How can I create country-specific blog posts for better SERP ranking?

[Replaysam]

I am looking for a solution to the following problem. I have a store with multiple markets divided into subdomains. To rank better in the SERP (country specific) I would like to have blog posts that are specific to a certain country. Suppose I wrote a blog post for France, I would like it to be visible only on the subdomain /fr-fr.

Unfortunately, I can't find a solution for this. I prefer not to work with third-party apps because this can drastically affect speed (or you guys must have a different idea about this). I would love to hear from you guys what a solution could be.

Thanks in advance!

[oscprofessional]

Hello @Replaysam,

You're right; using a third-party app can sometimes add complexity and potentially slow down your website. Here are a few approaches you can consider to create country-specific blog posts for your subdomains without relying on apps:

1. Shopify Blog with Subdomain Detection:

• Conditional Tags: While Shopify themes don't have built-in country detection, you can utilize conditional tags within your blog theme code. These tags check the current subdomain and display content based on the match.

  For example, if your French blog posts are under /fr-fr, you can use a conditional tag like:

  Code snippet

  {% if request.host contains 'fr-fr' %}
    {% endif %}

  Use code with caution.

• You would create similar conditional tags for each subdomain and their corresponding blog posts.

• Multiple Blogs: Technically, Shopify allows creating multiple blogs within your store. You could set up a separate blog for each subdomain and manage them individually. This approach might be suitable if you have a vast amount of country-specific content. However, it can be more work to maintain compared to the conditional tag option.

2. Content Delivery Network (CDN):

• Geolocation Routing: Some CDNs offer geolocation routing capabilities. This allows you to deliver content specific to a user's location based on their IP address. You could configure the CDN to serve French blog posts only to users accessing the /fr-fr subdomain.

3. DNS-Level Content Delivery:

• Advanced Configuration: This is a more advanced approach. You can configure your DNS records to point specific subdomains to different servers or website directories containing the country-specific content. However, this requires technical expertise in DNS management.

Considerations:

• SEO Implications: Ensure proper implementation of these solutions to avoid duplicate content issues that can negatively impact SEO. Consider using canonical tags or robots.txt to guide search engines.
• Theme Development Skills: The conditional tag approach requires some knowledge of Shopify theme development (Liquid templating language).
• Complexity vs. Performance: Evaluate the complexity of each approach against the performance concerns you have with third-party apps.

By exploring these options, you can potentially achieve your goal of displaying country-specific blog posts on your subdomains without relying on external apps. Remember to research and choose the approach that best suits your technical expertise, content volume, and comfort level.