International linkbuilding for an national company

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi guys,

Just wondering, what’s you take on doing international linkbuilding for an national company?

In Holland there are very few websites / blogs / information platforms about certain niches. Let’s take SEO for example. There are a few marketing websites, a few SEO related websites but at an certain point my attention goes to what’s happening in America (on Moz for example).

I think writing an YouMoz post is a great way to add something to the community. If that would reward an backlink, I’m all motivated to start writing! But does this help our rankings for Dutch query’s?

I can see a lot of examples in which “the place to be” isn’t a Dutch website, but some big ass international forum / website etc.

I would love to hear all of your opinions!

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi Gianluca,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Clear answer, will keep the distribution into mind!

[gfiorelli1]

Links are links... hence, if you earn an editorial link from an authoritative website, even if it is in English or not explicitly targeting your country target, it will count in terms of pure web popularity.

A stronger link profile will improve the overall SEO performances, therefore also the ranking for dutch keywords.

Said that, it is safer to maintain a balance between "national" and "International" backlinks, so to improve the geo-targeting. Moreover, a .nl website that has only or a big percent of backlink from site not targeting dutch can become suspect.

As Stramark said in his answer, having an English version of your site in a subfolder can justify, and even offer better opportunities for using a an International link building strategy for improving also the national SEO efforts.

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi Wouter,

Thanks for your reply. Since you're from Holland as well, do you insert international linkbuilding in your offers to Dutch clients? Or do you only go for these links if you happen to stumble upon a good opportunity?

[Stramark]

Have some international links can always help you out for your authority. Creating some englisch content/resources might be a good idea in order to attrackt links.

Creating your own profile page in englisch is a great place to start. This way your international buddy's can figure out what you are about, and you can link to it with a good reason.