An international SEO agency is a specialized marketing firm that enhances a brand’s global online presence through organic search engine marketing (SEM) strategies. Unlike a general or local SEO agency, an international SEO agency targets multiple countries when producing and optimizing content and websites, taking into account the languages, cultural nuances, and target audiences of the focused locations. 

With the rise of online marketplaces and mobile connectivity, international SEO companies have become a necessity for businesses targeting global markets, helping them overcome the following challenges: 

• Limited online presence across the targeted locations 
• Little-to-no brand awareness and credibility outside of local markets 
• Difficulty in standing out due to high market competition 
• Low conversion rates and customer growth 
• Insufficient resources to maintain and optimize multiple websites for each country 
• Lack of knowledge and skills to translate and produce content that resonate with different global audiences 
• Low search engine result page (SERP) rankings and website traffic due to algorithm changes 

In terms of global search engines, Google dominates the industry, garnering 84.2 billion monthly visits and accounting for 91.47% of the worldwide market share. Bing comes in second place with 1.3 billion monthly visits worldwide. 

Success story 

To provide a more comprehensive depiction of the benefits of international SEO, we have selected this case study from In Motion Marketing: 

• Challenge: Originally from Australia, sales software company Performio saw an opportunity to broaden its reach. The company partnered with In Motion Marketing to help increase its brand visibility, establish customer trust, and expand its business across the US and other global markets. 
• Solution: In Motion Marketing focused on international SEO, content creation, and web optimization to improve the client’s search engine rankings in both the US and Australian markets. To amplify the effort, the agency also provided demand generation, email marketing, lead generation, LinkedIn marketing, and paid advertising services. 
• Results: Performio dominated international SERPs, listing for informal and high-intent keywords like “sales commission software.” This traffic subsequently led to increased sales and revenue, 70% year-over-year (YoY) growth, and an acquisition by Stables Partner, and later JMI Equity. 

International SEO agencies conduct international market and keyword research, produce multilingual and multicultural content, improve technical aspects of the website, and analyze the results of their efforts. Their core focus is obtaining greater visibility across search engine result pages (SERPs) that would eventually result in more organic traffic, leads, and conversions. 

Key services offered by international SEO company include: 

• SEO audit 
  Conducting website crawls, checking for page duplicates, repairing broken links, fixing indexability issues, and assessing user experience (UX) across client’s international websites to identify issues affecting their online rankings 
• Market and competitor research 
  Studying the market landscape of each target country and customizing strategies to give the business a competitive advantage by identifying market niches and uncovering audience pain points 
• International keyword research 
  Identifying and analyzing keywords that target audiences in different countries and languages use to search for content online, taking into account cultural nuances, language variations, and local search behavior 
• Technical SEO 
  Optimizing a website’s technical elements, including site speed, mobile experience, indexing, sitemap, and internal links to improve its performance and ensure compatibility with various devices 
• On-page SEO 
  Enhancing a website’s user experience and searchability by focusing on informational content, such as writing captivating meta descriptions and headings, strategically placing keywords in the content, and featuring relevant visual content 
• International link building 
  Acquiring backlinks from credible websites to increase domain authority and visibility 
• Multilingual content creation 
  Planning and producing content that caters to each international audience group, which includes writing articles in the group’s preferred language and using keywords relevant to the group’s search intent 
• Website domain restructuring  
  Modifying the website's domain structure to better suit international audiences by implementing subdomains or subdirectories for different languages or regions 
• Website migration 
  Transitioning a business’ outdated website to a new domain, platform, or structure without losing search engine rankings, traffic, and valuable website data  
• Analytics and reporting 
  Tracking, analyzing, and reporting on the performance of SEO efforts of each international website to measure success and identify areas for improvement 

Success story 

For a more concrete example of what international SEO companies do, we selected the following case study from WebRefresh: 

• Challenge: Lifestyle beach brand Sunday Supply Co faced stiff market competition from giants like Target and Bunnings Warehouse. Struggling to rank for high-value keywords and gain more traffic to its eCommerce store, the company reached out to WebRefresh for assistance. 
• Solution: To counter the client’s formidable competition, WebRefresh deployed a comprehensive suite of international SEO tactics. This included optimizing the website’s international domain structure, implementing hreflang tags for language targeting, and using schema markups for enhanced search visibility. Additionally, WebRefresh focused on content development, product page enhancement, and improving website accessibility and user experience. 
• Results: Sunday Supply Co increased organic search revenue by 311%, page sessions by 9.6%, new users by 90%, eCommerce conversions by 52%, and transactions by 203%. 

