In affiliate marketing, and indeed digital marketing – the world is your oyster so to speak, as such, you will most likely be targeting lots of different geographical locations to maximise your revenue. This is where localised SEO comes into play, and there are some pitfalls that you will need to be on the lookout for when creating your overall SEO strategy. Here are our top tips for better localised SEO.
Avoid any tech SEO pitfalls
Although there of course should be a focus on the on-page SEO, you mustn’t leave the technical side behind. There is much more room for error here when it comes to targeting different locations.
The different languages that you are dealing with is a challenge in itself. Effectively you are working with multiple websites and linking them together.
You need to ensure that you are showing each user the version of the page that was intended for them. Things such as URL structure, XML sitemap conflicts, internal and external linking conflicts all become a little more complicated and need more care and attention than working with just one geo-location.
Make sure your content strategy supports the geo targets
As mentioned, you will likely be dealing with several languages if you are targeting different countries. A huge mistake that website owners make is not ensuring that the content they are serving the user is fitting for their geographical location. Different countries respond, not only to different languages but quite often don’t respond to the same kind of marketing message that other countries might. To engage and resonate with the user, you need to ensure that the content isn’t only translated but created specifically for that demographic. Numerous plugins can be used that will translate content for you, however, not many of these are effective.
Typically, it will be a very literal translation of the content and you need a far more localised approach so you are using the users vernacular.
Keep an Eye on your Loading Speeds
Loading times are more important than ever for SEO, and sometimes can be a neglected part of a site build. When you expand into different server locations, this could become even more problematic as there is much less room for error. Some of the things that you should be on the lookout for to minimise the number of server requests and redirects whenever possible, optimising compress code files and images – and of course, you should ensure that you are using the best hosting service possible. Although most digital marketers understand that speed can massively impact conversions, few make it a top priority.
Although the world of affiliate marketing can give you a wealth of opportunities internationally, you mustn’t forget that it does come with its own complications and need to be strategised.
