Market and keyword research
We research keywords separately for each country and language, starting from the terms buyers there type, not a translated copy of your Singapore list.
International SEO agency, Singapore
International SEO services for multi-country and multilingual websites
Our international SEO services help Singapore businesses rank in the countries they sell into, and help overseas brands rank in Singapore. We set up the URL structure and hreflang for each market, then do the keyword and content work.
What's included
What our international SEO services include
International or global SEO, the work comes down to these six pieces. How much of each you need depends on how many markets and languages you're targeting and what your site already has in place.
URL structure
Country domain, subdomain or subfolder. We work out which fits your budget and how separately you run each market, before any market pages go live.
hreflang setup and audit
These tags tell Google which page is for which language and country. If your site already has hreflang, we check that every version points back correctly before new market pages go live. For crawl and indexing problems beyond that, see our technical SEO audit.
Localized market pages
Product and landing pages for each market, optimized around how buyers there search. Local addresses, phone numbers and currency go in only where you have them.
Links from the target market
Links and mentions from relevant sites in the country you want to rank in help Google see who your pages are for. For launches and announcements, this pairs well with international press release distribution.
Reporting by market
A plain-English monthly report for each market, starting with leads and conversions, then rankings and organic traffic.
Who it's for
Who international SEO services are for
We're an international SEO agency based in Singapore, and the work runs in two directions.
The first is Singapore businesses going regional or global. Buyers in each new market should land on a page built for them, and if your Singapore homepage is doing that job for every country today, that's the gap.
The second is overseas brands entering Singapore. Your site is hosted and run from another country, and you want to rank for Singapore searches without rebuilding it. That's the job we did for OEM Cosmetic, a Japan-hosted beauty brand (case study below).
Running a large site with content for several regions? Our enterprise SEO program is built for that scale. B2B suppliers selling across borders on long sales cycles should also look at our B2B SEO work, and if AI answers worry you more than rankings, see our AI SEO service.
Hold off for now if you haven't checked that people in the target market search for what you sell, if you can't deliver or support customers there yet, or if you serve one city and still have room to grow at home. Still deciding? Our guide to the benefits of international SEO covers when the numbers work. Ready to plan it? Talk to a strategist.
Setup decisions
Four setup decisions we settle before content goes live
These get expensive to change once a site has rankings, so they come first. Each one follows Google Search Central's guidance for multi-regional and multilingual sites.
Decision 1
URL structure
A country domain sends the clearest country signal. Subdomains and subfolders are easier to set up. Google doesn't recommend putting the country in a URL parameter.
Decision 2
hreflang with return links
Every version should list itself and all its alternates. If two pages don't point to each other, Google ignores the tags between them. An x-default value covers visitors no version matches.
Decision 3
Localized content, per market
One of Google's examples of scaled content abuse is generating many pages by automatically translating scraped content that gives users little value. Its international guidance also warns that translating only the boilerplate, like menus and buttons, while the main content stays in one language can create a bad user experience. Our advice: write each market version for that market.
Decision 4
Hosting
Google says server location is not a definitive signal. We got the site in the case study below ranking in Singapore without migrating its servers.
Multilingual SEO
Multilingual SEO for each language version
For search, each language version of your site is its own set of pages, with its own keywords.
Google judges a page's language from the words visitors see, not from hreflang or the HTML lang attribute. So a language version whose body copy is still mostly English may be read as an English page.
We handle the SEO work on each language version: keyword research in that language, URL and hreflang setup, and on-page optimization. The copy itself has to read naturally to a native speaker.
Case study
Case study: ranking a Japan-hosted beauty brand in Singapore
OEM Cosmetic's site runs on a Japan-hosted domain and Japan-based servers. We got it ranking in Singapore without rebuilding the site, migrating servers or moving the domain.
The work included hreflang tags pointing the Singapore version at Singapore audiences and the Japanese version at Japan, Singapore product and landing pages rewritten and optimized around local search intent, and links from Singapore beauty media and partner sites.
The results:
- Monthly organic sessions grew from 773 to 1,523 between January 2020 and March 2022 (verified in Google Analytics)
- 19 of 24 target keywords on page 1 of Google Singapore
- 14 target keywords in the top 3
"From the beginning to the end, Outrankco was extremely responsive and easy to work with." (OEM Cosmetic)
Read the full OEM Cosmetic case study.
Trying to rank in Singapore from overseas? Start with a free consultation: a 20-minute walkthrough of your top 3 growth gaps in Singapore search and what they're costing you.
Get my free consultationProcess
How an international SEO engagement runs
01 · Strategy
Scope and budget
We agree the scope and the monthly budget with you before you commit anything.
02 · Foundation
Technical foundation
URL structure, hreflang, redirects and indexing for each market version, checked before new content goes live.
03 · Content
Content and links for each market
Keyword research and on-page optimization for each market version, then links from sites in each market. As results come in, we shift effort toward the markets that are converting.
04 · Reporting
Monthly reporting and quarterly review
Plain-English monthly reports, leading with leads and conversions per market. You get direct access to your strategist and a quarterly business review.
FAQs
International SEO questions, answered straight.
What do your international SEO services include?
Market and keyword research for each country and language, URL structure, hreflang setup or audit, localized market pages, links from sites in each target market, and monthly reporting by market. The scope depends on how many markets and languages you target and what your site already has in place.
How much do international SEO services cost?
We work to your requirement and what your budget allows, which is why we don't sell standard packages: every campaign is built around your business. Cost depends on how competitive your keywords are in each market, the current state of your site, how fast you want to grow, and how many markets and languages you're targeting. We agree an exact scope and monthly budget with you before you commit anything.
How long does international SEO take to show results?
Across our SEO work, most clients see meaningful movement in 3 to 6 months, with stronger results building from 6 to 12 months as authority compounds. International terms move slower than that, so plan a new market on a longer timeline.
Do you guarantee rankings in other countries?
No, and you should walk away from anyone who does. Nobody controls Google's algorithm, in Singapore or anywhere else. What you get from us is the work itself and a monthly report showing what it's doing in each market.
Should we use a country domain, subdomain or subfolder?
Google's guidance lists pros and cons for all three and doesn't recommend URL parameters. A country domain gives the clearest country signal, but it costs more and targets one country. Subdomains and subfolders are easy to set up, and a subfolder is low maintenance because everything sits on one host. For a business entering two or three markets, we'd usually start with subfolders on the domain you already have. If each country runs as a separate operation, country domains can make more sense.
Do we need a separate website for each country?
No. You need a separate URL for each language or country version, and those URLs can sit in subfolders or subdomains of one website. Google recommends separate URLs over a single page that switches language by cookie or browser setting. Separate country domains are optional.
Can you help an overseas brand rank in Singapore?
Yes. OEM Cosmetic's site stayed on its Japan-hosted domain and servers. The work included hreflang between its Japanese and Singapore versions, rewriting and optimizing its Singapore pages around local search intent, and earning links from Singapore beauty media. Monthly organic sessions grew from 773 to 1,523 between January 2020 and March 2022, and 19 of its 24 target keywords reached page 1 of Google Singapore.
Get started
Planning a new market? Talk to us first.
Bringing your brand into Singapore? Book a free consultation: a 20-minute walkthrough of your top 3 growth gaps in Singapore search and what they're costing you. Expanding from Singapore into other markets? Talk to a strategist about scope and budget. Either way, there's no obligation and no auto-billing afterwards.