International SEO
International search engine optimisation agency
As specialists in international SEO, we help brands to gain visibility across global markets and multiple languages. We don't just translate keywords; we scale search strategies across geographies, leveraging the economies of scale inherent in multi-market optimisation and ensure your brand resonates wherever your customers are searching.
BRANDS WE'VE HELPED
What is International SEO?
International SEO is the process of optimising your website to ensure search engines put your website in front of users regardless of their location or language. This approach is essential because 90%+ of search traffic is localized by language and region; if you aren't visible in local results, you effectively don't exist in those markets. Translation alone does not work, as it fails to account for the fact that search phraseology and language differs wildly across borders. Also, Google and LLMs have a number of technical requirements that allow them to understand the different versions of your content and their target markets . By recognising these nuances and tailoring your strategy to match global intent, you can unlock a huge opportunity in international organic traffic.
What International SEO Actually Involves
1. Market & Search Demand Analysis
Country expansion is usually led by a businesses operations team. This could be driven by existing expansion plans, or by untapped sales potential in specific regions. We help businesses to undertake a search demand analysis that identifies the traffic potential from SEO optimisation within these new countries.
2. Technical Global SEO
We build the infrastructure for global visibility through hreflang implementation and international site architecture. By managing geo-targeting and indexing, we ensure search engines serve the correct version of your site to the right user.
3. Localised Keyword Research
Because translation alone fails, we uncover the linguistic nuances and search intent unique to each country. We identify the specific terms locals use, ensuring your brand aligns with the cultural context of every market you enter.
4. International Content Strategy
Building topic authority requires more than just words; it requires localised messaging. We develop international content hubs that resonate culturally, establishing your brand as a trusted expert within the local search ecosystem.
5. Global Authority Building
We boost your rankings by earning international backlinks from local publications. Through targeted digital PR, we build the regional signals and trust necessary to compete with established local players.
6. Cross-Market Performance Analytics
We provide clear market-level reporting and opportunity forecasting. By tracking performance across geographies, we help you capitalise on economies of scale and refine your strategy based on real-time data from every territory.
83%
increase in organic revenue between July 2023 and July 2024.
75%
year-over-year increase in 1st page keyword rankings
#1
positions achieved for competitive terms such as 'ongles en gel tendance 2023'
INTERNATIONAL CLIENT STORY
Dominating multiple markets with ProNails
ProNails, a Belgium-based nail beauty brand, wanted to improve their organic search presence in not one, not two, but three locations and languages.. on three different sites. An international SEO campaign was in the offing!
Market Opportunity Analysis
Validate opportunity in new markets through research
01
Global Site Architecture
Plan domain strategy i.e. ccTLD (.co.uk & .com) or subdirectories (.com/en-us)
02
International Keyword & Prompt Research
Build keyword clusters by: country, Prompt research for GEO, language, search intent
03
Localised Content Production
Create content tailored to language, culture and buying behaviour
04
Global Authority Signals
Build local relevance through: digital PR, citations, country-specific backlinks
05
Maintain technical excellence
Ensure website can be crawled, indexed and understood by Google and LLMs
06
Continuous International Optimisation
Monitor rankings and repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 based on the findings
07
What Affects International SEO Pricing?
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Number of target countries and languages (often the biggest variable)
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Website size (number of pages)
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Technical complexity (i.e. ecommerce is usually more technically complex than B2B lead-gen)
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Content requirements (i.e. how much new content will be published)
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Competition level (i.e. if high competition, more time/focus is required)
International SEO Pricing Scenarios
One-off projects:
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International SEO strategy: £5,000–£10,000
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International SEO strategy and migration support: £7,500-£15,000
Monthly retainers:
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£3,000–£5,000 → small international campaigns (1–2 markets)
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£5,000–£10,000 → mid-size multi-country SEO
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£10,000+ → enterprise global SEO
Cost Per Market (Differentiator)
The main variable which affects international SEO cost is the number of markets and languages. For each market and language, you need a unique consideration for:
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Keywords and prompts
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Content strategy
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Technical consideration
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Backlink strategy
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Reporting setup
Each new country is an additional cost layer and generally this will equate to +£1000-£2500 per market per month
ROI of International SEO
Like any SEO activity, international SEO investment should be based on a return on investment. This is calculated by taking the increase in clicks and multiplying by your conversion rate to identify a number of conversions gained. Conversions will mean a different thing for each business type. In Ecommerce, a conversion is a sale, where an AoV (average order value) can be taken to calculate your exact ROI. In lead-gen a conversion will be a form completion or other enquiry type, where the lead must be tracked through the sales cycle before a value can be attributed to it.
