129 multilingual placements across Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Here's what we built - and what happened.
A B2B SEO platform with strong English-market presence needed to expand into European markets - Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The problem: search results in these languages were dominated by local players. AI assistants had almost no quality sources to cite for non-English queries. The brand was invisible in 4 of their highest-potential markets.
Search results in each target language were dominated by established local players with years of backlink authority.
Each market needed its own strategy - different competitors, different search behavior, different content landscape.
AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI had almost no quality sources to cite in non-English markets.
The brand had strong English-language authority but near-zero backlinks from Spanish, French, German, or Dutch sites.
We ran a dual-angle campaign across all 4 markets: category comparison keywords and competitor alternative keywords - placed on hyper-relevant sites in each language.
We mapped the competitive backlink landscape in each target market. How many placements did category leaders have? What was the link velocity? Where were the content gaps?
We targeted two keyword angles in every market: "Best [SEO tools]" category keywords capturing comparison searches, and "[Competitor] Alternative" keywords intercepting competitor traffic.
As placements compounded, AI assistants began citing the content as source material. We doubled down on markets showing the strongest returns.
Full breakdown per market. All data from Ahrefs as of March 2026.
| Market | Links | Avg DR | AI Overview | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Google AI | Organic Traffic | Traffic Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
🇪🇸 Spain |
40 | 50 | +213 | +8 | +9 | +11 | +11.9K | +$7.8K/mo |
🇫🇷 France |
42 | 50 | 0 | +5 | +2 | +1 | +28.4K | +$12.6K/mo |
🇩🇪 Germany |
23 | 50 | +132 | +6 | +7 | 0 | +21.2K | +$27.2K/mo |
🇳🇱 Netherlands |
13 | 50 | +61 | +3 | +1 | 0 | +9.3K | +$14K/mo |
Total |
129 | 50 | +406 | +22 | +19 | +12 | +70.8K | +$61.6K/mo |
During the 18-month campaign, the platform's overall organic traffic grew from 319K to 900K+. AI citations across all 4 markets grew from near-zero to 400+. We're not claiming sole credit for all of that growth - the client has a strong product team and runs multiple initiatives. But the multilingual placements we built are now a permanent part of their search footprint in 4 new markets.
Each market has its own search landscape, competitors, and content ecosystem. You can't just translate an English campaign.
A mix of comparison content, guest posts, and topical placements creates a natural backlink profile that search engines and AI assistants trust.
Once you build enough quality placements in a language, AI assistants start citing your content. It's a compounding effect.
129 placements over 18 months beats trying to build 129 links in 3 months. Steady velocity signals organic growth.
We'll map your competitive landscape, identify the gaps, and build a multilingual campaign tailored to your target markets.
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