Multilingual SEO: Why It Is Important

“The best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google”. This funny quote is guaranteed to get some laughs out of your audience every time you use it. But the hard truth is that the first result in Google does get almost a third of all clicks. So if you want your website to have a chance of success, this is what you should be aiming for. To get to that dreamy first results page, companies and website owners resort to Search Engine Marketing strategies, combining paid ads campaigns with seriously optimized content to drive traffic and ultimately convert users into clients. In this article, you’ll learn why SEO efforts shouldn’t stick to only one language and how you can significantly improve your SEO results by thinking global.

Which Parts Need to be Optimized

Ultimately, SEO is all about answering users’ questions (aka search queries). But to have their questions answered, users must first click on a result on the search engine results page. This is why your optimization efforts should start with what the user sees first.

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The first step you need to do before starting to localize your content is to create a locale-specific SEO strategy, this can be as simple as conducting keywords research and competitor analysis to identify opportunities. The next step is to review and use a tool such as SurferSEO or Semji to make sure you are hitting the right keywords density and distribution, and then you can publish and monitor your content.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting pages to rank higher in search engines such as Google, Bing, and more. Because search is one of the main ways in which people discover content online, the skill of ranking your website higher in search engines is one of the most important expertise nowadays.

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When you optimize content for relevant keywords, you will be hitting two birds with one stone; you will attract more clients globally and appear on search engines in many locales.

A few most important page elements to localize are:

• Page title (H1) and meta title
• Meta description
• Localized URLs and subdirectories
• Image ALT tags
• Video subtitles

Once users are on your page, focus your efforts on the above-the-fold section, as studies on how people read online show that the eyes of a reader often travel in an F-shaped pattern.

App Store Optimization

Mobile app localization helps developers reach more people, rank higher in search results, and get ahead of competitors in local markets. If you’ve localized an app, you’ll want it to get as much visibility as possible in app storesa too. The most popular are App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. These work as platforms for people to find out about your app and eventually download it. As with everything involving mobile phones, size does matter. So, when optimizing your app’s name, short and long descriptions always stick to character limitations.

Also, keep in mind that content will be consumed on mobile devices, so keep the language simple and easy to read. For more tips on how to get your app in front of millions of users, read our full article about essential aspects of app store optimization strategies you should consider.

Multilingual SEO and Localization

But is it just translating your website really enough?

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For many years, translators have been localizing Websites in a “blind” way, without any knowledge about the strategy and the reasoning behind some decisions that were made when creating the original website. Understanding the basics of SEO and what search engines value helps us translate more consciously and make better decisions that will ultimately result in a better performing translated Website.

Nowadays, there’s a growing trend of evolving translators in the whole process, from support on finding the right keywords to carefully weaving them into the localized content in order to drive similar results to the original version.

Keyword Research and Localization

Keywords play a vital role in SEO. They are the starting point of any successful SEO strategy. So it’s a great idea to use them as a starting point for your website localization as well. Having a professional translator or localization specialist who supports you in keyword research can be a smart move. Translators are often more than wordsmiths and even though keywords are essentially words, any SEO-savvy translator will know how to act as a market expert and cultural advisor when selecting the best keywords.

On the other hand, if you already have a list in your source language, localizing keywords will often involve a lot more than a simple word-by-word translation. A keyword with a huge search volume in the source language will often have a disappointing number of people searching for the direct equivalent in the target language. In these cases, a more creative approach is needed to find the best possible option.

Best SEO Practices That Should Not Be Overlooked

Search volume is important, of course, but when looking for the right keywords, do not forget about relevancy. Sometimes, a more specific long-tail keyword might not have thousands of users looking for it on a monthly basis, but will have a higher conversion rate. Your localization professional should be up-to-date on key market trends to be able to put themselves in the shoes of the consumer and really come up with the most natural search terms.

To ensure consistency, we recommend compiling a glossary of terms. Both translators and proofreaders can use it to make sure your primary and secondary keywords are used correctly and consistently across all localized content.

Accessibility also plays a big role in SEO. So, why not go the extra mile and implement some small steps to get you extra SEO points? Simple things like adding (and localizing) subtitles to a video will significantly increase the reach (just imagine all the deaf and hard of hearing people that will be able to experience it, not to mention the numerous people who consume video with the sound off).

Lastly, SEO is not an exact science, but still, you can use the tools at your disposal to calculate the measurable aspects, such as character limitations for meta titles and descriptions or keyword density on longer pieces of content.

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It’s important to remember that as we might be optimizing for search engines, we are ultimately writing for humans and things as keywords density aren’t always all that matters to get a good ranking for a Web page. Most times, a well-written, informative and appealing piece of content will naturally engage the readers and entice them to action without sounding too pushy.

Conclusion

We think by now, it should be clear that by not localizing your content with SEO in mind, you’re basically leaving money on the table, i.e., not reaching millions of potential customers. To sum up, bear in mind you’re trying to reach humans with your content and not only machines. Accessible and appealing content that resonates with the reader will do wonders for your website traffic. Find out how Crowdin can help you with your website translation.