Semrush's Localization Secrets: Agile Workflows for 55+ Tools

When your company grows from a single flagship product to 55+ tools, one challenge becomes unavoidable: how do you keep localization fast, accurate, and consistent across all of them?

That’s exactly the problem Semrush has solved. In a recent episode of The Agile Localization Podcast, host Stefan Huyghe sat down with Elena Sadchikova, Team Lead for Localization and UX Writing at Semrush, and Robbin van Schagen, Owner at TYPE Translations and former Semrush localization team member, to discuss how Semrush scaled its localization operations without sacrificing speed or quality.

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From Translation to Team Leadership

Both Elena and Robbin began their careers as translators. Like many in the industry, they gradually transitioned into project management and then into leadership roles.

Elena now leads a team of localization project managers and UX writers at Semrush, guiding localization across dozens of products.
Robbin recently shifted from Semrush’s internal localization team to independent consulting, helping companies set up and optimize localization processes.

Their shared foundation in linguistics gives them a deep appreciation for the balance between automation, process, and human nuance.

Continuous Localization Across 55+ Products

Scaling localization for a company like Semrush isn’t a matter of “translating faster”. It requires building continuous workflows that plug into product development cycles.

Here’s how Semrush does it:

Cross-functional teams: Each product has its own product team and a dedicated localization point of contact.
Continuous workflows: Whenever source content is created or updated, it’s automatically pushed to Semrush’s translation management system (TMS).
Shared resources: Glossaries and translation memories ensure terminology stays consistent across all 55+ tools.
Alignment across stacks: Different product teams may use different tech stacks or formats, but the localization team works to unify processes and create scalable workflows.

The result? Weekly product releases and frequent updates across dozens of tools without bottlenecks.

Balancing Speed and Quality

With so many moving parts, how do you decide when to prioritize speed over depth?

It depends on the situation:

Minor fixes: Speed takes priority. Trusted linguists who know the product well can quickly deliver accurate updates.
Major releases: Quality comes first. Multiple review cycles, QA processes, and back reports ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

This tiered approach keeps Semrush agile while maintaining high standards for customer-facing content.

Humans Plus AI

AI and machine translation (MT) inevitably entered the discussion. Elena shared Semrush’s framework for deciding when to automate and when to keep humans in the loop:

High impact + high visibility → Full human translation and proofreading.
High impact + low visibility or low impact + high visibility → Machine translation + human proofreading.
Low impact + low visibility → Fully automated translation with spot checks.

Robbin added that while MT has improved, especially for European languages, it still struggles with humor, nuance, and cultural adaptation, which are important for marketing copy. For that reason, campaigns and high-stakes messaging remain firmly in the hands of human translators.

QA and AI Evaluation

To ensure AI outputs meet quality standards, Semrush runs large-scale tests, comparing different MT engines and measuring edit rates.

A 10-15% editing rate is considered acceptable.
Larger languages (Spanish, French, German) perform better due to larger training datasets.
Smaller language (Dutch, for instance) leave more room for improvement.
Asian languages have improved dramatically in recent years, but still require human oversight.

Both Elena and Robbin agreed: the future will likely see AI handling most static, low-stakes content, while specialized human translators focus on high-value, culturally sensitive work.

The Tech Stack That Powers Localization

A big part of Semrush’s success comes from its smart use of technology, particularly Crowdin. Key integrations include:

Figma: Designers no longer need to insert translations manually.
GitHub & GitLab: Integration with developer workflows.
Marketo: Smooth handling of marketing assets.
Google Drive & Slack: Streamlined collaboration and file management.
Zapier: Flexible connections with project management tools like Linear.

These integrations cut down manual work, reduce errors, and save countless hours.

Final Thoughts

Semrush’s journey shows that scaling localization doesn’t mean lowering standards. With the right mix of automation, human expertise, integrations, and leadership, it’s possible to deliver high-quality translations at speed, even across 55+ products.

For localization professionals, the message is clear: the future isn’t just about translating faster; it’s about building agile, scalable systems that combine technology with human judgment.

Elena’s Background

Elena Sadchikova is Team Lead for Localization and UX Writing at Semrush, where she oversees a team of localization project managers and UX writers managing content across 55+ products. With a strong linguistic background as a former interpreter and translator, Elena has successfully scaled localization processes for one of the world’s leading SaaS platforms.

Robbin’s Background

Robbin van Schagen is an independent localization consultant with vast experience in the SaaS industry, including five years at Semrush’s localization team. Starting as a translator before transitioning to project management, Robbin specializes in helping companies establish efficient localization processes, with particular expertise in marketing localization and AI implementation.