Multilingual sites have the advantage of presenting content in different languages, enabling users to see content in their native language. They also provide companies with the ability to reach more people and communicate with international audiences effectively. But that is not all!
By using the optimal technical SEO techniques, businesses can release a host of other benefits. For example, strategic optimization of certain technical elements can result in the acquisition of language-based search, enhance visibility, and ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs).
As such, traffic can be driven to a website, raising the chances of realizing high conversions and sales. However, there are issues that may hinder the performance of multilingual websites.
In this article, we will cover some technical SEO recommendations to optimize multilingual websites and achieve the optimum out of them.
Let us first talk about the biggest issues concerning multilingual websites.
Solid URL Structure Issues
Properly structured URLs also play a critical role in assisting navigation for the target market across various language versions of a multilingual site to enhance overall user experience.
Besides supporting user experience, properly structured URLs also communicate valuable information to search engines regarding what content each page has so that they are indexed correctly and point to the appropriate language.
Conversely, poorly formed URLs will ruin the user experience and cause wrong search engine indexing.
Content Translation And Optimization Issues
Multilingual websites face the problem of content translation across many languages while ensuring its context as well as its SEO parameters.
You can aslo read: How to Optimize Crawl Budget for SEO
A good example is Spanish content translated to English so that the important words are included in their language. The process can be quite complex. Additionally, having the translation rely on literal concepts would alter the message of the original content and influence the quality of the material and the SEO strategy.
Duplicate Content Problems
When search engines notice multiple URLs with the same content, they may rank them as various pages. This will result in duplicate content problems, which can be detrimental and cause search engine penalties.
Automatic Redirects
Automatically redirecting users and search engines from one language version of your website to another based on their browser settings can hinder their ability to access alternative versions of your website.
This can prevent users from being able to see alternative language versions and search engines from indexing and understanding the alternative versions of your website effectively.
Best Technical SEO Strategies for Multilingual Websites
Having learned about the main issues, let us now look at some technical SEO techniques that can be used to resolve these problems and improve the performance of your multilingual website.
Focus on the URL Structure
By creating distinct URLs for each language and country version, you give search engines like Google the signals they need to index your site correctly. This significantly enhances the likelihood of your website pages being listed in search results for various languages. The outcome? Better rankings in search engine result pages (SERPs)!
To be able to best serve your target group, you should determine the areas you would wish to target as well as the languages you’ll be using. Remember the following key strategies when determining the URL structure of your multilingual site.
Separate Domains or Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
One approach is to utilize separate domain names or country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) specific to each language or country version of your multilingual website. ccTLDs are two-letter domains assigned to individual countries, and they can be used to indicate the language or country targeting of your website.
Here are a few examples to illustrate this approach:
- example.es
- example.in
- example.fr
- example.com
Here, the domain “.es,” “.in,” “.fr,” and “.com” reflect the Spanish, Indian, French, and English versions of the website, respectively.
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This approach simplifies the process of identifying the targeted countries for search engines and users, ensuring that the content is intended for specific regions. By using separate domains, you can achieve clear regional targeting.
However, it is important to note that purchasing and managing multiple domains can be a costly endeavor. Additionally, building backlinks and establishing authority for each domain can require significant resources, time, and effort.
Subdirectories With gTLD (Generic top-Level Domain)
Another approach is to utilize subdirectories within a single domain (with the same generic top-level domain or gTLD) to represent the different country or language versions of your multilingual website.
By incorporating subdirectories, you can organize and structure your website’s content according to specific countries or languages while maintaining a unified domain.
Here are a few examples to illustrate this approach:
- example.com/es
- example.com/in
- example.com/fr
- example.com/en
In this approach, the “.com” represents the generic top-level domain (gTLD) extension, while “/es,” “/in,” “/fr,” and “/en” represent the respective subdirectories for the Spanish, India, French, and English versions of the multilingual website.
This practice enables you to consolidate hosting and SEO efforts within a single domain, providing convenience and efficiency. However, it’s worth noting that users may occasionally become confused regarding whether the subdirectories indicate country or language (e.g., “fr” – is it referring to the country or the language?).
Subdomains With gTLD
Another approach is to utilize subdomains to differentiate between various country or language versions of a multilingual website, while keeping the same generic top-level domain (gTLD) for the main domain.
Here are a few examples to illustrate this approach:
- es.example.com
- in.example.com
- fr.example.com
- en.example.com
In this approach, the “.com” represents the generic top-level domain (gTLD) extension, while “es,” “in,””fr,” and “en” preceding the domain name denote the respective subdomains for the Spanish, India, French, and English versions of the multilingual website.
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Implementing and managing this approach can demand significant effort and time. Moreover, the structure of subdomains may occasionally confuse users in terms of distinguishing between country and language versions. However, opting for localized hosting within each specific country can be cost-effective and contribute to improved page loading speed for your website.
