Establish a technical search baseline, local-language keyword plan and initial content scope.
Research, channel development and digital marketing support
Google held 94.72 percent of search engine market share in Vietnam, 99.48 percent in Thailand and 93.07 percent in Indonesia in August 2026, according to StatCounter. For a business entering one of those markets, a website that Google can find and understand is close to essential, yet many arrive with a site that has no technical foundation, no local-language content and tracking that has not been checked against local privacy law. The SEO Starter & Audit fixes the foundations first and scopes the content that should follow.
Search programmes that stall in a new market usually fail for the same few reasons, and a shortage of articles is rarely one of them.
A site that search engines cannot crawl or understand properly limits every piece of content published on it. Missing or duplicated metadata, weak internal linking, no structured data for key pages and unresolved technical issues all reduce what new content can achieve. Fixing those foundations first means the investment in local-language content is not wasted on pages that struggle to be indexed.
Local-language search behaviour rarely matches a translated keyword list. Buyers in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia often describe a product differently from the English category name, and content translated from an English template tends to read as translated, which affects both search performance and reader trust. Planning topics around the words the audience actually uses, and writing in that language from the outset, closes a common gap when global teams run local SEO themselves.
Measurement now carries legal obligations. Personal data protection laws in all three markets apply to analytics and tracking, and the requirements for consent, privacy information and transfers abroad differ from one market to the next. Setting up Search Console and analytics with those requirements in mind reduces the risk of a compliance gap being discovered after campaigns have started driving traffic.
A focused starting engagement also lets you judge the quality of the work, and the fit with your team, before committing to ongoing content production. The handover records what was implemented, what remains and how an ongoing programme could be scoped if you decide to continue.
The technical work and content approach are consistent across markets. Privacy requirements for tracking and the local search landscape differ, and the engagement adapts to both.
We review crawlability, indexability, internal links, page metadata, structured data and other technical issues that affect how search engines read the site. Findings are prioritised by likely impact and separated into changes we can make within the agreed access and those that need your developers or hosting provider.
We agree and implement the selected on-site changes, such as metadata, schema markup for key pages, image optimisation and internal linking, with access and release responsibilities defined in advance. Search Console and analytics are configured where included, with consent handling reviewed against the market’s data protection requirements.
We research the language and intent of the target audience in the local language, using content tools and competitor analysis. Topics are grouped and mapped to useful pages, overlaps with existing content are identified, and pages that would compete with each other for the same intent are avoided.
We agree the topics, volume, editorial review and publishing responsibilities for a starter content set before writing begins. Articles are written in the local language rather than translated, draw on accurate business information and subject expertise, and are checked against Google’s guidance on helpful, reliable content before publication.
Each market page sets out the local context, the checks that matter there and what to prepare before the work begins.
Establish a technical search baseline, local-language keyword plan and initial content scope. Focused on Vietnam.
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Establish a technical search baseline, local-language keyword plan and initial content scope. Focused on Thailand.
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Establish a technical search baseline, local-language keyword plan and initial content scope. Focused on Indonesia.
Explore the servicePrivacy law governs how tracking is set up, and local platforms shape where visibility work is needed beyond the website.
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| Dimension | Vietnam | Thailand | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data protection law | Personal Data Protection Law No. 91/2025/QH15, in force since 1 January 2026, with Decree 356/2025/ND-CP guiding its implementation. | Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562, now actively enforced by the PDPC, including restrictions on transfers abroad under Section 28. | Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (UU PDP), fully in force since October 2024 after its transition period. |
| Analytics and cookies | Tracking needs transparent privacy information and appropriate consent handling, reviewed before go-live. | Where analytics and advertising cookies rely on consent, the request must be explicit, clearly separated from other matters and written in clear and plain language. | There is no cookie-specific regulation, but cookies that can identify a person are personal data, so a lawful basis such as consent is needed, and consent requests must use Bahasa Indonesia. |
| Search and listings | Google is the dominant search engine, with Cốc Cốc a distant second. Google Business Profile is the main local listing platform. | Google dominates search. Google Business Profile is primary, with Wongnai, YellowPages Thailand and Facebook groups relevant for some categories. | Google dominates search. Google Business Profile is primary, with marketplace storefronts such as Tokopedia and Shopee relevant for e-commerce. |
The engagement letter confirms the final deliverables and level of detail.
An audit report setting out the technical issues found, why each matters for search visibility, the recommended fix and the agreed owner. Changes already implemented are recorded separately from those still outstanding, so your team can see exactly where the site stands.
A keyword-to-page map built on local-language research, with topic groupings, the intent each page should serve and briefs for the initial content. It shows where existing pages can be improved and where new pages are genuinely needed.
A record of the implemented changes, published content, outstanding work and a measurement baseline for later review. If you want to continue, it also outlines how an ongoing programme of content, monitoring and optimisation could be scoped.
A clear brief separates what already exists from the work that is needed.
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| Input | What to include |
|---|---|
| Website access | Site URLs, CMS details and authorised access arrangements. |
| Audience and products | Target market, languages, categories and existing content. |
| Measurement | Available Search Console and analytics access plus tracking requirements. |
Content volume, implementation and timing are agreed before work starts. Ongoing SEO management, major development and additional markets are separate scopes.
The engagement starts from an existing website. If domain registration, hosting or basic digital accounts are not yet in place, those foundations need to be arranged first, and major redesign or development work is scoped separately with the appropriate team.
Clients who want to keep building search visibility can move into ongoing content production, monitoring and reporting. That programme is scoped and priced separately, based on the content volume and markets involved, and uses the baseline set during the starter work.
Engagements from Viettonkin’s published case studies. Each card states where the work took place and summarises what we did; the case itself gives the full context.
Practical answers for planning your marketing brief.
No. Search engines decide indexing and ranking. The engagement addresses agreed technical and content foundations.
No. Ongoing content, monitoring and optimisation can be scoped after the initial work and handover.
Translated articles tend to miss the terms local buyers actually search with, and they read as translated to native speakers. Writing in the local language from the outset serves both search intent and reader trust.
They are agreed after reviewing the market, scope, source material, access requirements and delivery responsibilities.
Share your target market, business objective and current setup. We will agree the deliverables, responsibilities and next step.
