Going international with website? – The common pitfalls

and challenges

With an increase in the cross-border e-commerce, merchants are taking the websites to the next level by going international.

For a better market penetration, it is vital that the website is according to the international standards. So, what are the common pitfalls and challenges while going international with the websites?

Site Domains Brand You

Going international with same site domain might be perilous. Instead, have either different site domains for different countries or have different subfolders for each country like www.abc.com/fr. Both the approaches are adaptable provided the country you are targeting is accepting the same.

Wrong Redirects Kill You

Change 302 temporary redirect links to 301 redirects. If you are planning to migrate your site from .co.uk to an international domain otherwise all your efforts related to the SEO will go in vain.

Content is the king and it will always be!

Duplication of content is one of the major pitfalls most international websites fall prey to. Ensuring minimum duplication and unique content for different sites is vital.

It will not only benefit in the SEO, but at the same time help attract visitors from the different countries. Having country specific content is ideally rewarding both in terms of conversion and SEO

A lot of GEO IPs – Big no

Redirecting users to the country of their search is a good practice recommended by Google, but if someone is on a holiday and viewing your site from a UK IP not necessarily mean that he wants to shop from your UK domain site.

Don’t automatically redirect the sites based on IPs always as that might confuse, both the search engines and consumers. Take some advice from Professionals

General Checkout – Internationally?

How can you think about a general checkout page when you are going international with your websites? Customize your checkout experience.

Checkout is one of the most important thing and it can provide a once in a life time experience to customers. Having a general checkout shall not attract customers across the globe.

Some of the countries use plastic money every day while some others prefer a credit transaction or cash on delivery payment option. Customers from some of the countries purchase from the sites that offer free shipping more often.

Apart from the above mentioned techniques, also consider having a local Google + page for each of the sites or subfolders so that it provides a local feel to the buyers.

These are some very common pitfalls which need to be resolved or taken care of while en route internationally. If you yourself don’t have an idea of how to go about setting up international website, resort to a professional SEO services provider company.