Multilingual SEO Strategies for Your Websites

Oleksandra Khilova [OK]: Hello guys, and welcome to a new Collaborator podcast episode where we chat with brilliant SEOs and share our knowledge with the world. Today's topic is about Local SEO Strategies for multilingual websites. And today our guest is Amy Leach. Amy is an Organic Lead at Embryo in Manchester, United Kingdom. She has been in SEO since 2014, and today Amy shares her knowledge, experience, and best practices for multilingual websites. My name is Oleksandra. I'm your host and I'm also an SEO specialist and a Link Builder in the past. Now I am working as a Marketing Manager at Collaborator.Pro. I also had some experience in local SEO in the United States, Europe, and Canada. So I think we will have fun. But before we start, please like, subscribe, and share your thoughts and comments below this video. Thank you. Amy, the floor is yours.

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Amy Leach [AL]: Thank you. As Oleksandra mentioned today, we'll be going through local SEO strategies for multilingual websites, touching on all three pillars and hopefully providing you with a useful overview. Thank you again for joining us, and I also appreciate the invitation to speak.

Let me start with a brief introduction. I'm Amy, and this year marks my tenth year in SEO. I began my career at a small digital agency in Manchester, primarily focusing on off-site work. Since then, I’ve worked in both agency and in-house roles. Currently, I’m the Organic Lead at Embryo, where I oversee all of our SEOs, the content team, and the digital PR team, developing strategies for a wide range of clients. I’ve gained experience across various industries, including B2B lead generation and e-commerce. My time in-house was spent in the travel industry, which was also quite enjoyable.

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Visit the Embryo website

Now, let’s dive into an overview of the differences between local SEO and traditional SEO. To be honest, the lines between the two can sometimes blur, but understanding the key differences is crucial. For me, the primary differentiator is the audience and their intent. What are users searching for, and what do they expect to find? From a local SEO perspective, it's about targeting a super-niche, highly specific audience, whereas traditional SEO tends to have a broader scope.

To illustrate this, I've done a quick SERP analysis to examine intent before we get started. I used an internal tool called "Intermingle" to capture snapshots of the SERPs and analyze different SERP features. I selected three search terms that reflect a spectrum of intent, ranging from traditional to more localized searches.

First, we have "law firm" — a term with no explicit local intent. While I might be looking for a local law firm, I haven’t specified that in the search. Then we have "cake," which is extremely broad. When searching for "cake," the intent is unclear — am I looking for images, recipes, or a nearby bakery? Google isn't given enough information to know what I want. Finally, we have "Stockport estate agents," a highly specific search for estate agents in my local area.

When examining these searches at the landing page level, it's interesting to see the differences in local ranking content, which I’ve highlighted with asterisks.

[AL]: All of these pages have specific localized landing pages associated with them. Even though I wasn’t very specific with "law firm" and "cake," Google is still trying to provide local results. It's also important to note the appearance of the top local packs. These local results show up across all three searches, with Google Business Profile listings appearing as well. Google provides a map, aiming to determine whether the user's intent is local. It's interesting to see how Google handles the SERPs, and in my recent experience, there has been a shift toward prioritizing local results.

For instance, when I search for something as broad as "cake," Google is still trying to find the best local results for me, focusing on what is most relevant and closest to the user. Even though I haven’t explicitly indicated local intent, Google still attempts to deliver local results. This is an important aspect to consider in local SEO, and when thinking about the fundamentals of multilingual SEO for websites aiming to launch internationally, it's crucial to understand the distinction between "multilingual" and "multi-regional" sites.

[AL]: A multilingual website offers content in more than one language, while a multi-regional website explicitly targets users in more than one country. A website doesn’t necessarily need to offer multiple languages to be multi-regional. However, many websites are both multilingual and multi-regional. For example, a Canadian business with both English and French versions of their website would be considered multilingual.

On the other hand, a multi-regional example could be a manufacturer shipping products to both Canada and the U.S. Google will find the most relevant page for the user, not necessarily based on language but based on regional relevance.

