Same language, different markets
The US, UK, Canada and Australia all search in English but not in the same way. Spelling differs (optimize and optimise), vocabulary differs (sneakers and trainers), and so do currencies, regulations and competitors. Keyword research has to be done per market, not once.
Choosing a structure
- Subfolders (example.com/us/, example.com/uk/): one domain, shared authority, simplest to manage.
- Subdomains (us.example.com): workable, but treated more like separate sites.
- Country domains (example.co.uk, example.com.au): the strongest local signal, but authority and maintenance are split.
I recommend a structure based on your markets, budget and how different each version needs to be.
Hreflang done properly
Hreflang annotations tell Google which version of a page to show to which language and country, and stop near-identical regional pages competing with each other. They must be reciprocal, use the right codes and include an x-default where useful. Small mistakes cause them to be ignored, so I validate every set.
Localisation, not just translation
Prices in local currency, local contact details, local proof such as reviews and case studies, and examples that make sense in that market all help each version rank and convert.
Technical and measurement
Each market is set up and monitored separately, with ranking and traffic reported per country. International work builds on the same foundations as technical SEO, and on multi-currency stores overlaps with e-commerce SEO.