International SEO services cost between $75-$5,000 depending on the pricing model, the number of targeted countries and languages, industry competitiveness, project scope and timeline, current SEO standing, and agency location and size. 

Below is a breakdown of SEO service rates per pricing model: 

• Hourly rate ($75-$100 per hour) 
  Entails charges per hour of service rendered, suitable for small-scope SEO projects 
• Monthly rate ($500-$2,000 per month) 
  Common choice across businesses that need continued SEO support, often offered on a retainer basis 
• Project rate ($2,500-$5,000 per project) 
  Ideal for businesses seeking to supplement their in-house teams or test an agency’s capabilities before signing a retainer contract 

You should hire an international SEO company because it possesses the skills and expertise to expand your online presence globally. These agencies have a deep understanding of different markets, local and international competitors, languages, cultural nuances, and search engine behaviors and can use that knowledge to help you advance your online presence across the intended regions and countries.  

You should hire an international SEO company because they: 

• Have a team of native-speaking SEO specialists who can fine-tune the language targeting, obtain localized insights into intended audiences and competitors, and understand the cultural context 
• Are proficient in different search engine platforms and understand global audience search behaviors 
• Can establish a global brand presence and boost brand visibility 
• Devise SEO strategies for successful penetration across new markets 
• Use relevant keywords to broaden the audience reach 
• Secure authoritative backlinks for credible sites to elevate site credibility and authority 
• Can help you organically outrank local and global competitors 
• Create content that resonates with your culturally diverse audiences 
• Optimize your websites for user experiences and search engine algorithms by improving site speed and making the website mobile-friendly 
• Allow you to focus on core business operations as a team of international SEO professionals manage your numerous websites for each country 
• Use white-hat SEO practices to avoid SEO penalties, issues, and international policy violations 

Success story 

To further highlight the impact of international SEO companies, we have selected the following case study from nimbl: 

• Challenge: Rob Mills Architecture and Interiors (RMA) approached nimbl to expand its online presence across its home base in Australia and overseas markets. 
• Solution: To help RMA with its ambitious goal, nimbl implemented geo-targeted SEO strategies to attract and engage local residents seeking their services. After establishing RMA’s reputation, the agency deployed international SEO tactics to expand its presence and customer base. nimbl also leveraged Google Ads and conversion rate optimization to further drive leads and customers. 
• Results: Over the years, nimbl increased the number of new users across its key Sydney market by 210% and boosted the conversion rate by 7.33%. It also ranked RMA for 317 non-branded keywords across Google’s top 10 results. 

You can choose the best international SEO agency for your business by systematically considering several aspects of the candidate’s experience, background, and specialty.  

Here are some steps to consider: 

1. Know your needs and capabilities 
   Conduct a preliminary analysis of your websites to assess your current needs and limitations. This will help you specify the type of services you’ll want to outsource. 
2. Determine the target markets 
   Discuss with business leaders and team heads the countries you want to target and gather data on the market demand, competition, trends, and current growth to weigh the benefits.  
3. Outline your project scope 
   Determine SEO goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), timeline, project scope, and project manager. Compile a list of potential strategies you want to explore in addition to international SEO. 
4. Define a budget 
   Consider the number of international markets you’re targeting, the efforts you need to reach your goals, and the cost of SEO software licenses. Take into consideration that international SEO is more of a long-term initiative rather than a short-term project. 
5. Research companies and ask for referrals 
   Explore credible agency directories like DesignRush, marketplaces, and publications to find reputable agencies. You can also reach out to colleagues and business partners for referrals. 
6. Check their credibility 
   Review their portfolio, case studies, client testimonies, reviews, and list of recognitions and certifications to determine their reliability and ability to accommodate diverse client requests. 
7. Assess their SEO performance 
   Check how well the agency ranks for relevant keywords in their industry, for example “international SEO services”. Their ranking is a practical indicator of their expertise. 
8. Send a request for proposal (RFP) 
   Include a list of target countries and languages, current brand website links, project scope, brand brief, timeline, and budget. Compare the pricing of each proposal and select those that offer the best value for money for your project. 
9. Schedule an interview 
   Verify the global SEO agency’s expertise by asking about its approach to your project, team capabilities, experience in your industry, SEO knowledge and experience, and previous case studies. Shortlist agencies that understand your goals and appear invested in your success. 
10. Observe their communication style 
    Observe how the agency interacts with you and your team, considering its professionalism, responsiveness, and transparency. Choose an agency that aligns with your culture and values and uses white-hat SEO tactics. 
11. Select your agency 
    Finalize your contracts, service-level agreements, deliverables, payment methods, and project management arrangements. Provide your international SEO partner with access to your websites and coordinate your ongoing marketing campaigns with its SEO strategies. 