[AL]: When thinking about globalization, it's important to understand domain structure from a technical perspective. There are various TLDs (Top-Level Domains), each with different levels of authority. For example, sponsored TLDs like .gov and .edu are highly authoritative and are often government or education-led. These are the types of domains I’d aim to acquire links from, as they are strong domains with longstanding authority.

Next, there are country-specific TLDs, such as .co.uk, .nl, or .it, which are specific to individual countries. Then we have gTLDs (generic Top-Level Domains), which are widely used for globalization, such as .com. You'll often see .com domains being used more globally nowadays. Finally, there are nonprofit or niche domains like .org, .net, and .biz, and even more specialized ones like .agency. These tend to carry slightly less authority, but for the purpose of this discussion, we focus primarily on .com or country-specific TLDs, which leads us nicely into domain structures.

[AL]: When launching internationally, you have a few options, each with its own pros and cons. Let's go through a few of them now.

First, there are ccTLDs, or country code top-level domains, like .co.uk or .nl, depending on the region. These are ideal for websites that want to remain region-specific. They are clear to the user — someone visiting a .co.uk website knows it's a UK-based business. Each domain can be hosted on a different IP address, allowing you to be country-specific. Historically, ccTLDs were favored in localized search results, so if you had a UK website, you were more likely to rank better for UK searches.

However, there are some downsides. If you want to expand internationally, each version of your website will need a separate domain, meaning you're essentially starting from scratch every time. From both a financial and resource perspective, each site needs to be built independently. Although you can link between them and send signals to Google, the effort required to maintain each site is significant. Additionally, there are restrictions — entering a new market with a ccTLD often requires a local business presence, and specific countries have their own requirements.

Next, we have subfolders, which tend to be the most common approach now. For example, you might have a .com domain with subfolders for different countries, such as /uk for the UK or /gb for the British language location. The advantage here is that you're staying on the same domain, so you don’t need to build each site from the ground up. As links come in and domain authority increases, the entire website benefits.

This approach also reduces the risk of linking mistakes, which can happen when linking between different domains (e.g., .nl to .co.uk). By keeping everything within one domain using country or language subfolders, the risk of errors is minimized.

Another significant advantage is that you can unintentionally enter new markets. For instance, if you have a .com domain with a UK subfolder, you might start ranking in the US if your content is strong enough. This can provide valuable insights into potential market opportunities, allowing you to consider creating a US-specific subfolder to further expand your strategy.

[AL]: On the other hand, it's not as localized, so you don't get the same benefits as you would with a .co.uk or .it in the search results. This is more of a historical consideration, and I’d say it's less of an issue now, but still something to keep in mind. In certain local regions, these domains can sometimes be less favorable. That said, all of these factors — business size, objectives, KPIs — need to be taken into account when making decisions.

Next, we have subdomains. Recently, there’s been a shift away from using subdomains. However, the advantage of a subdomain is that you can still retain some metrics from the root domain, so you’re not starting entirely from scratch. That said, the value is somewhat diluted when using a subdomain. This leads to one of the cons: while you maintain some value, you do lose quite a bit of it, as it's transferred onto the subdomain. Additionally, linking between subdomains presents a higher risk for mis-linking since the separation between them can make things more complex.

No matter which route you choose — whether it’s subfolders, subdomains, or entirely separate ccTLDs — you still need proper hreflang implementation. I understand that hreflang can seem a bit intimidating, and many people are concerned about getting it right.

Personally, I think of hreflang as having a conversation with Google. For example, you might be saying: "Hey Google, if someone from Uruguay is speaking Spanish, show them this specific page." Essentially, you're telling Google which page to serve based on language and location through the code. Once you grasp this concept, it becomes a bit easier. So if someone from the UK is speaking English, you'd tell Google to show them the en-gb page. And if there’s no specific option, instruct Google to serve the default page.

