How I Do International Keyword Research That Drives Traffic

Right now, someone in Tokyo, Berlin, or São Paulo is searching for exactly what you offer.

But they’re landing on someone else’s site.

Why? Because their search language and intent isn’t aligned with your content.

International keyword research isn’t just translating words. You need to understand how people think, search, and make decisions across cultures.

Over the years, I’ve developed a straightforward process to find keywords that resonate globally—bringing traffic and conversions. This guide reveals exactly how I do it. Let’s get started.

What is International Keyword Research?

International keyword research helps identify the words and phrases people in different countries and languages use when searching you or your business online.

This allows you to tailor your content to match local language and cultural needs, so it can reach more people and rank better in local search results.

Here are different possible scenarios where you can use it:

↳ You have a website targeting a country like the US, but you want to expand to new markets in other countries like Germany.

↳ You want to optimize multilingual content for a global audience.

↳ You want to adapt to regional search behaviors and understand localized variations of keywords. E.g., “flat” (British) vs. “apartment” (American).

↳ Your product is called “biscuit” in the UK, but it needs optimization for the US market where it’s called “cookie.”

↳ You are launching a new e-commerce store in Spain and need to identify high-performing Spanish keywords.

↳ Your website ranks well in English but struggles in French-speaking regions, and you want to improve rankings.

↳ You are targeting a festival-specific audience in a country (e.g., “Diwali offers” in India) and need localized keyword insights.

↳ You are optimizing content for a travel blog that targets multiple countries with region-specific attractions.

↳ You want to localize your software product’s landing page for a country (e.g., Brazil) and need its language-specific (Portuguese) keywords.

↳ You are launching a new product and need to identify keyword demand across multiple countries before setting up distribution.

But before we start, if you’re still researching different markets and not sure where to expand your business, here is…

A Trick to Find Countries You’re Most Likely to Rank in

For example, if my client is a shoe brand in the US, wanting to expand internationally, here’s what I would do:

Run its seed keywords in Keyword Overview of Semrush.

Look at what other countries are using these keywords.

In this case, the UK has over 60K search volume for the term “sports shoes” and India has over 200K.

Compare this with a rather modest search volume of just 8K in the US.

Think about the opportunities this shoe brand would get by targeting the UK or India!

So, if you’re not yet sure where you want to expand your business, you’ll have a better idea now.

You could also simply translate your seed keywords into your target language and use the same method to find countries where your product/service could sell well.

Now, when you know which country to target, let’s move on to the main part.

How To Do International Keyword Research?

To show you how I do international keyword research for my clients, I’ll continue the example of a shoe brand in the US expanding into the UK and Spain.

This will help you understand how to handle different languages and spelling variations when doing keyword research in a different country.

By the end of this guide, you will know how to do keyword research in a region, whether or not its primary language is English.

Step 1: Start with Seed Keywords

Seed keywords are broad, generally one or two words long terms that represent the broad idea of your product/service. For my example US shoe brand, it could be:

→ Sports shoes

→ Running shoes

→ Women’s shoes

→ Summer sandals

→ Basketball sneakers

Based on this, I’m going to ask ChatGPT to help me create a list of seed keywords to target in the UK.

This is the command I gave:

For a [Your Business Profile] in [Your Current Country], my seed keywords are: [List of Keywords]

What seed keywords should I target in [Your Target Country]?

And, it gave pretty good results along with helpful explanations.

It gives helpful insights into language nuances of the target country.

According to ChatGPT, the US calls it “women shoes” while the UK calls it “ladies shoes.”

Let’s use Semrush to see how true that is.

Go to Keyword Overview, enter your seed keyword(s) and hit Search.

While “women shoes” has a good volume in the UK (12K), it is still not as popular as it is in the US (40K).

On the other hand, the British English variant “ladies shoes” has a sizable search volume in the UK but not so much in the US.

