LOCALIZATION SEO THAT WORKS: 10 REAL-WORLD LESSONS FROM 14 MARKETS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Ahrefs quadrupled traffic to its Spanish blog in 18 months by localizing content rather than just translating it, growing from 5.4K to over 22K visits. It used culturally relevant language variants like Brazilian Portuguese and local keyword research instead of direct translation. Market prioritization was based on billing data, search trends, and tech adoption, targeting countries such as Indonesia and Japan. Content was created or adapted to fit local norms and voice, building trust and attracting backlinks. Ahrefs also maintained consistent terminology, used AI for bulk tasks with human review, and kept strong technical SEO to support localization.