It’s important that every page on your website has a default (known as x-default), ensuring that Google knows what to serve when no specific version is available. These are essentially instructions to Google. But remember, it's more of a directive than a hard rule. As we know with Google, sometimes we set canonical tags, and then check Search Console only to find that Google has chosen something else. The key is to provide guidance as best we can, and having hreflang tags properly implemented is crucial. It’s an HTML attribute that specifies the language and geographic targeting of a website.

[OK]: I have a question regarding hreflang implementation. I saw and heard that last year, some big companies, like Nike for example, removed hreflang tags and their local versions of web pages. What do you think about this? Why would they do that? And is there any reason for large e-commerce projects to take this approach?

[AL]: It's actually really interesting that you ask. I've been reviewing Google’s documentation constantly, and if you look into their guidelines around multilingual sites, Google states that the deciding factor is the content itself, not the technical aspects like HTML tags on the page. While technical elements like hreflang are good to have, and I personally prefer to cover all bases as a cautious SEO, Google's actual decision is based on the content.

For example, if we tell Google to visit a page in English, but the content is in Polish or Chinese, Google will determine that the page is not the right match for the user and will serve what they think is best. I think brands like Nike may be leaning in that direction. Additionally, e-commerce sites present unique challenges — not every product is available in every region or language.

Applying a blanket rule to deliver content across multiple countries and languages could cause issues, such as generating 404 errors for products that aren’t available in certain regions. In these cases, it could create more problems than it solves. Since Google has made it clear that they prioritize content, I assume Nike and other big brands have considered this and made decisions accordingly.

It would be interesting to see the impact of this approach on their visibility and rankings, and whether they've experienced any decline as a result.

[OK]: I have a few questions regarding this blog. First, how can we prioritize keywords and meta tags when local searches differ by language? And how can you test their effectiveness across different markets? What are the main recommendations you can provide for beginners?

[AL]: Yeah, for me, it all comes down to the data. It's important to look at search volume and user intent. We'll touch on keyword research later, but the key is to ensure that the research is accurate. Prioritize not just by search volume in a particular location or region, but also by using your own data — your Search Console insights and first-party data — to make sure you're focusing on the right areas.

In terms of testing, it's essential to monitor and measure everything, as we would with any SEO campaign. Keep a close eye on the performance and continuously test. Click-through rates are a great indicator and are often underutilized. It's important to ask, "Are the strategies we're using for different languages and regions actually working? Is the content useful for the reader?"

[OK]: For example, I’m wondering if our meta tags should be different. Suppose I have the same product page for Portugal and Germany. In Portugal, I notice that my main competitors display prices in the SERPs, whereas in Germany, this isn't the best practice. Is it okay for my meta titles to be somewhat different — not completely, but generally different — based on these observations? And is it fine to make these changes if I have supporting data that suggests it’s effective?

[AL]: Yeah, 100%. And from my perspective, they should be different from, I guess from what I'd say is we should be delivering an SEO strategy per region, per country. It shouldn't be a blanket approach. And again, that applies to content as well. If you're seeing something work then that's what we use. You use the data to back it up, like you say using pricing and things like that. Everything should be unique. If it is the same again, it's not a worry. These red flags are essentially saying to Google these are the same page, but you deliver a different page in each region or country. So yeah, that's really important to consider. But yeah, from my perspective, I'd definitely say we need to be as unique as we can be across the websites.

[OK]: I also have a question about how we can ensure that our local listings are optimized for multilingual audiences. For example, in Belgium, there are at least three languages, and businesses are often limited by budget, development time, and content. How can we prioritize our strategy in such cases and choose just one language to test the niche or market from the start? How should we approach this in countries with multiple languages?

[AL]: Yeah, I’d say once again, it all goes back to the data. You can analyze each country and look at the different language variations for key terms. What gets the most search volume? What are people using? Additionally, look at the SERPs — what are your competitors using? Are they favoring one language over another? They often do, but this can vary by market.