How Buried Prices International SEO
Each proposal we send is unique as there are so many variables which affect pricing. Our objective is to deliver the highest ROI possible, for the lowest budget possible. And, we leverage 20+ years of industry experience to do this
What International SEO Actually Involves
Pricing is tailored to the specific scope of your expansion, the number of international markets, and whether you require a one-off roadmap or ongoing execution. We offer International Strategy Projects starting from £5,000. For those requiring strategy and execution, we offer retainers starting from £3,000 per month.
SEO strategies that
Drive conversion
Founded by award-winning performance marketers, we turn every click, impression, and visitor into measurable results. Everything we do is focused on conversion, so you get more leads, more sales, and more profit — without relying on expensive platforms taking their cut.
International SEO vs Multilingual SEO vs Global SEO
While often used interchangeably, these three terms mean largely the same thing. International SEO targets specific countries and their local search engines but not necessarily different languages, i.e. UK and US. Multilingual SEO is international SEO in more than one language. Global SEO is the broader strategy of building a brand that is visible everywhere. At Buried, we offer all three: we make sure your site is technically set up for different regions, linguistically accurate for local speakers, and authoritative enough to compete on the world stage.
Technical SEO for International Websites
Managing the technical side of a global site is about ensuring search engines deliver the right version of your site to the right user. At Buried, we focus on these critical areas:
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Hreflang Configuration & Duplicate Content: We implement precise hreflang tags to tell Google which language and country each page is for. This is the primary way to prevent duplicate content issues when you have similar pages for different regions.
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International Sitemaps & Indexation: We build dedicated sitemaps that highlight your regional URLs, ensuring that search engines find and index your localized content quickly rather than getting stuck on your primary domain.
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Regional Page Speed & CDNs: A site that is fast in London might be slow in Tokyo. We use CDN (Content Delivery Network) strategies to cache your site on local servers, ensuring lightning-fast load times regardless of where your customer is.
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Schema Markup Localisation: We adapt your structured data to include local addresses, currencies, and regional business information, helping you win rich snippets in local search results.
By tightening these technical foundations, we ensure your site is built to scale without regional errors holding you back.
How We Localise Content for Global Markets
While translation focuses on changing words from one language to another, localisation adapts your entire message to fit a specific culture and market. Here is how we bridge that gap at Buried:
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Regional Search Behaviour & SERP Analysis: We analyse the local search results to see what people are actually searching. A user in Germany might search for a "solution" (benefit-driven), while a user in the US might search for a specific "tool" (feature-driven). A user in the US might search for Sneakers, but in the UK the might search for trainers.
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Cultural Trends & Pop Culture: The local calendar, events, seasonal traditions, and pop culture significantly influence search demand. Whether it’s a specific national holiday or a trending regional topic, we ensure your content strategy taps into what people are actually talking about at that moment, making your brand feel relevant and timely within the local conversation.
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Efficiency & Economies of Scale: A global strategy shouldn't mean reinventing the wheel for every territory. In many cases, high-quality content can rank across multiple countries if the technical foundation—like hreflang and regional targeting—is sound. Our job is to be as efficient as possible, identifying where we can leverage existing assets across similar markets and only creating bespoke content when it is truly necessary to win the local SERP.
International SEO for Different Business Types
We tailor our approach to your specific business model, recognising that a global strategy for a retailer looks nothing like one for a software firm.
