{"id":16175,"date":"2022-02-23T03:31:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T03:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/23\/google-explains-geotargeting-via-url-subdirectories\/"},"modified":"2022-02-23T03:31:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T03:31:06","slug":"google-explains-geotargeting-via-url-subdirectories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/23\/google-explains-geotargeting-via-url-subdirectories\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Explains Geotargeting Via URL Subdirectories"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Google\u2019s Search Advocate John Mueller explains how websites can optimize content for search results in specific countries by using subdirectories in a strategic way.<\/p>\n

This topic was discussed during a recent Google Search Central SEO office-hours hangout.<\/p>\n

An individual named Hazel Wwrong joins the livestream to ask Mueller how Google recognizes when website content is geotargeted, other than looking for hreflang implementation.<\/p>\n

In response, Mueller describes how Google looks for patterns in URLs indicating which country a page is intended for.<\/p>\n

You can use this information to structure your website in a way that targets multiple countries with the same domain.<\/p>\n

Continue reading the section below for more details.\n<\/p>\n

How To Target Multiple Countries With The Same Domain Using Subdirectories<\/h2>\n

When asked what signals Google looks for to recognize when content is optimized for a specific country, Mueller says:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe try to group URLs by clear patterns that we can recognize. And that\u2019s, for example, by subdomain or by subdirectory.<\/p>\n

So if you have the country in the subdirectory, in a higher place in the path, then it\u2019s a lot easier for us to say everything under this path is for this country, everything under this other path is for another country.<\/p>\n

And you can also verify individual paths in Search Console and specifically say this path is for this country, or this path is for another country, which makes it a little bit easier for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The URL pattern Mueller describes would look something like this in practice.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you own a store in the U.S. that ships products to other countries around the world. Here\u2019s how the URL pattern might look:<\/p>\n

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  • USA<\/strong>: your-website.com\/products<\/li>\n
  • Canada<\/strong>: your-website.com\/canada\/products<\/li>\n
  • UK<\/strong>: your-website.com\/uk\/products<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    And so on.<\/p>\n

    Mueller notes this use of subdirectories likely won\u2019t make a big difference if you\u2019re already using hreflang and Search Console to target specific countries.<\/p>\n

    So if your website isn\u2019t set up this way you don\u2019t have to go and change everything around.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s just one more signal Google looks for in addition to other geotargeting signals.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cIn practice, I don\u2019t hear a lot of feedback from people saying this makes a big difference. So I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s something you actually need to do, especially if it\u2019s a more complex setup.<\/p>\n

    But I would try to make it so that it\u2019s as clear as possible which country is relevant for the individual URLs. Kind of with a clear path in the URL.<\/p>\n

    I think there was a question someone submitted as well about using the country as a URL parameter at the end. Theoretically, you can do that. I think for our systems it makes it a lot harder to recognize which URLs belong to which country. So I would see that as being less likely for us to pick up for geotargeting.<\/p>\n

    Obviously, if you\u2019re using hreflang, then that\u2019s less of an issue there because you can do that on a per-URL basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Hear Mueller\u2019s full response in the video below:<\/p>\n