Make sure to thoroughly research and understand the market. From a business perspective, you usually have an idea of who your customers are and where they’re coming from. It’s important to combine SEO insights with business knowledge, ensuring that the strategy aligns with both SEO data and the business’s understanding of its target market.

[OK]: Yeah, I agree regarding business priorities and the market in general. For example, let's take luxury tourism in Portugal. In Portugal, people may be searching for yachting in English, because it’s primarily popular among tourists from the United Kingdom. Portuguese locals might not be interested in yachting as much; it’s not their main attraction. So, yes, I think it’s a great point that we should dive deeper into market research, not only by analyzing the SERPs, but also by exploring new angles of customer behavior. Thank you!

[AL]: Perfect. That leads us nicely into discussing content as part of your overall SEO strategy. As we all know, content is crucial for the success of any organic campaign. As I mentioned earlier, you can’t take a blanket approach — you can’t just copy and paste content and hope that the translation tool gets it right, whatever tool you may be using.

Google itself has said that it uses the visible content on your page to determine its language and does not rely on code-level language information. That statement really stood out to me. For the past ten years, I always focused on hreflang, but in recent years, this has been the guidance Google provides.

It’s incredibly important to understand the user and their search behaviors, which vary greatly depending on the region. It’s essential to understand the native dialect and grammatical nuances, as these factors significantly influence how content should be tailored to specific languages.

I've done quite a bit of keyword research for multilingual markets. For example, I used to work with a large airline brand in Saudi Arabia, where we optimized their content for the Arabic market. While I don’t speak or read Arabic, I relied heavily on data to guide my decisions, which is something that should always inform effective keyword research.

[AL]: That first-party data — whether you're using Search Console, GA4, or another source — is essential for understanding the behaviors and intent of your target market. It's also important to know what is currently ranking and use that information moving forward. I always say that our goal is to rank on a search engine, whether it’s Google or Bing, so we need to use those search engines to understand what’s ranking and who we’re competing with. Don’t work in isolation — expand your research beyond just the initial keyword research phase.

For example, I can identify search volumes for keywords, but if those terms aren’t used in the native dialect, or if people aren’t phrasing their queries in that way, it won’t be effective. You also need to balance local and global terms. There may be hundreds of thousands of global searches for a term, but it might not be relevant in a specific region. For example, "parking lot" generates about 20,000 searches per month in the US, but in the UK, where people search for "car park," the volume is only 10,000. Understanding these kinds of differences in dialect and terminology is crucial.

When it comes to content creation, as I’ve mentioned, don’t worry if you can’t speak the language. I’ve worked with content in Arabic, Polish, and other languages I don’t speak. The key is that content should always be created natively. From an SEO perspective, you can do the research, gather the data, and create the briefs based on your expertise, but writing the content is a different challenge.

There’s always going to be some back and forth. Just like there’s often a dialogue between SEO specialists and developers, you’ll have similar exchanges with content creators. For instance, I might provide a keyword, and the writer may say, “That’s not how we speak.” My response is often, “I know, but that’s what people are typing into Google, and I can see the results.” It’s about finding a balance between natural language and search behavior.

Also, make sure to double and triple-check translations. In the past, we would create a basic translation, such as for "parking lot," and run it through a tool to see what comes up. Then, we’d translate it back to ensure accuracy, because translations can sometimes yield completely different results. You need to be sure of what you're working with before moving forward.

[OK]: I think the hardest part is finding the right writer. You probably need to spend a lot of time upfront identifying a few good writers who can create content in that language. It might also be worth consulting with a local SEO specialist to review the keywords and ensure they sound natural to native speakers. To be honest, I really dislike this part of the process.

[AL]: I think editors are crucial as well. You're really putting your trust — your business's trust — into someone to write this content. For me, I’d always hire an editor who speaks the native language and ask them to check and edit the content. It's a lot of responsibility. For example, I assume some companies have their own in-house native speakers, but if they were to rely on someone else, it could have a major impact on their business. That’s why it's so important to get it checked and double-checked.