Need help finding an international SEO company that will help you penetrate global markets? Visit our Marketplace and provide us with a list of your project requirements. We’ll connect you with five leading agencies that meet your criteria at no cost. 

While international SEO and general SEO share the same KPIs, international SEO KPIs track the performance of your websites for each target market. For instance, if you’re targeting the European region, it will separately monitor your performance for Spain, Italy, the UK, and other EU countries rather than clustering it into one data set. This way, you can fine-tune your international SEO strategies according to the different cultural nuances and needs of each country. 

Below are the key success metrics in international SEO:  

• Non-branded organic traffic 
  The number of people who access the website after searching for a term related to the brand, service, or industry without clicking a paid advertisement 
• Branded organic traffic 
  The number of people who access the website after searching for a specific brand name without clicking a paid advertisement 
• Organic click-through rate (CTR) 
  The ratio of people who clicked the link over the number of people who viewed the link on a search engine 
• Keyword rankings 
  The website's organic position on SERPs for specific targeted keywords 
• Bounce rate  
  The percentage of website visitors who leave the website after viewing one page 
• Average time on page 
  The average time visitors spend on a certain page of the website 
• Average session duration 
  The average time visitors spend navigating the website, viewing more than just one page 
• Conversion rate  
  The percentage of people who pursue a desired action after visiting the website, such as filling in a contact form after reading a blog 
• Number of new backlinks 
  The number of new and credible backlinks the website gained from regional IPs relevant to target markets 
• SEO ROI 
  The amount a business potentially earns from international SEO initiatives compared to the cost spent on those initiatives 

Before hiring international SEO companies, asking the right questions can help you ensure that they can attain your envisioned targets and elevate your online presence.  

Here are some questions you can ask: 

Its Relevant Background 

1. How many years of experience do you have with international SEO? 
2. Are you familiar with my industry? If so, can you share case studies of your work with businesses similar to mine? 
3. What was your most challenging international SEO project? What were the outcomes? Can you explain how you overcame the obstacles that arose?  
4. How do you adjust your strategies to the latest search engine updates and international SEO practices? 
5. Have you ever dealt with penalties or issues stemming from the implemented international SEO tactics? How did you resolve them? 

Its Services and Processes 

1. What countries and languages do you cover? Do you have team members who are natives of these locations? 
2. What international SEO services do you offer? 
3. What is your approach to producing multilingual content? How do you ensure the content is culturally relevant to the intended audience? 
4. What search engines are you most familiar with? 
5. What is your backlink acquiring process?  
6. Do you deploy white-hat SEO tactics only? 
7. How do you manage multiple international SEO strategies simultaneously?  

Related to Your Project 

1. Who will take the lead over my project? What are their credentials? 
2. Is your team familiar with my website platform/content management system? 
3. What metrics will you use for my project? How will you report them? 
4. Will the SEO strategies impact my ongoing marketing campaigns? 
5. How do you approach sudden changes in project scope or market trends? 

The best international SEO agencies in the US are the following: 

1. Wordbank
   • 5.0 stars on Google (5 reviews) 
   • Top clients: Netflix, KOA, Herman Miller, Google 
2. Ignite Visibility 
   • 4.9 stars on DesignRush (14 reviews) 
   • 4.5 stars on Google (60 reviews) 
   • Top clients: DoorDash, COX, Tony Robbins, The General 
3. Emplicit 
   • 4.8 stars on DesignRush (7 reviews) 
   • Top clients: General Mills, Elf on the Shelf, Ekster, Milk Snob 
4. Reinforce Lab 
   • 4.7 stars on Google (9 reviews) 
   • Top clients: Bikroy, Mrco International, IBA Alumni Lottery, AccessTUTOR 
5. ClickExpose
   • 4.9 stars on Google (38 reviews) 
   • Top clients: Nerf Wars, Madison Brook International, Sirona Medical, Gelato Studio