Two questions about the internationalization of a SaaS platform
Hi! I'm the founder of URLR, an URL shortener with some cool features (API, CSV import, QR codes, custom domains,...) for an affordable but scalable budget.
URLR is first thought of as a French platform. So the domain urlr.me is the French version of the website. We are ranked ~2 in France on Google.fr on most related queries. Most of our clients (if not all) are France-based and most of our efforts in terms of SEO are done for the French market.
But we also have an English version of the platform: en.urlr.me. We take time to translate the application 100% at the same time as the French version. That's why we would really like to be able to start attracting leads in English-speaking countries.
I would like to discuss two points with you:
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Do you think that using a subdomain for the English market could make it difficult to perform well on google.com? We are not in the first 10 pages for now...
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Today we only permit to pay in euros (€). Do you think it's a real-blocker and should we work on it as soon as possible? Dollar ($) first ? If so, what could be the best pricing strategy (same prices, converted prices, ...) with your experience?
Any advice is welcome, so, I look forward to hearing your feedback :)
Hey @RobertoDigital just wondering if you had thoughts on the first bullet point?
Hey @MaxwellDavis! 🙌 Hi @hugoposnic, nice to meet you!
Subdomains are seen as completely different websites than the one in the root domain, so the rankings you have on the french version have no impact on the English version.
In other words, it's as if you created a brand new website in a new domain. That's why it's not ranking yet. You have to work on the SEO of that subdomain, just like you did on your french website.
I know it's not the same, but in my newsletter, I wrote about using subdomains for blogs, and how it is better to use a subfolder.
My suggestion would be to not use a subdomain, but instead, put the English website in urlr.me/en/ that way the English website is part of your main domain and can benefit from the current SEO efforts and domain authority.
Of course, that does not mean that using a subdomain is wrong, you just won't take advantage of the SEO benefit.
Here's a really good article that breaks down the pros and cons of each option:
https://litebreeze.com/software-development/tld-vs-subfolder-vs-subdomain/
Hi @RobertoDigital Nice to meet you also!
Thank you very much for your detailed answer. It's very interesting.
I'll take some time to read your two links.
But I think that I will go with urlr.me/en. And I better understand why so many websites use this format now :)
Thanks for trying to get answers :)