URL Parameters
Another approach is to incorporate a URL parameter to specify the country or language version within the URL.
Here are a few examples to illustrate this approach:
- example.com/page?lang=fr
- example.com/page?lang=in
- example.com/page?lang=es
- exampl.com/page?lang=en
The URL parameters “?lang=fr,” “?lang=in,” “?lang=es,” and “?lang=en” depict French, Indian, Spanish, and English versions.
This approach is not recommended by Google because URLs with parameters can create confusion for search engines, potentially leading to negative consequences for indexing.
Do Proper Translation and Optimization of Pages
Precise page translation and optimization play a vital role in reaching your target audience and effectively conveying your brand message. To start, focus on translating the content accurately.
If you utilize tools like Google Translate, it is essential to thoroughly proofread the translated content to ensure its accuracy. While Google has implemented new AI-powered features that aim to provide contextually and intention-based translations, it is crucial not to rely solely on automated translations. Even minor errors and inaccuracies can significantly impact the intended meaning of the content, potentially compromising the user experience.
During the proofreading process, pay close attention to elements such as:
- Time and date format.
- Units of measurement (length, volume, weight, etc.).
- Cultural references (idioms, metaphors, etc.).
- Currency (monetary format, currency symbol, conversion value, etc.).
It is crucial to ensure that all elements on your web page resonate with the language preferences of your target audience, including the writing style and visual components. To achieve this, it is important to avoid using phrases and visuals that may be culturally inappropriate or offensive to your target audience.
You can also read: How does Website Indexing for Search Engines Work?
Here are some ways you can optimize your content to align with your audience’s language and cultural preferences:
Make Use of Multilingual Keywords
In addition to translating the content, it is crucial not to overlook the translation of keywords.
However, instead of relying solely on literal translations, it is recommended to use popular search terms in the respective languages that resonate more effectively with native speakers. Finding effective multilingual keywords that align with your content and target markets can significantly enhance your SEO efforts.
Do Proper Optimization of Vital SEO Elements
To ensure the success of your international SEO efforts, it is essential to translate the non-visible content elements listed below. Failing to do so can result in search engine bots indexing your website incorrectly and receiving misleading information.
The non-visible content elements that should be translated include:
- Meta tags and meta descriptions: These provide concise summaries of your web pages and should be translated to reflect the content in each language accurately. Craft compelling meta descriptions that incorporate relevant keywords in languages specific to your target audience. While meta descriptions don’t directly affect rankings, they play a crucial role in influencing the click-through rate of your pages.By optimizing meta descriptions with language-specific keywords, you can attract the attention of users who are searching in their preferred language. This increases the likelihood of users clicking on your pages in search engine result pages (SERPs), driving more organic traffic to your website.Remember, meta descriptions serve as a concise summary of your page’s content, so make them enticing and persuasive to encourage users to click through and explore your website further.
- Alt tags: These descriptions of images help search engines understand the visual content of your website. Translating alt tags ensures that search engines can properly index and categorize your images in different languages. Include title tags that effectively convey the information of each page in every language version of your website. It is important to incorporate multilingual keywords to help search engines grasp the context and appropriately rank your pages.However, it is essential to avoid resorting to clickbait tactics. While it may be tempting to use sensational or misleading titles to attract clicks, this can lead to negative user experiences and may harm your website’s credibility. Instead, focus on creating informative and relevant title tags that accurately describe the content of your pages in each language. This will help both search engines and users understand what to expect when they click on your page in the search results.
- Structured data markup: This provides additional context and information about your website’s content to search engines. Translating structured data markup ensures that search engines can correctly interpret and display your content in different languages. Ensure that you write accurate and informative alt texts to describe the images on your website for each language version. This practice not only enhances the accessibility of your pages but also increases the likelihood of your images appearing in Google search results in multiple languages.It’s important to note that the length requirements for meta descriptions, title tags, and image alt text may vary across different search engines. For example, maintaining meta descriptions of around 150-160 characters is considered good practice for achieving rankings in Google SERPs. However, for the Chinese search engine Baidu, it is advisable to limit meta descriptions to approximately 120 Chinese characters. By adhering to these length guidelines, you can optimize your meta descriptions and ensure compatibility with various search engines, thereby increasing the visibility and relevance of your content in search results.
- Internal links: Enhance user navigation and aid search engines in understanding the relationships between pages by incorporating internal content links to relevant and helpful pages within the same language. For example, link a French page to other relevant French pages on your website. By implementing this practice, you streamline the user’s browsing experience, allowing them to easily navigate between related content in their preferred language. Additionally, search engines can better comprehend the contextual connections between pages, contributing to improved indexation and ranking of your website. Ensure that the internal content links are placed strategically and are contextually relevant, providing additional value and information to users as they explore your website in their desired language.
