# The International SEO Checklist ### A practical, market-by-market audit for taking a website across borders *A free companion to NON.agency's guide to the [11 international SEO specialists who move rankings across borders](https://non.agency/en/blog/best-11-international-seo-specialists/).* --- Expanding into new countries is not a translation project. Each market is its own search engine — its own keyword landscape, its own dominant engines, its own competitors, and increasingly its own mix of AI answer engines layered on top. This checklist walks through the decisions and technical work that separate a clean international launch from an expensive one. Work through it market by market. Tick each item only when it is true for *every* target market, not just your home one. **How to use it:** copy this file, duplicate the market-specific sections once per country, and treat any unchecked box as an open risk before launch. --- ## 1. Strategy & Market Selection - [ ] Target markets are chosen from real demand data (search volume, competition, existing organic/referral traffic), not assumption. - [ ] For each market, you know whether the goal is **multilingual** (serving a language) or **multiregional** (serving a country) — or both. - [ ] The dominant search engine per market is identified (Google in most; Yandex, Baidu, Naver, Seznam where relevant). - [ ] AI answer engines relevant to each market are identified (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot) and their local adoption considered. - [ ] Primary competitors are mapped **per market** — the leaders in Germany are rarely the leaders in Spain. - [ ] A realistic priority order is set: which markets get investment first, and why. ## 2. Domain & URL Architecture - [ ] A domain structure is chosen deliberately — **ccTLDs** (example.de), **subdomains** (de.example.com), or **subfolders** (example.com/de/) — with the trade-offs understood. - [ ] The choice reflects your resources: subfolders concentrate authority and are cheaper to maintain; ccTLDs send the strongest local signal but split authority and cost more. - [ ] URL structure is consistent and language/region is unambiguous in the path. - [ ] No two market versions compete for the same keyword on the same engine (keyword cannibalization checked). - [ ] A canonical strategy is defined so near-duplicate localized pages don't dilute each other. ## 3. Hreflang & Technical Foundation - [ ] `hreflang` annotations are implemented for every language/region pair, including a valid `x-default`. - [ ] Return tags are reciprocal (every page that points to a variant is pointed back to). - [ ] Language and region codes are correct (ISO 639-1 for language, ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 for region) — e.g. `en-GB`, `es-MX`. - [ ] Hreflang is validated with a crawler (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or equivalent) — not assumed. - [ ] Each market version returns the right status codes, is crawlable, and is not blocked in `robots.txt`. - [ ] Core Web Vitals are checked per market and per template, including on the devices that dominate locally. - [ ] Regional hosting / CDN is configured so load times hold up in each target geography. - [ ] JavaScript-rendered content is verified to render for search engines in every market. - [ ] XML sitemaps are segmented or annotated by language/region. ## 4. Localization (Not Translation) - [ ] Keyword research is done **natively per market** — real local queries, validated by a native speaker, not machine-translated guesses. - [ ] Content is localized: idioms, tone, examples, and cultural references adapted, not word-for-word translated. - [ ] Currencies, units, date formats, and pricing reflect local expectations. - [ ] Calls to action, trust signals, and payment/checkout options match local buying behavior. - [ ] Imagery and design are reviewed for cultural fit. - [ ] Legal and compliance content (privacy, cookie, tax, shipping) matches each jurisdiction. - [ ] Local holidays and seasonal demand are reflected in the content calendar. ## 5. Authority & Off-Site - [ ] A link-building plan targets **respected sites within each market**, not generic global links. - [ ] Local citations, directories, and industry bodies relevant to each country are covered. - [ ] Digital PR and partnerships are planned in-language, in-market. - [ ] Brand entity is consistent across markets (name, `sameAs` profiles, structured data) to consolidate authority. ## 6. AI Search & Answer-Engine Visibility (GEO / AEO) - [ ] Content is structured to be *cited* by AI answer engines — clear, self-contained, entity-rich passages. - [ ] Structured data (Organization, Product, FAQ, Person where relevant) is implemented and valid. - [ ] Your brand's presence inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews is checked **per market** — visibility differs by language. - [ ] Key entities and their relationships are stated explicitly on the page, not implied. - [ ] Reviews, third-party mentions, and authoritative sources that LLMs draw on are actively cultivated. ## 7. Measurement & Reporting - [ ] Analytics can isolate results **by country and language**, not blend everything into one organic line. - [ ] Search Console properties are set up per market version and monitored. - [ ] Rank tracking is configured for local SERPs (correct location and language) on the engines that matter locally. - [ ] AI-answer visibility and referral traffic from AI platforms are tracked, not ignored. - [ ] Specific, agreed targets per market (traffic, rankings, revenue, citations) are defined and reviewed on a set cadence. - [ ] Reporting speaks in qualified traffic and revenue, not vanity rankings. --- ## Bonus: Questions to Ask Before Hiring an International SEO Specialist Use these when interviewing a consultant, agency, or in-house candidate: 1. Which specific countries and languages have you grown, and can we speak to those clients? 2. How do you research keywords in a market whose language you don't speak? 3. How would you structure our site — ccTLDs, subdomains, or subfolders — and why for *our* case? 4. How do you approach visibility inside AI answer engines, and how does it differ by market? 5. How do you report results by country, and how do you define success? 6. What are your fees, what's included, and what would the first 90 days look like? A specialist who answers these with specifics — named markets, named engines, real trade-offs — is a very different hire from one who offers a confident one-size recommendation before seeing your setup. --- ## Need a hand across the EU, UK, or USA? **NON.agency** is an AI-native SEO agency for e-commerce, operating across the European Union, the UK, and the USA. We treat every market as its own search engine — and every AI answer engine as a channel worth winning. → [Book a free consultation](https://non.agency/en/contact/) and we'll map the opportunities and risks in your international setup. *© NON.agency — share freely with attribution.*