Core international SEO is really about deciding who you want to reach and where they are in the world. For international targeting, there are two sides to think about: country targeting and language targeting.
Country targeting focuses on specific markets and uses things like country‑code domains (such as .fr or .de), country folders (like /fr/ or /de/), and geo‑targeting settings in GSC to signal to search engines which country a section of the site is for.
Language targeting is about speaking the user’s language, using hreflang tags and properly translated content so people see the right language and regional version in search results.
When it comes to domain structure, you’re choosing between ccTLDs, subfolders and subdomains, each with pros and cons. ccTLDs like example.fr can build strong local trust and send very clear country signals, but they usually require more budget and separate SEO work for each site.
Subfolders such as example.com/fr/ let you share domain authority and are generally easier to manage across multiple markets from one main site. Subdomains like fr.example.com can work too, but they often behave more like separate sites in practice and may take more effort to build up.
You also need to keep search engine differences in mind. Google dominates in many regions, but in markets like China, Russia and South Korea you’ll also deal with Baidu, Yandex and Naver, and each has its own rules, features and local regulations that affect how you optimise content and how results appear in the SERPs.