So, in order to rank in the UK, “ladies shoes” becomes an important keyword for my US-based shoe brand.

While these both terms mean essentially the same thing, understanding language nuances and localizing your keywords becomes very important.

We’ll talk about it in detail in a bit.

For now, use ChatGPT in the similar manner while targeting a country like Spain where English isn’t the primary language.

Or, simply translate the seed keywords. But don’t just rely on online tools.

Step 2: Adapt Keywords for Regional Context

Now, Let’s Talk About Why Localization Matters

Your audience’s search behavior reflects cultural and linguistic preferences. A simple translation won’t suffice—you must localize for spelling, slang, and intent.

For example, this is what some US English keywords would look like in British English– relevant in the UK:

• “Sneakers” → “Trainers”
• “Waterproof sneakers” → “Waterproof trainers”
• “Best running shoes” → “Best running trainers”

See what happens if I use the US variation of a keyword in the UK:

The search volume is very low.

Now let’s use the UK variation:

“Sneakers” and “trainers” mean the same thing, and both are English words.

Still, there is such a massive difference.

This is why localizing your keywords is critical.

On the other hand, in Spain, where the primary language is not English, I’d focus on:

→ Spanish equivalents of my seed keywords, like “zapatillas deportivas” for sports shoes.

→ I’d also include English keywords, since 11% of Spaniards speak English.

To make sure your keywords make sense, collaborate with a native of your target country to make sure your keywords make sense.

We know from the example above that the keyword “women shoes” has over 40K volume in the US.

Let’s see how this keyword is doing in Spain.

Just 320 search volume! Does that mean Spanish women are not into shoes?

Now, let’s use the same keyword, but in Spanish.

“Zapatos mujer,” which means the same thing as “women shoes,” has over 33K search volume in Spain.

This means there is a great demand for “women shoes” in Spain– they are just using different words.

But since about 11% of Spain’s population also speaks English, I’d research my English seed keywords in Spain as well, using the same method above.

Step 3: Expand the List Using Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Now, as I have a few seed keywords to start with, I’d put each of them in Semrush Keyword Magic Tool to find more relevant keywords.

Open Semrush > Magic Keyword Tool > enter your seed keyword.

Make sure to set your target country.

Hit Enter, and it’ll show you a list of related keywords. You can also click on any relevant suggested groups on the left to more filtered results.

Keywords with higher Volume and lower KD% (Keyword Difficulty) are the most lucrative.

You can also use the given filters to find the most useful keywords.

Set your desired KD range.

Similarly, you can set a desired Volume range.

Now, select all the relevant keywords.

Click the Export button on the right

Select XLSX.

Open the file and this is what it looks like:

Only the first 4 categories are relevant for me, so I’ll copy them and paste them to my master spreadsheet.

Repeat this for all the seed keywords.

By the end, my master spreadsheet looks like this:

I’d repeat the same steps for Spain with both English and Spanish keywords.

At this point, you must have many keywords.

But that’s not enough.

Step 4: See What Keyword Competitors are Targeting

The next step is to find and analyze your competitors’ website to find their best keywords.

You can use the Open SERP feature in Semrush to see what the SERP of a keyword looks like in your target country.

From there, you can find your competitors.

But this SERP may not be as accurate occasionally.

Since I am in the US and I want to see the SERPs in the UK and Spain, I use Valentin to manipulate my location.

Just enter your main keyword and target country.

You can even add the precise geocode.

Hit Search.

And now, you’ll be London’s SERP:

You can also use Google’s Advance Search.

Just perform a regular search using your target keyword.

On the SERP, click Tools on the bottom right of the search bar.

Then select Advanced Search.

Confirm your keyword. Select country. Hit Advanced Search.

And now, you’ll see the SERP of Spain.

Open any relevant competitor’s website from the results.

In Spain, Calzados Rosi could be a competitor of my example shoe brand.

I’ve opened its website to find more keywords to target.

