Why SEO Translation Is Beneficial to Your Business

Do you know how to integrate SEO into your website translation process? Read on to learn how to make your SEO strategy work in other languages.

Are you looking to expand into foreign markets? Are you undecided on whether to translate or localize your website? For many years, English was the primary language dominating the internet. However, times have changed, and English is no longer the only language of the web. As a result, many businesses with customers outside their borders are already considering optimizing their website to be multilingual.

However, there is more to translating than just converting your website content to a specific language. You need to optimize the original content, and that is where search engine optimization (SEO) translation comes in.

While you may be familiar with the effective SEO techniques written in English and the results of those strategies can be seen in your website ranking, SEO translation has many benefits to a business with a global audience. Translating with SEO in mind will help your site rank better in search engines, increase your conversions, and expand your potential customers. For these reasons, this post will help you understand how you can craft an SEO strategy that is effective in other languages.

Why You Should Translate Your Website Content

While English is the most used language online, recent statistics from Statista shows that there is a massive representation of other words on the internet. In fact, apart from English, the top three most used language by internet users are Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. This means that there is a ton of content available in different styles. However, SEO translation varies by language, regions, keywords, and user search queries.

Even search engine use and ranking vary in each market. For example, Baidu is the most used search engine in China, with 665 million search users and commands 74% of the Chinese search market.

So if you want to improve your SEO and boost the growth of your business internationally, they also have to consider search engines and how they work. 

How to Integrate SEO into the Translation Process

For a business with an international presence, SEO translation is a powerful strategy for ensuring your site is visible in search engine result pages. The better your website ranks on search engines, the higher your pages will appear for relevant search keywords. To get your SEO translation right, you will need a professional online translation service with local experts who will use the correct keywords to make sure that your website gets more traffic from a global audience.

The traditional approach to translation was to use a machine such as Google translate to convert word by word to a specific language. The method has shifted in that instead of bringing a single piece of content. Companies are now localizing their content to suit a target culture. What other ways can you integrate SEO into the translation process to enhance global success?

Do Localized Keyword Research

Your SEO translation has to use the correct keywords or search terms that are appropriate for the culture of the region you are targeting. Therefore, it is crucial that you do extensive research for each page on your site and create a list of keywords that are worth using in the language you are targeting. Next, prioritize those keywords during the translation process.

Separate Your Pages

While using a top-level domain reserved for a country is one way to separate your web pages across various languages, you can also use the following strategies:

• Using cookies to control foreign language.
• Creating specific subfolders for each country or region you are targeting.
• Using URL parameters that will make it easy to geotarget parts of the website to different regions.
• Having one global domain then having subdomains with different languages.

Use a CMS Suitable to Run a Multilingual Website

Which Content Management System (CMS) is up to the task? If your site is going to support multiple languages, then make sure that the CMS you go for supports that goal. Open source CMS such as WordPress, Magento, Drupal, and Joomla will give you a range of options to create websites with a shared database. Having the same database is advantageous as it allows you to configure a site with separate domains and subfolders.

With a multilingual CMS, you will get the following benefits:

• If you update one aspect of the site, be it removing a particular product or updating the pricing then it will be automatically updated on all sites. In the long run, this saves you time and eliminates any accidental errors where a product that you stopped selling months ago still appears on your websites.
• Translation experience is no longer a manual or time-intensive process. By using a CMS that supports multilingual site, you get automation of the process, and you will not need to keep changing every single item.

When Should You Translate Your Website Content?

Translating an entire website can be a big task, especially when you have so many pages with a lot of content. In such a situation, the best time to translate your site content is when you have the right resource. However, you can start by choosing the right language and bring the most critical parts of the site, such as providing information about your business and the products or services you are offering. As you get more resources, you can expand to translating more in-depth material. More people around the globe are bilingual. By using practical SEO translation techniques, your website will be able to get to the top of global search engine rankings. However, there are pros and cons to having a multilingual website. So do your research and come up with a strategy on what needs to be done, as well as when and how your site is going to be translated to a new language.