International search work fails in predictable ways: translated pages that read as translations, a single domain structure that tells search engines nothing about which market a page is for, and content that ranks in no market because it was written for all of them. The suppliers that do this well have native speakers in each market, a clear opinion about site architecture, and relationships that produce coverage in languages other than English. Those three things are testable before you sign.
Translation and localisation are not the same purchase
A translated page carries your original argument into another language; a localised one is written for how that market searches, which frequently uses different terms, different comparisons and different objections. Ask whether keyword research is done natively in each market or by translating your English list, because the second approach produces pages aimed at phrases nobody uses.
Architecture is a decision with long consequences
Country domains, subdirectories and subdomains each trade authority consolidation against local signal, and changing your mind later is a migration. Ask a prospective supplier to state a recommendation with reasoning for your specific case, and to explain how language and region targeting will be declared consistently so that the right market's page is shown.
Links and coverage do not travel across borders
Authority earned from English-language publications does comparatively little in a market whose results are dominated by local sites. If the programme is serious about a market, it needs outreach and coverage in that market's language and press. Ask which markets they have actually earned links in and to show examples, since this is the part most global propositions quietly omit.
Judge the reporting by market, never in aggregate
A global report that sums traffic across markets can show growth while your priority market declines. Insist on per-market reporting with its own targets and its own commentary, and agree which markets are genuinely being invested in rather than monitored. Aggregate international numbers are the easiest reporting to make look good and the least useful for deciding anything.
Questions people ask about global seo companies
Do we need an agency in every market?
Not usually. A lead agency with native specialists, or a lead plus local partners in the two or three markets that matter most, is the common structure. What you should avoid is a single team writing every market's content in English and translating it afterwards.
How are global engagements priced?
Typically a core fee plus a per-market fee, which makes it easy to compare and easy to see which markets are actually funded. Beware a flat global fee with an unspecified market list, because the work will concentrate where it is easiest and the report will be an aggregate.
Should content be the same everywhere?
The positioning should be; the pages should not. Different markets have different competitors, different regulatory language and different questions. Where budget is limited, it is better to do two markets properly than six shallowly, because a page that ranks nowhere earns nothing in any language.
How do we avoid markets competing with each other?
Consistent language and region targeting, a canonical strategy that does not collapse market variants into one page, and clear rules about which market ranks for queries that could belong to either. This is architecture work and it should be settled before content production begins.