If you work in international SEO, you've heard about SEO localization. But what exactly is it, and what does it entail?
SEO localization is necessary in global expansion, since speaking your customers' language can make or break your international success. Consider this: a study found that 76% of online shoppers prefer buying products with information in their native language.
In this article, we'll explore SEO localization, why it's essential for international expansion, and how you can implement it effectively to boost your global reach.
SEO localization (or SEO translation) is the strategic process of translating your website to different languages and regions while incorporating SEO techniques to improve local search engine rankings and drive targeted traffic. When you implement this approach, you'll need to consider the cultural and linguistic nuances of the target country, work on optimizing various on-page elements, and tailor content to local preferences and search habits.
It's important to keep in mind that localization isn't just about translating text word-for-word. In fact, when you undertake a successful localization process, you'll find that it involves many factors that help create a truly localized user experience.
Here are some key elements you'll want to consider:
When you aim to expand your brand globally, you'll find that speaking your customers' language—both literally and figuratively—will increase the likelihood of resonating with potential customers and establishing a strong presence in new international markets.
When you're developing an effective international SEO strategy, you'll need to take a multifaceted approach. While you'll find that technical aspects like choosing the proper domain structure, implementing hreflang tags, and adapting page speed for each country are essential, you should consider SEO localization as the core of your strategy.
However, before you decide to invest in translating your message across languages, you'll want to conduct thorough research on the new potential market.
Preeti Gupta, Founder and CEO of Packted, emphasizes the importance of strategic decision-making in localization efforts:
"Understanding your audience is the most important thing when it comes to localizing content. If a company doesn't have a target audience in a specific country, then localizing content for that market will not bring any results. For example, if a company sells products specifically tailored to the German market, localizing their content for Japan doesn't make sense for their business."
With this strategic approach in mind, here are some key considerations you'll want to keep in mind before or while implementing SEO localization into your international strategy:
By approaching SEO localization as part of a strategic, data-driven international SEO plan, you can ensure that your efforts are focused on markets with the highest potential for success. This approach will help you maximize your return on investment and avoid unnecessary resource allocation.
A successful translation strategy requires attention to various elements of your website and content. While local keyword research will play a considerable role, you'll need to consider other important factors as well.
You might think that translating your keywords directly into the target language would be enough, but it's not that simple. You'll find that search intent, cultural nuances, and search behavior can vary significantly from country to country.
Maeva Cifuentes, CEO and founder of Flying Cat, emphasizes this point: "Many keywords can't be directly translated. For example, search intent might differ slightly, and the localized piece might require a different format or an extra question—the searcher might have a different need."
Even in countries that share the same language, like the UK and the USA, you'll notice people using different words for the same thing. For instance, "pants" is commonly used in the US, whereas "trousers" is the proper word in the UK.
So, how can you find the best keywords for a specific target language? Here are steps you can follow when localizing keywords:
For example, if you take a look at how "SEO localization" is perceived in the US and Spain, you'll notice some interesting differences. If you search for SEO localization in both countries, you'll see that both queries return an informational intent.
However, when you translate that keyword into Spanish "localización SEO", you'll find it gets confused with "local" and the search intent changes to informational content related to local SEO. So, while you might think that the direct translation "SEO localization" to "localización SEO" would work, after some research, you'll discover the reality is different.
You'll want to pay attention to title tags and meta descriptions' localization, as it's often overlooked but crucial for improving click-through rates.
If you take a look at Revolve's Spain version, you'll notice they didn't bother to localize and use their title tag and meta description, missing an opportunity to generate trust and attract customers.
Similarly, you'll find that localizing URLs is essential to avoid confusion for both search engines and users. For non-Latin alphabets, you'll want to follow Google's URL structure's best practices.
Schema markup plays a significant role in your SEO localization strategy. For example, if you're a clothing store from California that sells clothes within the USA and to Europe, you'll need to consider that things like currency, clothes size, and shipping days will vary. While these elements need to be localized properly on-page, you must also remember to adapt them in schema markup.
Take a look at this correct implementation. For the recipe "carbonara spaghetti", you'll see that ingredient measurements were adapted from ounces to grams:
To achieve a good SEO localization strategy, you'll need to establish effective communication with your translators. Markus Seebauer, Managing Director of Gateway Translations Inc, emphasizes the importance of working with skilled professionals:
"One of the biggest mistakes is to send it to a random translator who lacks SEO knowledge. It's really important to work with native speakers so this shouldn't be done by an internal client-side person who has some language skills but is not fluent enough to pick the right keywords."
With this in mind, let's explore how you can work with the right localization specialists and establish an effective workflow:
With AI gaining more importance each day, many companies prefer to reduce costs and get faster results by localizing their content with machine translation. While this might seem like a good solution at first, machine-translated content won't effectively capture language nuances or cultural aspects.
The best approach you can take is to work with localization specialists who have deep expertise in SEO and the target market. This way, you'll ensure that the translator can apply SEO optimization while considering the best way to localize the content.
However, you might find that there aren't many translators who understand overall SEO well. In this case, another excellent solution you can consider is to work with marketing agencies that have their own internal pool of translators. By doing this, you can be assured that there will be constant communication between both teams for a flawless result.
To ensure localization specialists understand the intent and tone of the original content, you'll want to offer clear guidelines and contextual information. This approach helps maintain brand consistency while allowing for necessary cultural adaptations.
Here are some steps you can take:
Both the SEO team and the SEO translator should be involved in the project from the start. This approach ensures that all aspects of SEO localization are considered throughout the content creation and optimization process.
As we mentioned earlier, since your translators should be natives of the target country, they'll be able to help research the market and provide important insights. The same goes for keyword research and implementation: if the SEO specialist wants to optimize the translated content, the SEO localization expert can offer their opinion while ensuring both translation and optimization blend naturally.
Here's how you can maintain collaborative communication:
By following these guidelines, you'll be able to ensure that your localized content is not only linguistically accurate but also optimized for search engines in your target markets.
To ensure the long-term success of your SEO localization efforts, you'll need to continually monitor and optimize performance.
To effectively measure the performance of your localized content, you'll need to set up your analytics tools correctly. This involves configuring Google Analytics to track multiple languages and regions, setting up separate views for each localized version of your website, and using content grouping to compare content across languages.
When you're looking to see if your SEO localization efforts are working, here are some metrics you might want to consider:
Remember, if a user is comfortable with the localized version for their country, you'll likely see them spending more time on the website. If you notice the opposite, you might want to consider the possibility that your message isn't getting through, your offer doesn't make sense for that market, or the translation isn't up to par.
You'll want to regularly analyze the data you collect to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth. Here's what you can do:
Don't forget to review your approach every 3-6 months to stay relevant in various markets.
As we've seen, SEO localization goes beyond translation and requires a deep understanding of local search behaviors and cultural nuances.
Remember, this isn't a one-time task—it's an ongoing process that demands continuous monitoring and adaptation. Just as search trends evolve, so should your localization strategy.
