What is Multilingual SEO? 7 SEO Tips for Multilingual Websites in 2023

Never lose a chance to grow faster and bigger in your target countries. Now that you’ve got some insights about the types of SEO and their benefits, let’s explore the most useful SEO tips for multilingual websites in 2023. 

â—‰ One Language Per Page = Better Ranking

Operating in multiple languages doesn’t mean bringing together more than one language on each page. It’s imperative to stick only to one language on each page to avoid confusing your audience and hurting your search engine ranking.

Even Google recommends using different URLs for different language versions and ensuring the intended language is obvious. 

â—‰ Thorough Keyword Research Can Save the Day

Never assume that your target audience will search for the same keywords as your local market. People use different keywords based on their location and cultural backgrounds to search for services and products.

For example, a “jumper” or a “jersey†in British and Australian English is a “sweater†in American English! So, if you are a clothing business targeting American people, and while all 3 words technically mean the same thing, your target audience won’t be using “jumper†or “jersey†in their search queries.Accordingly, translating keywords is not enough. Conducting thorough keyword research coupled with keyword localization, on the other hand, is necessary to make your business relevant to your intended audience and rank high in SERPs.

â—‰ Hreflang Tags are Necessary

For multilingual sites, hreflang tags are the only indicator of the page’s language and region. Without them, search engines will never read and understand that the page is intended for multiple areas and that the content isn’t duplicated. If not considered, this will undoubtedly hurt your ranking. So, what exactly are hreflang tags? They are HTML tags added to either your sitemap or the page header. They provide better clarity for search engines as to which language your page is in. Hreflang is a two-letter combination that indicates the language code, followed by a dash, and then the country code. Look at these examples: 

• en-au
• en-gb
• fr-fr

These tags are not intended for entire regions (such as Africa), but only countries. 

â—‰ Become Well-Acquainted with the Commonly Used Search Engines in Your Target Region

Each country has its own search engine, characterized by a whole set of unique ranking factors. Consequently, it’s better to build your multilingual SEO strategy according to your target market’s needs and search engine requirements. While Google gets the lion’s share in almost 219 regions compared to other search engines, other countries, such as China and Russia, use other ones. Here is a list of the most well-known search engines for some countries all over the world: 

• China: Baidu, Shenma Inc., Sogou, Google China, and Yahoo! Hong Kong
• Japan: Goo, Infoseek Japan, Google Japan
• Korea: Daum and Naver
• France: Qwant, Lycos France, Google France, and Yahoo! France
• Germany: Yahoo! Germany, Aladin, Suchmaschine.com, Lycos Germany, bellnet.com, Fireball, MSN Deutschland, LEO – Link Everything Online, Google Deutschland, YellowMap, and Web.de
• Italy: Yahoo! Italia, Virgilio, and Google Italia
• Denmark: Jubii
• Russia: Yandex and Google
• South Africa: Ananzi South Africa
• Canada: Yahoo! Canada, Canada.com, National Library of Canada, Search Canada
• Brazil: Cade, Yahoo! Brasil, MSN Brasil, and Google Brasil

â—‰ Link Building is Integral

Link building is the process of getting links from other websites to your site. It can be a real game changer for all businesses slogging through international markets and can actually help them rank higher on search engines. However, this step requires the help of a professional language partner specialized in your target language and market. This will also aid in identifying the most popular websites in your target region and industry.

â—‰ And, Of Course, Localize and Translate Your Website Content!

It’s essential to keep in mind that when translating your website, it’s not just the message that matters. Paying attention to other elements such as currency, dates, measurements, and phone numbers is also crucial. And make sure that they are formatted in the most appropriate way for your target market. Take the time to review your website and ensure that everything is visible and easy to navigate for all visitors. From privacy policies and terms and conditions to error messages and cookies, adapt all your website content for your target customer and prioritize user experience. 

â—‰ Avoid AI-Written Content

Especially for Google, it’s not advisable to use AI-written content for your international website. Google’s algorithms are designed to assess the quality and nature of human-written content, meaning only natural-sounding text will rank at the top.
And let’s face it; AI won’t ever be able to deliver the quality needed to look humanly written. Accordingly, it’s essential to work hand in hand with a professional machine translation post-editor if you decide to go for AI-generated translations. 

The Takeaway

After we have unveiled the best 7 SEO tips for multilingual websites in 2023, it’s time to take your global business to the next level. Integrate these tips into your multilingual SEO strategy, and we can guarantee you will climb to the first page.
Or maybe all you have to do is have the proper support of a professional language provider such as AsiaLocalize, a 15-year ISO-certified SEO translation company specializing in the Asian region.