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International Ecommerce: We manage the complexities of multi-currency sites and product localisation. Our goal is to ensure your inventory is discoverable in Google and in LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
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B2B Global SEO: We build multilingual SEO lead-generation strategies designed to capture regional demand. We adapt your content to align with local professional standards, ensuring your value proposition resonates with decision-makers in every territory.
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SaaS Global Expansion: We focus on a lean market entry strategy, localising high-intent landing pages to build quick authority. We help you scale into new regions by identifying where your software solves the most pressing local problems.
AI-Optimised International SEO
The biggest growth area in global organic search is AI-driven optimisation for generative engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and CoPilot. Buried is one of the UK’s leading GEO (generative engine optimisation) agencies and our approach to international SEO has AI search at its core.By focusing on these AI-first elements, we don't just help you rank today; we make your brand a permanent source of information in LLM training data
Optimising for AI Search & LLMs
We ensure your brand is cited by AI search engines and Large Language Models (LLMs). We do this by building your brand's digital credibility against specific topics prompting generative AI to recommend your business.
Google AI Overviews & Conversational Search
As search becomes more conversational, users are asking complex, multi-layered questions. We optimise your content to win Google AI Overviews, ensuring your brand is the primary source used to answer queries in any language
Global Knowledge Signals:
By implementing advanced structured data, we help search engines verify your business facts across borders. This makes your brand a trusted data point for AI
Why Businesses Choose Buried for International SEO
Clear communication
The biggest pitfall in agency SEO is a lack of clarity. Many agencies hide behind jargon, they don’t report results clearly, and leave clients unsure of what the focus is and why. We pride ourselves on breaking down priorities and explaining the "why" behind every action. We execute efficiently and report on results at frequent intervals, ensuring you are never left in the dark about your global growth.
ROI-focused
Founded by award-winning performance marketers, we put conversions at the heart of everything we do. Most agencies over-index on keyword positions (top of funnel), but we focus on the bottom of the funnel. In marketing, if you can report on conversions and revenue, you should. No excuses. If your current SEO activity isn't tied directly to your bottom line, we’re here to fix that.
AI Search/GEO specialists
Buried was founded to help brands capitalise on AI search opportunity. We aren't a legacy agency being forced to adapt to a changing landscape; we are an agency that was built from the ground up to master it. From AI Overviews to Large Language Models, we ensure your brand is ready for the future of global search.
High-Level Strategy, Without the High-Level Overhead
Our leadership team has led strategy for some of the world’s largest global agencies and their biggest clients. We know exactly how those agencies operate, but we’ve stripped away the overhead. We bring that same elite-level expertise and operational rigor to your business, delivering global results for a fraction of the price of the "big" agencies.
CASE STUDY SECTION
SEO
Build the foundation for sustainable search performance and long-term traffic growth through content and technical SEO strategies.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
Position your brand for visibility in AI-driven search through content strategies that represent your business expertise and relevance.
Digital PR
Digital PR campaigns that build real authority, earn trusted coverage and accelerate organic growth across search and AI platforms.
Link Building
Strategic link building services designed to build authority, improve rankings and drive long-term organic growth.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
We worked with the Buried team on a full website migration and were really impressed with both the process and the level of care they brought to it. They started with a thoughtful analysis of our existing content, competitors, technical health, GEO signals, and domain authority to understand what was performing well and where there were opportunities to improve. Once we had a plan, they built a clear migration checklist and provided structured recommendations that made what could have been a stressful process feel very manageable. Website migrations can be risky for SEO, but Buried handled it with real expertise and attention to detail to minimize risk as much as possible. Can't recommend them enough if you're looking for a strategic and reliable SEO partner!
ELIZABETH GALLOWAY, SVP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & OPERATIONS, PEHR
We've been really impressed by the standard of Buried's SEO and GEO work so far. Will is great at understanding a client's business and providing practical guidance without the fluff you get with some agencies in this space. Would recommend.
DAVE CRICHTON, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, IE
Buried completed a thorough SEO audit of my site, helping me validate work to date and to give me direction for moving forward. Work was delivered on time and to a standard that has enabled me to move quickly to implementing recommendations. Thanks Buried team!
