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International SEO Checklist: 40 Points to Check Before and After You Go Global

Introduction

Going global has a lot of moving parts. Markets, languages, tags, translations, links. Miss one, and a whole country can stay invisible on Google.

This checklist keeps you on track. It has 40 points in 5 parts. Every point tells you how to check it and how urgent it is.

Quick answer

An international SEO checklist covers five areas. First, strategy: pick markets and targeting. Second, technical setup: URL structure, hreflang, canonicals, and indexing. Third, content: local keywords and localised pages. Fourth, authority: local links and reviews. Fifth, tracking: results by country. Fix the "Must" items first, because they decide whether Google can show the right page at all.

international seo checklist

How to use this checklist

• Run it once per market. A site can pass for the UK and fail for Germany.

• Start with "Must" items. These block rankings if they're wrong.

• Then work on "Should" items. These improve rankings and conversions.

• "Nice to have" items give you an edge once the basics are solid.

• Repeat every quarter, and before any new market launch or site migration.

New to the topic? Read our international SEO strategy guide first. It explains the thinking behind each part.

Part 1: Strategy and market research

Get these right before you build anything. They decide where your effort goes.

# Check How to check Priority
1 Each target market is chosen with data Compare search demand, existing traffic, and sales potential per country Must
2 Each market has a defined language and country Write it down, e.g. "English, UAE" or "German, Germany and Austria" Must
3 You know if you're targeting by language or by country Prices, laws, or products differ by country? Then target countries Must
4 You've checked existing traffic from abroad Search Console → Performance → group by Country Should
5 Local competitors are listed for each market Search your main keywords with Google set to that country Should
6 Goals are set per market One traffic goal and one lead or sales goal for each country Should

Tip: start with one or two markets. A focused launch beats a thin spread across ten countries.

Part 2: Site structure and technical setup

This part decides whether Google can find and show the right version. Most international SEO problems start here.

URL structure

# Check How to check Priority
7 Each version has its own fixed URL Open each version. The address should differ, e.g.,/uk/ and /de/ Must
8 The structure is the same in every market Subdirectories everywhere, or ccTLDs everywhere. Avoid a mix Should
9 No URL parameters for language Look for addresses like ?lang=de. Google advises against them Must

Hreflang

Hreflang tells Google which page suits which language and country.

# Check How to check Priority
10 Every localised page has hreflang tags Crawl the site with Screaming Frog. Open the Hreflang tab Must
11 Tags are reciprocal (return links) If page A lists page B, page B must list page A. Filter for "missing return links" Must
12 Each page lists itself too View source. The page's own URL should appear in its hreflang set Must
13 Language and country codes are valid Language first (en), country second (gb). "en-uk" is wrong; use "en-gb" Must
14 An x-default is set One URL for users who match no version, often the homepage Should
15 Hreflang URLs are full and live. Each must start with https:// and return a 200 status, not a redirect or 404 Must

Indexing and crawling

# Check How to check Priority
16 Each version's canonical points to itself View source. A German page must not canonicalise to the English page Must
17 Key pages are indexed in every market Search Console → Indexing → Pages, plus URL Inspection on sample pages Must
18 No automatic redirects by IP or browser language Visit with a VPN from another country. You should not be forced to a different version. Must
19 Sitemaps cover every version Submit a sitemap per market, or include hreflang in one sitemap Should
20 Pages load fast in each country. Check Core Web Vitals in PageSpeed Insights. Use a CDN if a market is slow. Should

Note: many older checklists tell you to set a target country in Search Console's "International Targeting" report. Google removed that report in 2022. Hreflang and on-page local signals now do that job.

Part 3: Content and localisation

Google can show the right page. Now the page must be right for the reader.

# Check How to check Priority
21 Keywords are researched per market, not translated Each market has its own keyword list from local data Must
22 Title tags and meta descriptions are localised. Check page source on each version. None should be left in English by mistake. Must
23 Each page uses one language No mixed English and German on the same page Must
24 URL slugs are localised where sensible e.g. /de/schuhe/ rather than /de/shoes/ Nice to have
25 Image alt text and file names are localised Check a sample of images on each version Should
26 Prices, currency and formats match the country Currency, units, dates, phone numbers and payment methods Must
27 A native speaker has reviewed key pages Homepage, service or product pages and contact page at minimum Should
28 Each market has some unique local content Local case studies, examples, FAQs or offers, not only translations Should

Part 4: Local authority

Google needs signs that each market trusts you. Links from your home country carry less weight abroad.

# Check How to check Priority
29 You're earning links from sites in each target country Filter your backlinks by country in Ahrefs or Semrush Should
30 You're listed in local directories and associations Search for the top business directories in each country Should
31 Your business details are consistent Name, address, and phone match across all local listings Should
32 You have a Google Business Profile per local office Only if you have a real address in that country Nice to have
33 You're collecting reviews from customers in each market Google reviews, industry review sites and local platforms Should

Part 5: Tracking and maintenance

International SEO isn't a one-time job. Sites change, and small changes can break whole markets.

# Check How to check Priority
34 Search performance is tracked by country Search Console → Performance → filter by Country Must
35 Leads or sales are tracked by country GA4 → Reports → filter by Country Must
36 Local keyword rankings are tracked in each market Set rank tracking to each country, not just your home market Should
37 Visits to the wrong version are monitored In GA4, compare visitor country with page language Should
38 AI search visibility is checked in each language Ask AI Overviews or ChatGPT your key questions in each market's language Nice to have
39 This checklist runs every quarter Also before a new market launch or a site migration Should
40 URL changes are mirrored across all versions When you move or delete a page, update every version and its hreflang tags Must

Checklist summary

Part Points "Must" items
1. Strategy and market research 1–6 3
2. Site structure and technical setup 7–20 10
3. Content and localisation 21–28 4
4. Local authority 29–33 0
5. Tracking and maintenance 34–40 3
Total 40 20

Short on time? Fix the 20 "Must" items first. Half of them sit in Part 2, which is why technical setup is the best place to start.

Need help going global?

Working through 40 points across several markets takes time. The Gooseberry Solutions can run this checklist for you, market by market. We'll show you what's broken, what to fix first, and how to grow in each country.

Book a free consultation or read our international SEO strategy guide

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

It should cover five areas: market strategy, technical setup, content localisation, local authority, and tracking. The technical part matters most at the start, because errors there can stop Google showing the right page at all.

Broken hreflang tags. The most frequent errors are missing return links and wrong codes, such as "en-uk" instead of "en-gb". Both can make Google ignore the tags completely.

Once a quarter is a good habit. Also run it before launching a new market and after any site migration or redesign.

Use the same checklist, but run it once per market. A site can be set up well for one country and badly for another.

Yes. A multilingual website is one kind of international site. Every point applies. If you target languages rather than countries, simply focus on language codes in your hreflang tags.

Yes. Google still uses hreflang to choose the right language or country version. Since Google removed Search Console's international targeting report in 2022, hreflang matters even more.

References