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International SEO URL Planner

List your markets (language-region) and answer five questions: the tool recommends a URL structure, proposes the addresses and compares the three options.

Your main domain

Target markets (language-region codes, one per line)

Use language-region (fr-CA), or a language alone (es) when you do not target a country.

Your situation

I need to target each country separately (local offers, prices, legal content)Each market has its own team, hosting or legal entityI want every market to benefit from my existing domain's authorityI can register and maintain one domain per marketThe same language is served to several countries

Recommended structure: Subdirectories

Why

You want to reuse one domain's authority, which favours subdirectories on that domain.

Subdirectories — Example

Proposed URL
Market	Proposed URL
fr-FR	https://example.com/fr-fr/
en-GB	https://example.com/en-gb/
es-MX	https://example.com/es-mx/

Compare the three structures

Subdirectories

Score: 3

https://example.com/fr-fr/

Advantages

Everything lives on one domain and one set of links.
One certificate, one CMS, one analytics property.
Can be set up per section or host in Search Console reporting.

Drawbacks

One server or CDN setup serves every market.
Local signals rely on hreflang, content and links rather than the domain.

Subdomains

Score: 1

https://fr-fr.example.com/

Advantages

Simple to set up with wildcard DNS or a hosting alias.
Can point to different servers per market.
Can be set up per section or host in Search Console reporting.

Drawbacks

Often managed like a separate site, so links to it are not automatically shared with the main one.
More DNS and certificate work than folders.

Country-code domains (ccTLD)

Score: 0

https://example.fr/

Advantages

Clearest signal of the target country.
Each market can be hosted and run independently.
Visitors often recognise their local domain.

Drawbacks

One registration and renewal per market.
Each domain builds its links and history separately.
The country domain you want may be taken or restricted to local companies.
More setup: separate DNS, certificates and often separate hosting.

The scores come from the answers above with fixed weights. They are a decision aid, not a ranking factor. Google supports all three structures; whichever you pick, keep it consistent and add hreflang.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

Privacy and cost

This tool runs in your browser. What you type or paste is not sent to our servers and it costs nothing to use.

How it works

Enter your domain and your markets, one per line (fr-FR, en-GB, es-MX…).
Tick the constraints that apply: country targeting, separate teams, shared authority, budget for several domains, one language for several countries.
Read the recommended structure, the proposed URLs for each market and the pros and cons comparison.

Example

For example.com with the markets fr-FR, en-GB and es-MX and a wish to share one domain's authority, the tool recommends subdirectories: https://example.com/fr-fr/, /en-gb/ and /es-mx/ (score 3, against 1 for subdomains and 0 for ccTLDs). With country targeting and separate teams it recommends ccTLDs: example.fr, example.co.uk and example.mx.

What the result means

Google supports all three structures. ccTLDs send the clearest country signal but cost domains and separately built links. Subdirectories simplify operations on a single domain. Subdomains are a middle ground. The score comes from fixed rules applied to your answers: it is a decision aid, not a performance measure.

Common problems this tool helps with

Choosing a ccTLD for a market defined only by a language, with no country.
Multiplying country domains without the budget to maintain and promote them.
Changing structure after launch, which forces redirects across the whole site.
Serving one language to several countries without hreflang to tell them apart.

Frequently asked questions

Which structure does Google prefer?

None: Google documents ccTLDs, subdomains and subdirectories as valid options and discourages URL parameters. The best choice depends on your resources and market.

Is the score a statistic?

No. It is a deterministic calculation based on your answers, with no external data. It orders the options according to your constraints.

Do I still need hreflang?

Yes, whatever the structure: hreflang helps Google link the versions together and serve the right one to each user.

Your situation

Subdirectories — Example

Compare the three structures

Subdirectories

Subdomains

Country-code domains (ccTLD)

Privacy and cost

How it works

Example

What the result means

Common problems this tool helps with

Frequently asked questions

Which structure does Google prefer?

Is the score a statistic?

Do I still need hreflang?

Related tools

Your situation

Subdirectories — Example

Compare the three structures

Subdirectories

Subdomains

Country-code domains (ccTLD)