Here’s what I found hovering on the header.

This way, you’ll know what your competitors are offering and what keywords they are targeting.

Next, comes keyword gap analysis. It helps you find keywords that your competitors are ranking for but you’re not.

I’m going to use Semrush to analyze my competition and find useful keywords.

Open Semrush and go to Keyword Gap.

In the first box, enter your domain (where it says You).

Select relevant competitors for the suggestions drop down box.

Enter any competitor’s domain you want to compare with. You can add more than one.

Select the target country (Spain in this case). Hit Enter.

Scroll down to the keyword list and tap Missing to see the keywords all your selected competitors rank for, but you don’t.

I also select Untapped to see keywords that at least one of my competitors is ranking for.

These might not be as relevant, but chances are you might find something useful.

At this point, you’ll have hundreds, if not thousands, of keywords.

Step 5: It’s Time To Organize Our Keyword List.

Now, what’s next— What to do with your keyword research?

I start by making groups based on the product category.

It could be: sports shoes, sandals, running shoes, etc.

You can ask ChatGPT to group keywords for you.

It helps make sure that you cover all areas of your niche systematically.

I also make groups based on search intent: informational (like “best running shoes for beginners”), transactional (like “buy running shoes online”), etc. GPT can help you do that too.

You can also organize keywords with location-based categories. If there is any other category relevant to your business, add those too.

For my categorized keyword list, I prefer to add a separate page in the same document.

You can organize your list how you like.

By now, the list should start to shape up nicely.

Step 6: Lastly, Finalize and Prioritize Keywords.

Once I have these groups, I shortlist the best by doing the following:

• Check Search Volume and Keyword Difficulty on Semrush. Prioritize high-volume and low-difficulty keywords.
• Make sure they’re relevant. “High heels” won’t help my seller if they only sell sports shoes.
• Avoid terms dominated by major brands unless you have a competitive edge.

I then add final touches to my master spreadsheet. By the end, it’d have columns like:

Keyword	Search Volume	Keyword Difficulty %	Search Intent	Product Category	Notes

And this would give you your final keyword list for international SEO!

Some International Keyword Research Pro Tips:

➔ Target Long-Tail Keywords: A long-tail keyword like “buy comfortable running shoes for women” is more focused and likely to convert than a generic keyword like “running shoes.” Searchers using such keywords are clear with their intent and ready to take action.

Long tail keywords can also be in question form or be location specific (e.g., “near me,” “in Seattle,” etc.) These keywords also have lower competition and also help build topical authority.

I often use Semrush to find long-tail question keywords.

Just search for a term in the Keyword Magic Tool.

Turn ON the Questions filter.

Sometimes, it might disappoint but other times, it might give some good results.

Definitely worth trying.

➔ Understand Seasonal and Cultural Trends: For example, buyers may use “Diwali offers” in India and “Black Friday sales” in the US.

Similarly, people in the UK might not search for summer sandals during winter, but in Spain, summer-related items might still have traction due to warmer climates in many regions.

Use Google Trends to find seasonal and trendy keywords.

➔ Consider Local Language Nuances: Tailor your keywords based on local differences. For example, the UK and US both use English but different versions (colour vs color, trainers vs sneakers, etc.)

However, countries like Spain would mostly use keywords in their primary language– “zapatillas deportivas” instead of sports shoes or “chanclas” for sandals.

➔ Don’t Put All Eggs in One Basket (Google): While it’s true that Google is the most used search engine, there are some countries (like China and Korea) that use a different search engine.

And in some countries, a sizable chunk of the population may use other search engines as well. Optimizing for these search engines rather than (or along with) highly competitive Google would be a good idea.

Your Global Audience Is Waiting!

With international keyword research, you can find keywords to reach your local target customers in different parts of the world. Nail the local context, analyze local competitors, use the right keyword research tools, and prioritize high intent, niche keywords with the right search volumes.

Frequently Asked Questions