Multilingual and international SEO: 5 mistakes to watch out for

Mastering Multilingual SEO: Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes

English-language keyword competition is fierce, making high rankings difficult even with substantial budgets. To optimize your efforts, consider multilingual and international SEO strategies. But what's the difference?

• Multilingual SEO: Uses multiple languages, regardless of target country. For example, a US website translated into Spanish for US-based Spanish speakers is multilingual, but not international.
• International SEO: Targets different countries. A US company expanding to Canada or the UK is pursuing international, not multilingual, SEO.

This article addresses both. Expanding your reach presents challenges. Based on five years of experience in international SEO, I've identified common pitfalls to avoid:

1. Neglecting Market Research: Some businesses see traffic from a specific country and hastily AI-translate their content, assuming their existing authority and backlinks will transfer. This is flawed. Each country has a unique market landscape, varying regulations (on products, content, marketing), and distinct customer preferences. A US affiliate site for online casinos targeting Germany, China, and Japan failed due to:

   • Ignoring gambling legality and regulations in those markets.
   • Overlooking strong local competitors.
   • Missing trending local influencers relevant to their niche.

   Without thorough market research, you risk missed opportunities and legal issues.

2. A Weak Foundation Website: A poorly built or optimized primary language site will hinder multilingual expansion. Issues like missing H1 tags, inflexible themes, and poorly scalable internal structures will carry over. Even font choices can cause problems. A well-structured site is crucial for translation software accuracy. Improperly tagged elements might be missed during translation. The image below shows untranslated German text in a mouseover effect.

   

   Ensure your site supports multiple languages, currencies, tax rates, and shipping options. Account for text expansion in other languages, especially in navigation menus and buttons. A translation can break your design if text is too long.

   

3. Ignoring Keyword Research: Translating content before keyword research leads to irrelevant, low-performing multilingual content. Keyword research helps identify key terms, whether to translate them (some languages retain English terms), and potential conflicts (e.g., using "MDR" in German, which is also a major TV station's name). It also helps identify local content clusters.

   Poor keyword implementation is another issue. Translators prioritize accuracy over SEO, potentially leading to over-optimization. Using native writers for localization provides better keyword integration.

4. Overlooking Internal Linking: Many sites neglect internal linking in their international content. Localized navigational and in-content links are essential for user experience and SEO. Linking only to English pages or the homepage hurts user experience and SEO. Internal linking is a controllable factor in SEO, so leveraging it is vital. Develop an internal linking strategy alongside your keyword list, considering local preferences and product popularity variations. Involve your translation team to ensure natural, localized links and proper anchor text.

5. Focusing Only on Text: Images and videos are powerful tools, but their impact diminishes if not localized. Images should reflect the local population and cultural nuances. Update alt tags with local language and keywords. For videos, consider subtitles or dubbing for better user experience. Properly organize your videos on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo for easy access.

   

Successful Global SEO: Internationalization can seem daunting, but thorough preparation, especially market and keyword research, is key. This solid foundation will pave the way for effective localization.

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