Nowadays it is a good idea to create and maintain a localized version of your website if you are planning to target different users in many locations. Studies have shown that people feel more confortable when they find information that is written for their specific country or language.

A multilingual site, or multi-regional site, is one that targets users in different locations; there are different aspects that you should look for to make sure that the search engines understand the purpose of your website.

Domain Considerations

Google uses the following elements to determine the geolocation of a website.

1. ccTLDs (country-code top level domain names): A ccTLD domain is a very strong indication to tell Google about the association of your domain with a specific country.

One disadvantage of having a ccTLD domain, is that you need to do some research prior to registering a country specific domain in some locations. Make sure that you have all the legal and administrative research in place before buying a ccTLD domain. Another disadvantage of ccTLDs, is that if you are planning to target multiple countries, registering many domains can be a little expensive.

2. gTLD, Using a Generic Domain: Alternatively, you can keep a gTLD and create subdomains (de.example.com) or subdirectories (example.com/de/) and manual geotarget those through the Google Webmaster Tools.

If you work using a generic top level domain, make sure to include other signals in your webpages such as:

• - Local addresses
• - Local phone numbers
• - Local language
• - Links from local directories to help google associate your subfolder or subdomain with a specific location.