International link building: my guide to 2024

Using international link building in an SEO project is essential for companies looking to attract a global audience. The purpose of international link building is to improve, with the help of backlinks, the visibility of a website worldwide. Thus, not only are potential customers recruited within their own country, but this also goes across the border.

Definition of international link building

What exactly does international link building entail? International link building is used to create hyperlinks on other websites that point to the desired website for which the SEO project was created. These hyperlinks are also called backlinks and are an important part in better international visibility. Indeed, search engines, including Google, include these backlinks as a factor in determining the relevance of a website. The more valuable backlinks are present, the better the website ranks in search results….

Importance of international link building for SEO projects

There are several reasons why international link building is important to incorporate into a project. First, it ensures that a Web site positions better in search engine results, providing more visitors and potential customers. In addition, it contributes to more credibility of the website. The more trustworthy a website is considered for both visitors and the search engine, the more name recognition is created. This is a good way to play off competition in the marketplace. A final importance of international link building is that it reaches a specific geographic audience. So it is ideal for SEO projects where target audiences from different countries need to be reached.

International link building in a nutshell

No time for a long article? No problem. Watch the video below for a summary of this article.

Overview of international link building

As simple as it may seem, there is complexity involved in international link building. It is important to process backlinks naturally. The backlinks should be placed on websites based in the country in question, and it is important that these websites use the local language. In addition, it requires a deep understanding of the culture and market in question to ensure that backlinks are actually picked up by the algorithm.

What is the difference between local and international link building?

The major difference between local and international link building has to do with scope and complexity. Because local link building focuses on a specific region or country, it is often easier to incorporate appropriate language and cultural context into link building. Once working in a larger scale, such as international link building, different cultures, different languages and a more multifaceted approach must suddenly be taken into account.

Continue reading about international SEO?

Continue reading about international SEO? I have read several articles about it, you can find them below.

• A Content Delivery Network for international websites
• My international SEO guide
• SEO specialist for the Netherlands (cities overview page)
• How can you view Google search results abroad?

Challenges of international link building

There is more complexity involved in international link building. That means there are multiple or different challenges ahead when international link building is incorporated into the SEO project. It is important to consider the consumer behavior and culture of the particular region. In addition, differences in international search engines must be taken into account. I am happy to explain more about this.

Cultural and linguistic considerations

To achieve the desired goal using international link building, the language and culture of the region must be taken into account. The language in the link building should match the language habits of the particular region. Dialects or other local customs must also be taken into account. The better the international link building fits the local culture, the better the SEO can do its job.

Differences in search engine usage worldwide

It is important to consider which search engines are used worldwide. Despite Google being the most widely used search engine in many countries, this is not the case for everyone. For example, Russia uses Yandex and China uses Baidu. When performing international link building for Russia, for example, it is essential to perform optimization techniques for Yandex. If not, the website is missing out on a lot of potential visitors.

Strategies for international link building

International link building ensures success when a thoughtful and well-crafted strategy is used. To create this strategy, the specific target market must be considered. Thus, backlinks become effective and sustainable.

Research and analysis of target markets

It all starts with preparing a comprehensive analysis about the international target market. This analysis should consider the local language, culture and online behavior of the target audience in this particular region. For example, research what relevant websites are or what blogs or forums are heavily visited to determine potential platforms for backlinks. It is also valuable to investigate what the local competitors are.

The importance of local relevance

I often hear that people initially think that using local links is unnecessary. In practice, the opposite is quickly proven. The more relevant the international link building is to the particular geography and location, the better the website performs. Not only does local relevance attract more visitors and actions, but it also contributes to local trustworthiness. The better a brand’s credibility is among the international target audience, the faster this audience will choose this brand over other competitors.

Use of local domains and languages

Just as Dutch websites end with .nl, international countries also have their own domain extensions. To make international link building so effective, these local domain extensions are used. This contributes to both better visibility in local search engines and more reliability for local audiences.

Useful tools and techniques for effective international link building

There are several tools available to make international link building so effective. I would like to introduce the following techniques:

• Software and online tools: using various tools, including Majestic, SEMrush and Ahrefs, makes identifying the best links, analyzing competitor backlinks and monitoring the performance of one’s own international link building easy.
• Manual vs. automated link building: it seems tempting to opt for automated tools in building international link building profiles, but I personally recommend manual link building. Manual link building has a more personal approach. The backlinks created in manual link building are generally more durable and qualitative, contributing to a valuable relationship between website and visitor.
• Quality vs. quantity in link profiles: quality always comes first in building link profiles. This applies to both international and local link building. Search engines prefer valuable backlinks in lower quantity than weak backlinks in high quantity. So the more quality link profiles are created, the better the visibility of the website becomes.

By taking into account the above techniques, the desired results are achieved in building international relevance and lasting international customer relationships are built.

Guidelines

To achieve this desired result, it is important to keep in mind some important guidelines. Strict adherence to these guidelines ensures compliance with search engine rules.

1. Building sustainable link building: building sustainable link building ensures that backlinks are built organically. This means that the content into which the links are incorporated is relevant and quality made. Avoiding an artificial tool like AI is essential. In fact, articles or websites that use this are often poorly rated and thus poorly positioned in search results. To avoid this, it is important to work with quality texts, influential websites and relevant authors within the market.
2. Preventing Penalties Using Risk Management: As mentioned in point 1, search engines penalize a Web site when it does not meet the requirements or guidelines. To avoid this, it is important to avoid link exchange programs and never buy links. These are both techniques that do not comply with organic backlink building. Once this is found by the search engine, it penalizes the website by making it poorly findable. So in the long run, this is counterproductive.

Future of international link building

The emergence of new technologies and the overall rapid development of the digital world means that international link building strategies also change over time. What changes should be taken into account?

1. The changing SEO landscape and the impact for link building: the search engines are getting more efficient and smarter by the day. This is because the algorithm keeps evolving over time. This affects how links perform in the future. Artificial intelligence is slowly but surely being incorporated more and more into search engine programming. In the future, search engines will use artificial intelligence to detect spam more and more accurately. So it is very important for international link building projects to keep improving to keep the quality of content so high.
2. Looking ahead to new strategies for the future: it is important to stay up-to-date on new developments in this digital world. The faster new SEO trends and developments are discovered, the faster an SEO strategy can adapt accordingly. Consider, for example, using better analytics to measure link builds or implementing new formats. In an SEO project, it is always important for the team to be able to be flexible and adapt in time to the new requirements of search engines.

How difficult is it by country to implement international link building?

The difficulty of international link building varies by country. The table below scores the 10 largest countries in the world based on how difficult it is to build quality link building in these regions.

These scores provide a general indication and are based on language and cultural barriers, competition, government regulation and existing SEO practice in the region.

Summary

International link building is a complex but essential part of modern SEO strategies. By International link building is an essential component for today’s SEO projects. Using international link building, companies strengthen their online visibility and build local brand awareness in the respective countries. However, it is also important to remember that these international backlinks take some time and effort to build. To create successful backlinks, it is essential to research local culture, language, search engines and consumer behavior. Also, as with local link building, it is important to always keep up with new trends and developments. Continuously analyzing and improving the international link building strategy ensures that the website is seen as a frontrunner by both the search engines and the target audience.