International SEO that gets the right page to the right country
Hreflang, URL structure, currency and local search behaviour planned together, so your UK, US, Canadian and EU shoppers each land on the right version. Strategy and set-up from €790.
stylised map; dashed lines are the alternate links each version must carry
United Kingdom
en-GB- Example URL
https://example.com/en-gb/- Language
- English (British)
- Currency
- Pound sterling, GBP (£)
- Price format
- £1,249.00 (format only)
- Date
- 08/10/2026 (day first)
- Words to match
- colour, optimise, postcode, trolley, delivery
Consumers expect prices with VAT included and delivery and returns explained in UK terms.
- Paste this same block into all 4 versions. Each one lists every alternate, including itself; missing return links make search engines ignore the tags.
- Codes are language first, then region: en-GB is correct, en-UK is not a valid code and is ignored.
- You have 3 English versions. They need real differences such as currency, prices, shipping and spelling, or search engines may treat them as duplicates and show the wrong one.
- Selling in Quebec? Add a French version with hreflang fr-CA.
- x-default points to example.com/. Make it a language chooser or a sensible default, and never redirect visitors by IP address.
The tags are real and ready to paste; the formats and notes are examples to check against your own market. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Subfolder, subdomain or country domain?
The structure decides how authority is shared and how much each market costs to run. The column you picked in the tool is highlighted.
| Subfolderexample.com/en-gb/ | Subdomainuk.example.com | Country domainexample.co.uk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Links and authority | Shared by every market from day one | Partly shared; often treated more like a separate site | Separate; each domain earns its own |
| Country signal | Hreflang and local content | Hreflang and local content | Strong, from the domain ending itself |
| Running cost | One site, one CMS, one certificate | One CMS, extra DNS and set-up per market | A domain, a renewal and often a site per country |
| Search Console | One property, filtered per folder | One property per subdomain | One property per domain |
| Choose it when | By default: one domain, one set of links, easiest to run. | A market runs on a separate platform or team. | Local trust beats shared authority and you can fund each domain. |
Questions about international SEO
Subfolders or country domains?
Subfolders, for most businesses. One domain such as example.com/en-gb/ lets every link and mention help all markets, and it costs the least to run. Country domains like example.co.uk send a stronger local signal and suit firms with separate local teams and budgets, but each domain starts from zero authority.
What is hreflang?
Hreflang is a tag that tells search engines which language and country each version of a page is for, so a searcher in Toronto is shown the Canadian page rather than the US one. Every version must list all the others and itself, using codes such as en-GB, en-US, en-CA and fi-FI.
Can one English site serve the UK, US and Canada?
Yes, when prices, delivery and spelling can stay the same for all three; one English version is simpler and gathers all your authority. Split into en-GB, en-US and en-CA when currency, shipping, legal text or the product range really differ, because separate versions only pay off with genuinely different content.
Copy your tag block from the tool into the form, and I will check it against your live site.
Plan my international SEOWhen I would not split your site by country
More versions mean more pages to keep true. Sometimes one good version wins.
- 01You sell in one currency, ship from one warehouse and say the same thing to everyone. One English version with clear shipping information is enough.
- 02Nobody will keep each version up to date. A stale country page with old prices does more harm than no country page.
- 03The plan is machine translation without a native reviewer. I would rather help you launch one language well and add the next later.
From one site to several markets
Planning comes before any tag. Most international problems are decided in step two.
- 1
Market check
Search demand, competitors and wording per country, in each language you plan to serve.
- 2
Structure
Subfolders, subdomains or country domains, and which pages each market really needs.
- 3
Tags and sitemaps
Hreflang in the page head or in XML sitemaps for large sites, with x-default and canonicals that agree.
- 4
Local content
Currency, spelling, shipping and legal pages per market. Check your own obligations in each country.
- 5
Monitor
Search Console per version, wrong-country traffic tracked, fixes in a short monthly note.
International SEO packages
Proposed prices in euros, excluding VAT 25.5 %. Each is a fixed price agreed before work starts. All prices.
Market plan
The structure and tag plan, ready for your developer.
- Market check for up to three countries
- Structure decision in writing
- Hreflang and canonical map for every template
- Content checklist per market
- 45-minute walkthrough call
Plan and set-up
I implement it on WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify or a custom site.
- Everything in the plan
- Tags or sitemap hreflang implemented
- Currency and language switcher reviewed
- Launch check in Search Console
Ongoing per market
Monthly SEO for each country version.
- Rankings and traffic per country
- Wrong-country visits caught
- New pages planned per market
- No lock-in
If the plan shows that splitting your site is not worth it yet, you get that answer in writing and pay only for the plan.
Plan my international SEO
Tell me your site, the countries you sell to now and the ones you want next. You get a written fixed price within one working day.
Or email [email protected]
Pikselipolku is an independent studio and is not affiliated with Google, Microsoft Bing or any search engine.