How much does SEO differ between countries? The best comparison is with the United States, where not only is the competition higher, but the algorithm is also different.
The very first thing you need to take into account if you want to expand into the U.S. is that Google’s algorithm is much more complex there than it is in Sweden. Does that sound strange? The differences are actually quite significant, partly because English is easier for Google, but also because many filters are rolled out in the U.S. first and only reach Sweden after a year or so – if at all.
Things that work in Sweden don’t necessarily work in the U.S. The algorithm is much tougher on sloppy search engine optimization than the Swedish one, and especially if you want to compete for more competitive keywords, you’ll need to work much harder with your SEO.
Competition is tougher
The competition in the U.S. is, of course, much greater than in Sweden. There are more people working with SEO, more money to be made, and larger budgets. However, I would argue that the competition is not as extreme as it could be. Sweden is actually quite advanced in certain areas, which means that competition here is a bit too high compared to the country’s 9 million inhabitants.
In a slightly strange way, competition is actually tougher in the Swedish market. In the U.S., as mentioned, the search engine is better at filtering and evaluating everything from content to links. This means you’ll get penalized much faster if you cross the line. Overly aggressive link building, for example, can make your site drop in the rankings quite quickly. In Sweden, the same effect can take much longer – we’re talking months or even years.
The result is that many search results in Sweden include sites with link profiles that in the U.S. would have been removed – in other words, profiles that are far too aggressive. This forces other Swedish sites to compete with sites using such heavy-handed link building. If you want to be long-term, you might avoid that yourself, which can make it harder to outrank competitors.
Society is much larger
It’s not only that competition is tougher – the number of opportunities is also greater. Take outreach, for example: it has become the new big thing in the U.S., and many really large SEO firms do little else. One reason this works so well in the U.S. is that there are more sites in every niche. If you’re a plumbing company that wants to appear on relevant sites in Sweden, there aren’t that many to choose from. The situation in the U.S. is completely different.
The local search results are also more interesting in such a large market. Think about the top spot for “plumber in Los Angeles” or “lawyer in New York.” Compared to a city like Skövde, the big U.S. cities are essentially entire markets in themselves – as large as all of Sweden.
This creates far more room to find niches, which makes the competition fundamentally different than in Sweden. For example, it can be worthwhile for a local company to invest heavily in SEO, even to the point of having someone employed full-time for it.
Magnus Bråth
Consultant & Adviser
Magnus is one of the world's most prominent search marketing specialists and primarily works with management and strategy at his agency Brath AB.