How do I fix duplicate content issues if the pages are really just localized versions?

[fdmgroup]

Does this still hurt our SEO? Should we place different countries on their own respective domains (.co.uk, etc)?

[stukerr]

Hi Chrisopher,

Sounds like Hreflang could be your friend:

http://moz.com/blog/using-the-correct-hreflang-tag-a-new-generator-tool

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/189077?hl=en

Hope that helps!

Stuart

[MattAntonino]

Stuart's exactly right - use the HREFLANG tag.  You can set it up on multiple domains or subfolders (/en, /fr, etc.)

[katemorris]

Actually, sorry guys, I am not sure HREFLANG is the right thing here. It might be, but it depends.

Christopher, can you check out the tool at this URL and answer the questions? Once you've done that, let me know what result you get and I can recommend some actions from there.

[mstoic]

Can't we use rel=canonical in this case?

[katemorris]

No. A canonical would not be helpful here. There are major issues with canonicals and international content.

[cuberds]

Geo-Target Only

1. Don’t use HREFLANG, you are not translating inside a country so it’s not needed.
2. The content and marketing in each targeted country has to be different.
3. Pick the URL structure for your international growth and stick with it.
4. Set up Google Webmaster Tools Geo-Targeting.
5. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools Geo-Targeting.
6. Don’t use IP detection for country targeting, but ask your customers to set a cookie.
7. Only use people native to the country for outreach due to cultural differences.

Thanks Kate - what would you recommend?

[katemorris]

Perfect.

Note the #2 item on this list. The key to having international content is treating each country subsite as it's own site. Make sure you have someone from that country consulting you on each country focused site. So if UK, have someone native to the UK review the site. Same for Germany, France, etc.

As for structure, my personal favorite is subfolders. So your UK site would be www.domain.com/uk. www.domain.com if you get to the point that you have so many and really need a US one as well, make www.domain.com the "universal" version, and www.domain.com/us as targeted to the US, but it might not be necessary at this point.

The content is the big part, if you want to do well internationally, really focus on getting the content right. There will be some overlap, don't worry about that. Focus more on the user experience for people in each area.

The only technical thing that needs to be done is for you to geo-target in the respective WMT areas.

Does that help?