SEO: The International Language of Success

If there's one characteristic that all cultures share it's the quest for information. So, it should come as no surprise that the most heavily trafficked websites across the world are search engines. Whether your business is one of providing information (such as a news site or blog), a service provider (software or app developer) or ecommerce (selling tangible products), it is important to appeal to searchers and the search engines by capitalizing on the information that people want. This means finding trending topics and searching for the right keywords -- whether for use in blog post titles, social media updates, or marketing and advertising copy.

As Web professionals we have great opportunities in international markets, as the Web has few borders. In addition to standard keyword research as it applies to your industry, addressing those topics of interest to audiences worldwide can place your brand in front of potential consumers across the world. With that in mind, below you will find a few websites where the world goes for information. These are valuable resources for finding what's buzzing on the Web and the information people care about. With this information, we can craft our content and products to relate to anyone, anywhere.

Use these resources to find possible keywords, content ideas and inspiration for expanding your business across borders. Each of these websites provides information relating to world news and politics, finance, entertainment and sports, and more. When crafting content, remember that searchers are not just looking for text -- videos and photos are among the most visited sources of content online, worldwide.

Twitter.com: Alexa Rank 9

Twitter is one of the most popular websites in the world and provides an excellent opportunity to find the most current worldwide trends. Take advantage of the "Trends" option that can be sorted by country and region.

Percent of site traffic
US  36.8%
Japan  10.4%
India  6.1%
China  5.1%
UK  4.2%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Nigeria  (80)
US  (98)
Canada  (110)
Japan  (131)
UK  (145)
South Africa  (151)
Egypt  (161)
Venezuela  (171)
Australia  (196)
Italy  (222)

BBC.co.uk: Alexa Rank 40

The BBC does an outstanding job of covering world news. Of course, most of the traffic comes from the UK but the BBC also attracts audiences from all over the world.

Percent of site traffic
UK  34.1%
US  15.7%
India  4.7%
Canada  2.5%
Japan  2.3%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
UK  (5)
Ireland  (12)
Nigeria  (13)
Pakistan  (16)
United Arab Emirates  (18)
South Africa  (20)
Finland  (22)
Canada  (33)
Australia  (34)
Sweden  (36)

CNN.com: Alexa Rank 48

CNN is most widely used in the United States and Canada but spans across other countries as well. The CNN International edition is handy. CNN's Facebook integration can show what those in your network find interesting.

Percent of site traffic
US  61%
Canada  3.8%
India  3.0%
Japan  2.3%
UK  2.1%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
US  (16)
Canada  (22)
Nigeria  (35)
South Africa  (36)
Philippines  (39)
Malaysia  (56)
Netherlands  (65)
South Korea  (67)
Thailand  (68)
Australia  (71)

Reddit.com: Alexa Rank 143

While Reddit is decidedly bent toward the offbeat and humorous side of the Web, it does provide many sortable categories (such as world news, politics and technology) that can be useful for finding trending topics. Reddit also has a sizable international audience.

Percent of site traffic
US  46.2%
India  12.2%
UK  5.0%
Canada  4.8%
Pakistan  3.1%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Pakistan  (51)
US  (54)
Canada  (54)
UK  (94)
Philippines  (102)
India  (103)
Australia  (113)
Romania  (129)
South Africa  (158)
Bangladesh  (184)

Reuters.com: Alexa Rank 220

Reuters is another news site that provides many different editions, accessible through an easy-to-use drop-down menu. Choose a section then use a translation tool to discover what's trending in that particular part of the world.

Percent of site traffic
US  36.8%
Japan  10.4%
India  6.1%
China  5.1%
UK  4.2%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Nigeria  (80)
US  (98)
Canada  (110)
Japan  (131)
UK  (145)
South Africa  (151)
Egypt  (161)
Venezuela  (171)
Australia  (196)
Italy  (222)

Finally, if you have time for some browsing and/or blogging, don't forget about Blogger.com (Alexa Rank 7) and Tumblr.com (Alexa Rank 59). It can be difficult to drill down to find what you want in these sites but they are both extremely popular with the international community. Also, while not yet as respected as sources of content by search engines, they provide some opportunities to network and to get content in front of a very large and diverse audience. Setting up blogs through either of these sites is very easy and practiced by some very large media properties, including The Economist.

Blogger.com: Alexa Rank 7

Percent of site traffic
US  19.5%
India  10.0%
Brazil  5.6%
Indonesia  5.1%
Spain  3.6%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Indonesia  (4)
Malaysia  (4)
Bangladesh  (4)
Greece  (5)
Nigeria  (5)
India  (6)
Spain  (6)
Pakistan  (6)
Philippines  (6)
Venezuela  (6)

Tumblr.com: Alexa Rank 59

Percent of site traffic
US  36.1%
Japan  6.0%
UK  5.0%
Brazil  4.4%
India  4.0%

Regional Alexa Traffic Ranks
Philippines  (13)
Singapore  (26)
US  (32)
UK  (37)
Canada  (37)
Brazil  (41)
Chile  (42)
Mexico  (45)
Australia  (45)
Venezuela  (49)