As I mentioned, I’m a very cautious SEO, and I’m careful with everything I do. But yes, I completely agree — it’s a long and difficult process to find the right people, isn’t it?

[OK]: Yeah, and unfortunately, those mistakes can cost you a lot. I had a few big examples where my junior team member provided incorrect titles for an e-commerce pharmacy store in Portuguese, and one of the verbs was written incorrectly. Sadly, I only noticed it when I saw that my traffic was decreasing. I was wondering what was going on, so I started checking for technical issues. But the first step I should have taken was to check the meta tags. That’s when I saw the wrong verb, and it was a crucial mistake.

So yes, we really need to be careful with this. If you don't know the language well, it's definitely better to hire someone who does. It will be cheaper in the long run than paying for the consequences of such mistakes.

[AL]: Yeah, definitely. When I worked in-house, we also had multilingual sites, and we had product specialists in each region. Although we managed everything online, including content creation, I would have the regional specialists check over everything. I’d say, "You're a native speaker; I’m not asking you to write the content, but can you just check that it makes sense and reads naturally?" So yes, I completely agree — one small mistake can have big impacts, especially in terms of cultural relevance and sensitivity.

This is huge when it comes to creating content, and it’s something we need to consider. Speaking of small mistakes, I have some examples of businesses that translated successful messaging, only for it to go wrong.

The first example is Pepsi. Everyone knows Pepsi, a major global brand. Their slogan, "Pepsi brings you back to life," worked well in many markets. However, when they expanded into the Chinese market and translated the slogan, it turned into, "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave." As you can imagine, this didn’t go over well, especially since Chinese culture holds deep respect for ancestors. Pepsi had to quickly retract all marketing efforts for that campaign.

Another example is Coors Brewing, a major American beer company. They had a successful campaign in the U.S. with the slogan, "Turn it loose," which played on American slang. When they translated it for the Spanish market, it came out as "Suffer from diarrhea," which is obviously the complete opposite of what they intended!

[OK]: How could that happen? I'm not sure I fully understand. So they took the slogan "Turn it loose," automatically translated it to Spanish, and ended up with that result? Is that correct?

[AL]: And I believe this was on a lot of marketing activity across Spain, obviously as an alcoholic beverage as well. It's not what people want to read. And these are big brands as well. Like, you know, thought that they've checked this, right.

[OK]: Everyone makes mistakes. So…

[AL]: Yeah, that's true, that's true. I’ve got a few more examples. Then there's KFC. As you know, they’re famous for their slogan "Finger-lickin' good." You look a bit puzzled, so I’m not sure if that’s just a phrase we use here, but it means the food is so good you're licking it off your fingers — which, admittedly, sounds a bit strange when I say it now. Anyway, they translated it into Chinese, and it ended up meaning, "Eat your fingers." Not exactly ideal!

And finally, there’s Green Giant. They're well-known for their frozen and canned vegetables, and they have a friendly mascot — a big green giant encouraging people to eat their veggies. But when they translated their slogan into Arabic, it came out as "Intimidating green ogre," which is literally the opposite of what they want to convey. Instead of a friendly message, it sounded like they were scaring children into eating vegetables.

So yeah, even some pretty big brands have made these mistakes. It happens, but I’d definitely prefer to avoid that!

[OK]: When it comes to slogans, we shouldn’t just translate them; we need to adapt our key messaging to the local audience. As you mentioned with KFC, finger-licking after eating might not be common in some cultures. It’s a different cultural context, especially since in many cases, people eat with chopsticks. So, yes, cultural differences definitely matter. That's very true. It's already not not relevant. So, it's totally wrong from the start. I think we also should think much more about the cultural aspects of the countries where we are going to go. 

[AL]: Yeah, it's interesting from a UX perspective as well. Things like the colors you use on your website can have different meanings in various cultures. This is a bit off-topic, but take red, for example. In the Chinese market, red holds a lot of significance. We might use red for a "Book Now" button or a CTA, which can feel quite bold, but in the Chinese market, I don't think they would use that color in the same way. They avoid certain colors and patterns. So, it's important to realize that you can't apply a blanket approach across all markets.

