Plan and track SEO for a new country

Keyword research for a new country starts from what local buyers are trying to do, not from a translated list of your English keywords. Translation gives you a starting point, but it misses the local terms, the different product categories, and the questions that only come up in that market.

Kite seeds its research from the problems your product solves and the vocabulary your best customers use. It then pulls keyword ideas, search volume, and difficulty for the country and language you're entering, using its built-in search data. You don't need a separate account for any of this. If you sell into Belgium, for example, Kite can research Dutch-language searches and French-language searches separately, because buyers in each language search differently.

Kite also reads the live Google results for that country. The results page shows which local companies rank, what kind of pages Google prefers for each search, and which "People also ask" questions appear. It often reveals that a search you expected to be about software is dominated by templates or how-to guides, which changes the kind of page you'd need to win it.

Local competitors matter as much as the keywords. Kite finds the websites that share the search results with you in the new country, which are often companies you've never heard of at home. It reads their top pages to see what they invest in. If you use Semrush, Kite can also read the keywords those competitors rank for in that country's database.

If you also need to understand the market beyond search, such as local buyer behavior, competitors, and pricing, Kite covers that in research a new market before entering it.

Keyword data is less reliable in smaller countries and languages, and the right response is to label it rather than ignore it. Search tools estimate volume from samples, and in a small market those samples get small. Real searches often show up with rounded numbers, no volume at all, or a volume of zero even though people make them every day.

Kite handles this in three ways. First, it marks every keyword in its research by the kind of evidence behind it. Some keywords carry solid search data, some carry estimates, and some have no reliable volume at all. You see the difference in the plan, so you don't build a strategy on a number that isn't really there.

Second, when volume is missing, Kite judges a keyword by the live results page instead. If the top results for a search are thin pages, forum threads, or translated pages from foreign companies, the search is usually winnable even when the volume says zero. If local incumbents hold every position with strong pages, it's a harder fight regardless of the number.

Third, Kite looks for the real searches your site already appears for. With Google Search Console connected, Kite can filter your search data by country. If people in the new country already find you for some searches, those impressions are better evidence of local demand than any estimate, and they often point to the terms worth targeting first.

Kite turns the research into a plan where every chosen keyword has one job: improve an existing page or build a new one. It judges each search by whether a visitor could become a customer, how hard the current results are to beat, and how strong the evidence is.

Suppose you sell scheduling software for physical therapy clinics and you're entering the Netherlands. Kite might find that clinic owners there search in Dutch for appointment software for physiotherapists, that two local companies hold the top positions, and that the third result is a weak comparison article. The plan would put a Dutch product page against that search first and leave the high-volume generic searches for later, when the site has more local authority.

The plan also covers how the site should be set up for the new country. Kite can help you decide between a separate country domain, a country folder on your existing site, or a language switcher, and it records the reasoning so later work follows it. Localized pages need more than translated copy. They need the right currency, local spelling, consent language that fits local rules, and proof from customers in that market.

On a website Kite builds and hosts, Kite can build the localized pages, add the language tags that tell Google which version belongs to which country, and publish once you approve. If your site runs on another platform, Kite can publish through your connected content system. The full localization work is covered in localize your website for a new country.

A baseline is a record of where you stand in the new country before the work begins, and it's what makes every later month comparable. Without one, you can't tell whether a ranking appeared because of your new pages or was already there.

Kite records the baseline as soon as you agree on the keyword list. For each keyword, it notes where your site ranks in that country's Google results, or that it doesn't rank yet. It also records which local competitors hold the top positions and, with Search Console connected, your clicks, impressions, and average position from searchers in that country.

A baseline full of "not ranking" is normal for a new market, and it's still useful. It means the first month that shows your site on page two or three is a real, measurable step.

Kite tracks your progress in the new country by checking the same keywords, in the same country and language, every month. Keeping the keyword list fixed is what makes each month comparable with the baseline and with the month before.

Ask Kite to run the check on a schedule, and it becomes a recurring job that runs on its own. Each month, Kite reads where your site ranks for the tracked keywords in that country's Google results and notes which local competitors moved above or below you. It also reads your Search Console clicks and impressions for that country. Then it compares everything with the baseline and explains the changes that matter.

The monthly report ends with what to do next. A page that has reached the second page of results may need a stronger answer to the question searchers are asking. A search with growing impressions but few clicks usually needs a better page title. A local competitor gaining ground may have earned links from local trade sites, and with Ahrefs connected, Kite can see which sites link to that competitor and suggest which ones to approach. Kite proposes the work, ships it once you approve, and the next month's check shows whether it helped.

If you're comparing tools for tracking rankings yourself, see the best rank tracking software for small teams Coming soon .