Companies expanding their business globally find value in reaching their customers in the language their customers use. Using multilingual SEO on a website helps potential customers find what they are looking for by providing information in their language of preference.
If your company focuses on one local region, serving customers in a number of countries, or a hybrid of both, there is value in an organized multilingual SEO plan. Working with SEO Los Angeles firms, businesses will have an opportunity to better define their target market and language preference goals.
What Is Multilingual SEO?
There are two primary elements of multilingual SEO. First, translating and localizing a website for target regions. Second is optimizing search engine keywords for the target language. Both of these elements help a website rank in search results for customers using different languages.
An example of this is a business focusing on both Spanish and English speakers in the Los Angeles area. This business may develop different website content to serve the differing needs of the speakers. Both content versions should address their target customer’s search and language preferences.
1. Keyword Research In Target Languages
Conducting keyword research for each target language is an important part of a multilingual SEO strategy.
Some keywords can’t be directly translated without changing the search intent of a user. Every user has different terms and phrases they use for different search queries.
How to do keyword research:
- There are different keyword research tools to see what terms people in a certain country are using. The best one is Google Keyword Planner.
- Take a close look at how people in a country search for your business.
- Remember the words they use and the cultural context.
- See what your competition is doing in the countries where you are focusing your business.
A Spanish person looking for a local service would use different search terms than someone looking for that same service in English. Doing the work to learn the differences helps you tailor to the search behavior that your customers use.
2. How to Make a Website Structure
The search engines should be able to identify which language version is which. The same should go for your customers.
Here are a few ways to structure it:
- Use Country-code domains like example.es
- Subdomains like es.example.com
- Subdirectories like example.com/es/
There are pros and cons to all of the structures, and they will depend on your business goals and the resources you have. Subdirectories are an option that is not complicated and puts your business website in one place.
You will want to have one structure that is used throughout your entire business website. Don’t combine multiple language versions of the business website on one URL. This will make it hard for the search engine to decide which language of the website should appear.
3. Properly Implementing Hreflang Tags
Hreflang tags inform search engines about the page’s target audience, both language and region.
Let’s say you work for both English and Spanish clients, so you have created both versions of a service page. With the appropriate hreflang annotations, search engines can know who the audience for both the English and Spanish pages should be.
To implement hreflang:
- Valid language and regional codes.
- Make sure all other language versions of the same content contain a reference to the other languages and link to the same version of the content.
- All of the different versions should contain a URL that is consistent across all language versions.
- Each of the language versions should contain its own indexable version of the content.
While it does not help improve your ranking, hreflang can tell search engines to show users your content in their preferred language.
4. Make Sure the Content is Great in Each Language
Good translation is one part of good localization. Good translation takes into account the cultural differences of your target language. Your content should read naturally in your target language.
Localizing can be much more than translating, such as adding content to suit local requirements or using specific customer terminology. It could also involve editing content to better meet a target audience. It can also be as simple as substituting one set of examples for another.
In addition, consider the fact that your services will vary across different markets. An SEO services provider offering services in Los Angeles may need different content than someone providing services in another market, such as New York, even if they use the same services and offer the same terms to their clients.
An SEO Los Angeles firm can assist you with localizing content while keeping a unified and consistent brand message to meet the specific requirements of the market that you serve.
5. Develop On-Page SEO for Each Language
In the case of on-page SEO, the localized version should not copy the original content.
Each localized page requires the following elements:
- Title tags: Write a new title and insert new keywords in your language.
- Meta descriptions: Write a new, natural meta description that attracts customers to your content.
- Headings: Title the sections with H1 and H2 tags that describe the content.
- Image alt tags: In the target language, provide a text description for every image.
- Internal links: Try linking internally to the relevant pages in the language.
Unique title tags and meta descriptions should be used across all your multilingual pages. This is important for search engines and your audience.
6. Improve Your Website’s Speed and Mobile Friendliness
Having a multilingual website means offering a smooth experience for users in any country, in any language.
When a user lands on a slow, broken website, they leave. They will not engage with your content.
You should aim to:
- Compress and optimize your images and your website’s load speed.
- Use a responsive website design.
- Test language switching on your website to ensure it works properly.
- Ensure your translations will not overflow buttons, menus, and the layout.
- Test your website across browsers and devices.
Users and search engines love websites that work, so if your website works, users and search engines will come back.
7. Make Switching Languages Effortless
Let your audience find and select their preferred language quickly.
Add your language selector in a convenient place, like in the header or in the menu of your website. Avoid the use of flags because they do not represent languages; they represent countries. The best approach is to use names of languages like “English” and “Español”.
The user should be able to land on the correct corresponding translated page, rather than on the main page of your website.
Try to avoid automatically redirecting your website users to the translated page. It is much better to let users decide on the preferred language, and this will prevent your website users from coming across the wrong translated page.
8. Monitor Performance for Each Language
With Multilingual SEO, you should track performance on an ongoing basis. Because the factors of competition, search demand, and quality of content differ from language to language, a page could be successful in one language, but underperform in another.
Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track:
- Clicks and impressions.
- Queries and average rank.
- Traffic to a page by region and language.
- Engagement and conversion.
- Indexing issues with language-specific URLs.
Review the metrics for trends that suggest a page would benefit from more targeted keywords, improved content, or a change to your page’s technical optimization.
Key Points
Multilingual SEO helps potential customers in many regions interact with your website. Success requires translating more than just text. Keyword research, proper URL structure, correctly implemented hreflang tags, high-quality content, and solid technical foundations must also be done. Finally, this work must be coupled with continuous monitoring.
An effective multilingual SEO strategy gives potential customers greater ease in accessing your company’s services. Working with a skilled Los Angeles-based SEO Firm gives you an edge over the competition and the potential to reach markets far beyond Los Angeles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between multilingual SEO and international SEO?
Multilingual SEO means tailoring your content to different languages. International SEO is more extensive. It might encompass different countries, search engines, search behavior in specific areas, and individual requirements of a particular market.
Is it sufficient to just translate content for multilingual SEO?
Absolutely not. For multilingual SEO to be effective, it is also important to do keyword research in the language that you want to target, develop content for the locale, and create a unique set of metadata, URL structures, and technical implementations.
Should I use separate URLs for every language?
Yes. It is recommended to use different URLs for different languages so that search engines can easily find and identify your content in each language.
What is the expected timeframe for multilingual SEO?
It all depends on your website authority, competition, technical health, content quality, and target audience. As a whole, SEO needs continuous work with consistent progress monitoring to evaluate and improve performance.