For this, we tend to use heat mapping tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity. These tools help analyze how users are engaging with your website, how they’re understanding it, and how they navigate through it.

[OK]: I think in these cases, it can also be effective to create a separate domain with a local TLD, just to test the niche and the market, and to learn from your own mistakes.

[AL]: Yeah, I think you can also do this with subfolders. You can test the waters with just a few pages — you don’t need to publish your entire website or go all in. You can test it, see how a few pages perform, and check if users are engaging the way you want. But again, it all comes back to testing and understanding your users in each area.

[OK]: Going back to our discussion on localization, keywords, and cultural aspects, I have a few questions, if you don't mind. Many SEO tools tend to focus primarily on English keywords — this is no secret. Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush have massive databases, but they work best for English keywords. What advanced techniques can you recommend for very specific languages, such as Arabic, Hindi, or others? What additional methods can be used to conduct advanced keyword research in these languages?

[AL]: Yeah, to be honest, although these tools are primarily built around English keywords, when I was working with Arabic, Ahrefs was by far the best tool I could use. It's really advanced in that area. A few years ago, when I was using SEMrush, there was almost nothing available for Arabic — I don’t even think volume data was available then. But Ahrefs is actually quite good for that now.

I’ve also used Keyword Planner, which is great since it’s a Google tool, and it gives you insights directly from where you want to rank. So I’d definitely recommend that.

Another great tip is to use what’s available on the search engine itself. For example, the "People also ask" section is really useful. You can see the kinds of questions people are asking and use that information in your research. So, in addition to your core keyword research, you can create content around what people are actively searching for and what Google is delivering. This can help you rank in those areas while providing valuable insights.

[OK]: How can we find a balance between country-specific keywords and a broader language approach? For example, in markets like Latin America and Spain, or with languages like Portuguese (European vs. Brazilian Portuguese), we see similarities, but they are quite different in many respects. Cannibalization is a key concern, and this is especially relevant for regions like Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, where the same language is spoken, but with differences in dialect and cultural context.

So, what should I do if I have both a Brazilian Portuguese page and a European Portuguese page, each in its own local-targeted folder? How can I prevent cannibalization issues on my website?

[AL]: This essentially ties back to your hreflang implementation. Along with focusing on content, search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC data, hreflang is crucial. Think of hreflang like a canonical tag — it tells Google that these pages are similar, but if someone is in Brazil and speaks Portuguese, serve them the Brazilian Portuguese page.

The decision on whether to use country-specific folders or country-language folders is critical here. For example, you could have a UK-specific page, but in Brazil, you might need 3 or 4 different language versions. You’re basically telling Google, "If someone is speaking Portuguese in Brazil, direct them to this page. If they’re speaking another language, send them to the appropriate page."

So, it all comes down to the initial foundational setup you create for your site.

[OK]: I can also add that sometimes IP detection works well, but not always with European countries. For example, I had a website with separate pages for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We decided to use automatic IP detection to determine the user’s location. So, if the user’s IP was from Switzerland or Germany, they would be directed to the respective page. However, it didn’t work as expected because Switzerland is so close to Austria that the IP addresses were often too similar to differentiate properly.

The issue was that IP addresses from these regions were so close that the system couldn’t accurately direct users. But for us, it was crucial to know the user’s exact geolocation to provide accurate delivery information, as each country had different shipping processes and costs. So, we decided to implement a simple pop-up asking the user, "Where would you like to go? Switzerland, Germany, or Austria?"

While this approach worked, we still faced issues with Google updates. For example, after some local updates, our Swiss version's ranking decreased, and sometimes the German version decreased, leading to cannibalization issues. The best solution we found was to incorporate local keywords in different sections of the pages to better signal Google. Of course, we also used hreflang tags, but even with those, it was still challenging for Google to differentiate at times due to the close proximity of IP addresses and the frequent use of VPNs.