JONATHAN MCELHATTON, CEO, BLACK PIANO
Incredible agency. Helped scale my business via SEO and pointed out things that I had totally missed. The team is amazing, highly recommend!
JAMES MILARAS, FOUNDER, JOKER & THE THIEF
Will has been instrumental in driving performance and growth marketing success for us over the past five years. He led our acquisition team at Buymie and continued to play a key role following our acquisition by Dunnes Stores in 2023. Will’s expertise helped us build and scale an in-house team at Dunnes Stores establishing strong foundations across performance, growth and organic search.
DEVAN HUGHES, CDO, Dunnes Stores
Buried is our organic search partner at DMajor. We bring them in to plan and deliver SEO strategies that support our web build projects and ongoing client work. One project that stands out was a website migration and SEO strategy for a men’s fashion eCommerce brand, which led to substantial post-live gains in organic traffic and revenue for the client. Their work is detailed, considered, and focused on outcomes.
Duncan MacDonald, Founder, DMajor
RELATED ARTICLES
International SEO GEO FAQs
What is international SEO?
We own and operate multiple Shopify stores ourselves, each ranking number one in its respective niche. This isn't just about having worked on dozens of successful projects, it’s about having our own skin in the game. We understand the daily realities of managing a Shopify business, from the technical frustrations to the commercial pressure of hitting revenue targets.
01
How long does international SEO take?
A notable difference would be fixed URL structures for different page types i.e. /collection (categories) /product (products) /page (landing pages) /post (blogs) making it more difficult to signal site hierarchy to Google. Out of the box, Shopify is stronger than Wordpress & WooCommerce from a technical standpoint as it handles canonicalisation, Hreflang, robots.txt well without much need for human intervention.
02
What is hreflang?
Because organic search requires sustained effort to build authority and trust with search engines, we typically partner with brands on structured retainers. We discuss the ideal timeline and commitment required to hit your specific commercial goals during our initial discovery call.
03
What are the benefits of international seo?
Collections page optimisation is the highest yield SEO activity on a Shopify site. These are the highest value transactional pages. However wider content optimisation across pages and post is also beneficial, and this should be supported by technical SEO implementation and a backlinking activity.
04
Do I need separate domains?
Not always. We often advise brands on their domain strategy and it is usually a choice between CCTLD (i.e. .co.uk and .com) vs subfolder (i.e. .com/en-us and .com/en-uk). There are some forms of domain internationalisation which are good for SEO and some which are bad, we help brands decide which domain format is best for their business.
05
Why should I choose Buried as my international SEO agency?
We are well known for our clear communication on: what we are working on, why, and the results. We are an ROI first agency, focused on conversions and revenue wherever possible. We are SEO & GEO specialists with a team made up of highly experienced senior figures in the industry
06
Does Buried offer international SEO audits before starting a campaign?
Most international SEO projects will start with an audit. This is the first step in setting out a strategy and execution plan. We offer audits as a standalone project or as the first step in a retainer
07
How long does it take to see results?
Sometimes results can be seen within a few weeks, but the largest results increases are generally seen between months 3-12. This is primarily because the initial period is spent auditing, setting a strategy and implementing recommendations, which are all predecessors to seeing impact.
08
How does Buried optimise international websites for AI search and generative search results?
All our international SEO projects and retainers have a consideration for both SEO and GEO. This is because both are built on the same fundamentals, and we can generate the highest project ROI by considering both
09
Can you optimise multilingual ecommerce sites?
Using our SEO tool Ahrefs and our GEO tool Athena. We also use data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics to create dashboards which visualise performance over time and allow us to extract insights.
10
Which countries should we target first?
This primarily depends on your operational capability and whether you can effectively and legally sell and deliver products and services in other countries. If there are multiple options and you are trying to decide which one to go to market in first, you can run a search demand analysis. This will tell you which countries have the highest search volumes for different topics and will give you a comparative understanding of demand for your products and services in different countries.
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