If you are targeting the German market and/or want that people in Germany find your website it is very important that your website is localised and optimised with the German market in mind.

To start with this means that your website is translated into German. However, a professional, high quality translation is just the first step for search visibility in Germany.

In addition to translation, your German language website also needs to be optimised for the most suitable German keywords. Simply translating keyword rarely works, as search patterns, search intent and language use varies between countries, so different terms will have different search volumes and different levels of competition. This, by the way, also applies if you are thinking of running some Google Ads in Germany – different search patterns, different search volumes, and indeed very different keyword costs. 

So in sum, to do well in search in the German market, your website must also be SEO-optimised for the German market and the German language, i.e. based on German keyword research and analysis of online competitors in Germany, the right keywords need to be chosen and integrated into content, metadata and other relevant sections of the website. Without German SEO your chances of your website being found during web search are minimal. So, if you want to use your website for lead generation and/or sales, German SEO is key.