Notes from the Google Webmaster Internationalization Hangout on the 8th of December, 2016.
Unspecified Geotargeting is Different to Unlisted
If you don’t select a geotargeting option for generic TLDs, Google will assign one automatically, whereas choosing ‘Unlisted’ will tell Google not to apply any geotargeting.
Don’t Use CCLTDs as Vanity Domains
Don’t use a country specific top level domain (e.g. .it) as this will tell Google that the site is primarily for that country.
Geotarget to your Audience Location
Apply geotargeting or your target audience if you have content about another country (e.g. holidays, overseas property.
Put Hrelfang Meta Tags at the Top of the Head
‘Cruft’ above hreflang tags can close the head, and cause the tag to be seen within the body, which could cause it to be ignored.
Separate AMP Pages Don’t Need Hreflang
If you have separate AMP pages, you don’t need to add hreflang tags to them. Implement hreflang on the main desktop pages, the same as with a dedicated mobile site.
Geotargeting Doesn’t Lower Rankings for Other Audiences
Geotargeting Boosts rankings for the target country, but doesn’t lower rankings for other audiences.
Hreflang Can be Added with JavaScript
It’s fine to use JavaScript to insert hreflang tags, provided they are visible in the correct part of the page when rendered.
Geographic Redirects Can Be OK for ‘Generic Bounce Pages’
Geographic Redirects are OK for a ‘generic bounce page’ to direct users to a specific version, but Google needs to be able to crawl the individual versions of each page.
.eu and .asia Domains are Global
.eu and and .asia domains are treated as generic TLDs.
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