SEO Singapore SEO = Search Engine Optimization | Local and Worldwide

Which the physical size of the world has never changed, the perceived size of it is seemingly constantly getting smaller. A hundred years ago to get to China from the United states would take several months of arduous work including perilous travel across oceans and rivers, not to mention deserts and mountains. Now one plane ticket, a couple layovers and some checked baggage and you can be there within a day. Or you could always skip all the hassle of the airport entirely and just video chat with the other country and be connected within minutes.

People can now be friends with someone they’ve never met, who lives in another time zone, another country and might even speak another language all using social media on the internet.

It’s a small world after all.

So in this little big world, how does one decide to market locally or globally, and is there even a real difference between the two? The answer to that is both yes, and no. The big push right now as far as using SEO to get in touch with your target audience is to market locally, while thinking globally. With such a large world so closely interconnected it makes sense to market locally, sell to who you know first, with an eye toward global expansion later.

Starting out, it’s easiest to market locally because you are familiar with the local market and it’s easier to create SEO for something local. It can be as simple as prefixing or suffixing your keywords with the local area of your business, like ‘computer repair Los Angeles’. In addition, submitting your website to local search engines, can also be a good way to become known locally, if your business has a physical presence or it targeted at the niche market of your local area. Keywords and phrases, as well as links and content used for SEO will vary based on if you are targeting local or global markets.

Global SEO is going to be more general, and you want to figure out the commonalities of your targets on a global scale. There are typically three ways to think about how you are targeting a global market. Multi-regional sites, multi-language sites and a site that combines the two.

Multi regional sites appeal to people that all speak the same language, though they may not be in the same country. Multi-language sites would have the same content, but in different languages. And the last being target users in different countries and different languages.

Less than 30% of searches made on Google are done in English, so establishing a multi-language site is a good idea and often the biggest sign you are trying to establish a global presence, but it isn’t easy. Google doesn’t index automatically translated sites so you need to get a native speaker who can translate your site for you, if you can’t do it yourself. In addition, many times keywords and catch phrases do not translate the same from one language to the next, so there’s some research to be done to establish what types of keywords can be used in your foreign language SEO.

According to Google, 97% of users search for local businesses online, so using good SEO to target your local market is still your best bet. But, when trying to break into the big small world of ours on a global scale, your SEO tactics need to change a little bit. It’s not easy, but it can be worth it when, as always, you’re using good SEO, doing your research, and taking the time to get it right.