In your experience, how do you effectively incorporate both translated brand terms and localized product descriptions into your keyword strategy?

[AL]: For me, it's about ensuring we have set strategies. It shouldn’t be just one overarching strategy — you need to strategize for each specific area. Everything is different depending on the country, the language, and other factors. As we've mentioned, it's crucial to include brand terms and start building brand authority.

When it comes to product descriptions, it's the same idea. There could be different prices, different price points, and unique selling propositions (USPs) that resonate differently in each market. What I might value in a product could be very different from what someone else values, and that can be influenced by cultural factors as well.

So, I would approach it that way — work closely with native speakers and people in the market to understand how to implement your strategy effectively and how they perceive your product.

[OK]: Can we use AI technologies like Perplexity, ChatGPT, or Cloud Gemini to help us if our project has a small budget or is still in the development stage?

[AL]: Yeah, I’d say so, especially if it’s in the development phase. AI can help provide structure and guidance. However, you wouldn’t want to rely completely on AI, as we know Google is becoming stricter about that. AI can assist with structuring your content and giving you insights, particularly with keyword research and market understanding. These tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated in recognizing various aspects of SEO. So, yes, I’d say it can be helpful, but use it with caution and avoid applying it globally across your site.

[OK]: Thank you.

[AL]: No problem, perfect. So, jumping back into on-page and technical SEO, I just want to touch on optimizing on-page elements. We've already covered this a bit, but a lot of SEOs or marketers often say, "We've optimized the content and pushed it live." But as you mentioned, sometimes that’s not enough. You have to consider different on-page elements, just as you would with any SEO campaign starting from scratch.

This includes your page titles and meta descriptions. As Oleksandra mentioned earlier, should we be changing them? Absolutely. We should optimize as much as possible for each individual region. URLs are another element that often gets overlooked. Leaving URLs in the original language is a common mistake.

[OK]: Okay, I hate when people use local accents, like the "ä", for example, and they also use special symbols in URLs and other parts. It doesn’t work well! Please stop doing this. It’s a huge mistake because it’s such a hassle to fix every time. Sorry, that’s just my scream of pain!

[AL]: It just spirals and creates so many more issues than there should be. It's like headings, again. Subheadings. Everything needs to be taken into consideration, even down to the alt text. It's as if all these signals need to align. Everything needs to be pointing in the right direction, including internal links.

[OK]: I have a question regarding images, though it's not directly related to the topic of multilingual websites. Anyway, I’d like to ask your opinion on how we should write alt texts — should it be something like 'Buy Windows Online,' or should it be a descriptive alt tag that really describes the window, including its dimensions and type, for example? Let’s break that myth for me.

[AL]: Go ahead, describe that image. Like it? There's nothing worse than keyword stuffing, in my opinion. And I’m glad you avoided it — thumbs up for that. There’s nothing worse than keywords everywhere, like when you say, 'Buy windows online. Buy windows online today. Online windows for sale.' It’s like, please stop.

[OK]: Please be more specific because image search works this way: users try to find exactly the right product for them. So, the more descriptive your alt tag is, the better your chances of ranking in image search and gaining traffic, which you can convert in the future. People are searching for specific products, so being specific is the best option. Stop spamming, please. Just stop.

[AL]: It makes me laugh sometimes because you'll see phrases like 'buy windows online.' Nobody's typing that into image search, so what are you trying to achieve? But yeah, I completely agree — perfect. From a technical perspective, internal linking is massively important and plays a huge role in every SEO campaign. The same principles apply: you should be linking internally, showing which pages users need to navigate through, while also providing contextual value to both the crawler and the user. Less of the 'click here' approach and more focus on strong, relevant anchor text.

External links are also a big factor, and they’re often overlooked. If you're translating content or moving it into another language, use relevant sources. If you're always linking back to UK-based sources, that's not helpful to users or Google in a different market. Your sources need to be relevant to the new market, which is something to really keep in mind.

