International Keyword Research

Keyword research for international markets is not the same as translating your home-market keyword list. Search volume, query phrasing, and user intent vary across languages and countries, often dramatically. Approaching each market with fresh research produces significantly better results than assuming existing keywords will transfer.

Why translation does not work for keyword research

A straightforward example of why direct translation fails: the word “jumper” in British English translates to “sweater” in American English. Both refer to the same garment, but the search behaviour differs. If a UK retailer targets sweaters on their US pages by translating their jumpers keyword strategy, they may use the correct word but still miss regional phrasing, brand associations, or intent signals specific to that market.

The problem scales across every category:

• Medical terms vary between markets (“chemist” in the UK is “pharmacy” in the US)
• Legal terminology differs across jurisdictions (“solicitor” vs “attorney”)
• Financial products have different names and regulatory contexts
• Technology product names and dominant brands vary by region
• Local brand dominance shapes the queries people use when searching for a product category

How search volume varies by market

The same keyword can have radically different search volumes in different countries. This reflects population size, internet penetration, local search engine market share (Baidu in China, Yandex in Russia, Naver in South Korea), and whether the topic is culturally relevant in that market.

Do not assume that because a keyword has high search volume in English, its direct translation has proportional volume in French or German. Check actual volume for each language in each country. Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner all support country-level and language-level filtering.

Using research tools in unfamiliar languages

Most keyword research tools support non-English research, but using them effectively requires preparation:

Set the correct country and language filters. Running a keyword search for “assurance voiture” (car insurance in French) with the country set to the UK returns UK-based French searches, not French market data. Always match the country setting to the target market.

Use Google Search in the target country. Google’s autocomplete and People Also Ask surfaces are localised. Searching via a VPN set to the target country gives you the query suggestions Google shows to local users — useful for identifying natural language patterns.

Check local SERPs. The SERP for a query in Germany may look very different from the equivalent in France: different content types, different local brands, and different SERP features indicate different user intent and content format expectations.

Localising vs translating keywords

Some keywords translate directly. “How to bake bread” in French is “comment cuire du pain” and the intent is the same: instructional content about baking. The direct translation works.

Other keywords require localisation rather than translation:

• Brand-specific queries: if a particular brand dominates the German market for your product category, queries about that brand need independent research, not translation from English brand queries.
• Local compliance queries: “IR35” in the UK has no equivalent in France; French users search for “statut d’auto-entrepreneur” or “portage salarial”. These are not translations of the same query; they are different queries reflecting different regulatory environments.
• Colloquial phrasing: even within English, “estate agent” (UK) and “realtor” (US) refer to the same profession. Keyword research must use the locally natural phrasing.

Competitive landscape per market

Each market has its own established players, domain authority distribution, and content quality benchmarks. The difficulty of ranking for a keyword in France may be very different from ranking for the equivalent in Germany, even if search volumes are similar.

Before entering a new market, examine:

• Who currently ranks in positions one to ten for your target queries?
• Are they local businesses, global brands, or aggregators?
• What content format and depth does the top-ranking page use?
• Are there underserved queries (decent volume, weaker competition) where you could gain an early foothold?

This analysis must be done in the target language and country, not inferred from your home-market competitive assessment.

International keyword research workflow

1. Identify the topic clusters you want to target in the new market.
2. Generate seed keywords in the target language. Use native speakers for this where possible rather than machine translation.
3. Run each seed through your keyword tool with country and language set to the target market.
4. Examine SERP results for each priority keyword in the target language.
5. Identify intent signals from top-ranking pages: are they guides, product pages, comparison tools, local directories?
6. Map keywords to existing pages (if they can be localised) or new pages (if no equivalent exists).
7. Prioritise by volume, difficulty, and business relevance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do keyword research in a language I do not speak? With difficulty. Tools can surface search volumes, but interpreting results, identifying natural phrasing, and evaluating SERP quality requires at least some language understanding. For markets where you have no language capability, working with a native-speaker SEO consultant or a specialist translation agency with SEO expertise is worthwhile.

How often should international keyword research be repeated? At least annually, and whenever entering a new market. Competitive landscapes shift, new local brands emerge, and query volumes change with cultural events and regulatory changes. International markets can shift faster than home markets because they receive less monitoring.

Does search intent differ across markets? Yes, sometimes significantly. The dominant intent behind a query may be informational in one market and transactional in another, depending on local buying behaviour and the maturity of the online market for a product category. SERP analysis is the most reliable way to identify intent differences: look at the content types that dominate positions one to three.