is happening and that we reach the goals we set. In addition, they have been nice, considerate and genuinely interested in our business – it has felt like a collaboration, not just a customer-supplier relationship. Isabelle, who has been in charge, has been a rock.
For us, it goes without saying: all e-retailers should hire Topdog if they want both technical expertise, business focus, and a partner who truly cares about driving results.”
Mats Ohlsson
Grundare & VD
Dear Sam
5/5
For us as buyers, it is not always straightforward to make a purchase when you are rarely alone in the decision. As the person placing the order, I have other people around me who are involved in the decision and who need to be won over. Not just initially but also continuously throughout the project. This involved both hard information around business value for management, such as a business case, but also softer information for my colleagues who would be involved in doing the work.
Seen from this perspective, I think Topdog stands out in a remarkably positive way. They have both the understanding and the ability to help deliver what you need to make other decision-makers in the organization feel confident.
Topdog is the agency I return to when I do SEO and content marketing.
Anders Sjöberg
Head of Marketing & Communication
Anticimex
5/5
Where many suppliers in this complex area miss the target due to too junior resources or too many parallel commitments, Topdog with Christian and the team delivers clear results based on an interest and understanding of the customer’s business.
Can highly recommend Topdog, Christian and the team if you want to do successful e-commerce SEO on a larger international site.
Vilhelm Hallström
Global Director Digital Channels
Dometic
5/5
I always turn to Topdog when I need an SEO agency. Here you will find knowledge, seniority, focus and passion. Christian and his team deliver every time.
Magnus Hugemark
Business Development Manager
Betsson
FAQ: International SEO
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What Is International SEO?
International SEO is the work of structuring and adapting a website so it ranks across multiple markets and languages. It covers the technical side (hreflang, URL structure), localisation of keywords and content, and cultural adaptation – so each user sees the right version.
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Isn't Translating the Website Enough?
No. A translation gives you accurate text, not relevant text. Search behaviour differs between languages, so keywords need fresh research for each market. And both Google and AI search engines reward local language use – content that feels imported gets recommended less often.
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Should We Use Country-Code Domains or Subfolders?
It depends on your situation: existing domains, available resources, the size of each market, and how your organisation is set up. Subfolders consolidate authority on a single domain and are the easiest to manage, while country-code domains send the strongest local signal. It's a decision for leadership to make – we provide the analysis behind it.
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How Do You Handle SEO for a Multilingual Website?
Keep language versions clearly separated in the URL structure, implement hreflang with self-referencing tags and x-default, link internally within the same language, and localise content and metadata for each language. Avoid IP-based redirects – let users choose their own language.
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What Does International SEO Cost?
It depends on the number of markets and languages, and how much of the work you handle yourselves. Our philosophy is that the client does as much as possible – it's both cheaper and better. Once we've analysed your situation, we'll put together a project and cost proposal.
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How Long Does It Take to See Results?
The technical setup can be in place within weeks, but organic growth in a new market typically takes 6–12 months, depending on competition and your domain's authority. Shortcuts like the Swedish-Finnish example above can deliver results much faster.