Why Multilingual SEO Is Key to International Expansion

If you are here, it is probably because the term SEO is not new to you, and you are probably already benefiting from a strategy to increase organic traffic to your website. Also, you are probably planning to expand your business globally and are wondering how to focus your current plan to achieve multilingual SEO and therefore reach new markets.

If so, you are on the right track because in this article we will tell you everything you need to know to ensure that search engines put you high in the rankings, regardless of the country you are targeting and the language your new audiences speak.

How Can You Benefit From a Multilingual Content Strategy?

To understand how you can make the most of translation and localisation in your SEO to go global, we should analyse two separate aspects: What exactly the benefits are, and where you can apply multilingual SEO. So, let us look at each of them in detail.

Benefits of Multilingual SEO

The following are the main (but not the only) key benefits you can gain:

• It increases the chances of reaching more potential customers resulting in more visibility for your website.
• It reduces the need for paid advertising to promote your site, products, and services, thus giving better value to your marketing budget.
• It improves brand awareness, as by reaching more places and people, the business gains a global presence.
• It enhances the good reputation of your site in search engines’ eyes.
• It humanises the brand image. Thanks to content localisation, more people will feel that it was written for them (regardless of where on Earth they are.) This will be perceived as empathetic by your audiences and prospects who will have a better UX.

Where to Apply SEO Translation and Localisation

If you want your SEO approach to remain consistently effective in international markets, these are the basic elements you cannot overlook when you start translating your content.

• Conduct new keyword research. Do more than just search for the linguistic equivalent of a certain keyword; let analytics give your content a new direction by following trends.
• Localise your titles and meta descriptions. Make them relevant to your new audiences and incorporate phrases and words that communicate the core message as naturally as possible.
• Translate and adapt your URL slugs. This is not a minor detail; sometimes we focus so much on the translation of the content itself (blogs, customer stories, videos, etc.) that we forget about the elements that surround it and that are a vital part of the SEO strategy as well. Keep an eye on them!
• Use the hreflang tag. This way you can show your audiences and, especially, the search engines, which language your content is in. This way you will also avoid inaccurate penalties for duplicated content.
• Adapt your link-building strategy. If the links in your current content are of no value to your new audience, be sure to replace them. Either for language issues or for more relevant material.

Last words: Adopt Multilingual SEO as an Essential Approach to Succeed in Going Global

If you are already executing your international marketing strategy, do not forget to add the necessary steps for the localisation of your written materials. This is vital to re-signify the content you have already crafted and squeeze the most out of the resources invested.

Also, remember that by reshaping your SEO strategy so that it is fully adapted to new markets, you can increase your website's visibility, gain a better reputation, and position yourself as a strong brand to be trusted worldwide.

Would you like to learn more about this topic? Then read about top SEO translation trends. And if you need support with your multilingual strategy, do not hesitate to contact us.