By translating these non-visible content elements, you can optimize your international SEO efforts and ensure that search engines accurately understand and present your website to users in different languages.
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Use Hreflang Tags
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that signals search engines of content variations.
See what a Hreflang tag looks like:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-us” href=”http://myexample.com” />
Here:
The <link rel=”alternate”> tag indicates the existence of an alternate version of the webpage.
The hreflang=”en-us” attribute specifies the language (English) and region (United States) for the alternate version. The “en-us” attribute signifies that the page is intended for English speakers in the United States.
The href=”http://myexample.com” attribute specifies the URL of the alternate version of the webpage.
Implementing hreflang tags correctly is crucial as they help prevent duplicate content issues and potential penalties, considering that they represent distinct language variations.
To ensure proper implementation of hreflang tags, follow these guidelines:
- Place the hreflang tags in either the <head> section of the HTML page, HTTP headers (for non-HTML files like PDFs), or within the <loc> tags of an XML sitemap.
- Consider including a language code and, optionally, a region code. Use the ISO 639-1 format for the language code and the ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format for the region code.
- Add hreflang tags to all pages that have language variations, including the main version (self-referential). This helps establish the connection between the pages and ensures that search engines interpret the hreflang annotations correctly.
- Include a default page using the “x-default” hreflang tag. This allows users to select a suitable language when an appropriate version is not available, improving their experience on your website.
By adhering to these guidelines, you can effectively implement hreflang tags and optimize your website for different language variations, enhancing user experience and search engine understanding of your content.
You can also read: What Is A Sitemap: Explained
Note: Hreflang tags serve the purpose of informing search engines like Google and Yandex about the variations in content across different languages or regions.
However, it is important to note that hreflang tags are not directives that search engines must strictly follow. It is worth mentioning that search engines like Bing and Baidu may not rely heavily on hreflang tags.
Instead, they utilize the “content-language” meta tags to understand and assess content variations across different languages.
Therefore, when implementing hreflang tags, it is advisable to consider the specific search engines and their preferred methods for gauging content variation.
This way, you can ensure that your website is effectively optimized for multiple search engines and their respective algorithms.
Use A Language Selector
It is considered good practice for multilingual websites to include a language selector, which is a user interface (UI) component that allows users to choose their preferred language while browsing the site.
Language selectors are valuable as they cater to different language speakers within the same country, help differentiate between languages, and facilitate effective communication with customers.
In addition to improving user experience, implementing a language selector can also benefit your SEO efforts by enhancing website usability and facilitating better website crawling by search engines.
While plugins can offer language selector functionality, it’s important to choose appropriate options that align with your target audience. In some cases, relying solely on showcasing national flags may not be the best choice.
For example, if a US-based website aims to attract Spanish-speaking Canadians and Italian-speaking Americans, there may be more suitable alternatives than simply using Spanish and Italian flags as language indicators.
Consider exploring alternative approaches that accurately represent the languages spoken by your target audience, ensuring that your language selector effectively serves its purpose and resonates with your users.
The reason?
- Flags specify countries, not languages.
- Multiple countries can speak the same language.
- A country can have several official languages.
- Visitors can get confused seeing multiple flags and make the wrong decision.
What should you do?
To accurately represent languages on your multilingual website, it is recommended to use the native way of referring to each language.
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For instance, instead of using the English term “Japanese,” you can utilize “日本語” which is the native representation of the language. Similarly, you can use “Deutsch” to refer to the German language instead of its English counterpart.
Another widely accepted approach is to employ the ISO 639 standard, which provides a set of two-letter codes for language classification. For example, English is represented by the code “EN,” French by “FR,” and so on.
By incorporating the native language names or ISO 639 codes, you ensure accuracy and clarity when presenting language options to your website visitors. This allows users to easily identify and select their preferred language, contributing to an enhanced user experience on your multilingual website.
Leverage any suitable method to enable users to select their preferred language.
Conclusion
By implementing the aforementioned technical SEO tactics for multilingual websites, you can effectively address the key challenges and ensure that every page on your site is well-structured and optimized.
These tactics not only enhance the user experience but also facilitate search engines in discovering and indexing your web pages in all supported languages.
However, it’s important to go beyond technicalities and consider the language-specific search engine behavior and SEO best practices of your target countries or regions.
When it comes to content SEO, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of the local culture, language, and how users interact with search engines in those regions.
Creating content that resonates with the target audience in terms of language and relevance is essential in delivering value to your users.
By incorporating these strategies, you can enhance the performance of your multilingual website, improve visibility in search results, and provide a tailored experience for your global audience. Hire an SEO professional to fix all of your multilingual issues on your websites.
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