[OK]: I think it's especially important for 'Your Money, Your Life' (YMYL) niches.

[AL]: Yeah, for sure. I think the financial sector is a prime example. As you said, in those critical sectors — where it can impact someone's health or financial well-being — you really have to ensure your sourcing is accurate, and your external links are relevant. But again, between languages, this often gets overlooked. There's this assumption that if it's relevant to one audience, it must be relevant to another, but that's not always the case.

[OK]: It’s interesting because, for example, I have a lot of good references and sources to link to in English, but I don’t have enough information in Arabic. In these cases, is it okay to provide authoritative links, like Wikipedia, but in English?

[AL]: Yeah, I’d say so. As long as you find the link relevant, include it. Relevancy is key. If a user is reading the content and you believe the link provides additional value, then go for it. But if it doesn’t add value or you’re including it just for the sake of it, then don’t. If it’s valuable to the user, it’s also useful for crawlers.

Now, let’s jump into off-site and authority building, particularly link building, and how you can do this for multilingual websites. As I mentioned, local listings are huge. We saw this when I provided that screenshot — local listings appear in most SERPs these days, even without being specific. Going back to the cake reference, it still tries to give me a local result, showing me the map pack and local SERP features.

So, when you're expanding, it's critical to make sure your physical presence is known, especially if you're physically in that location. This is vital. You need to show that your website is expanding, for example, into Portugal, and that you have a physical presence there. These are strong trust signals to Google, helping it understand that you are actually operating in that location. Google Business Profile and platforms like Bing Places are great assets, especially when they show up within the SERPs.

Local Reviews and Ratings as E-A-T Signals

Besides that, you also need to ensure that your NAP (name, address, phone number) information is correct and consistent across the web. Local reviews and ratings play a huge role as well, sending E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals to Google. These reviews help Google recognize that you are an expert and trustworthy in your field.

If I personally review a product, there's nothing better for establishing trust than my own review. It's similar to face-to-face recommendations. When I recommend a product or service, it can influence others to think, 'Well, if it was recommended, it must be good.' We need to apply this both locally and internationally, ensuring that we gather and provide reviews and ratings wherever possible.

Regarding link acquisition, there are many ways to acquire links. For multilingual and multinational sites, it’s crucial to focus on obtaining relevant backlinks that build authority and trust. If you're aiming to improve organic performance in a specific region, this approach is effective.

To amplify your strategy, you should analyze your link profile compared to your competitors. Look at where your competitors are getting their links. If you find that many of your 50 competitors have links from a certain domain and you don’t, then you need to address these foundational gaps in your link building.

Once you’ve laid the groundwork, focus on citations and directories. Look for local citations and directories, as well as those specific to your niche. As you expand into a new country, there could be numerous new opportunities for citations on local websites.

Links in content from highly reputable sites and media publishers are particularly valuable. Local websites, publishers, media, and news outlets can significantly strengthen your E-A-T signals and build your domain authority.

Anchors are also crucial. Providing relevant local search terms in your anchor text can help. For example, if you’re a law firm in Manchester, using contextually relevant anchors can enhance your relevance.

I’m not a proponent of building links just for the sake of it. Those days are over. Now, it’s essential to provide context and relevance. If your website is linking to me because it's genuinely useful, that’s great. However, if the link is merely for the sake of it, it’s less effective. Google is sophisticated enough to recognize the difference, so make sure you’re visible wherever it matters.

[OK]: What do you think about using UGC platforms such as Quora and Reddit, where we can find local groups and discussions about specific topics? Could these be used to expand our performance?

[AL]: Yeah, I’d say so. It’s a bit of a nuanced answer. On sites like that, Google is aware of what people are trying to do. If you’re getting a link from a relevant Reddit forum and it genuinely adds value for users, then that’s fine. However, Google is smart about recognizing when links are being acquired purely for SEO purposes.

These platforms are great for brand visibility, even if you're not getting a direct backlink. Being mentioned on them helps build your brand’s presence across the web and contributes to the overall perception of your brand. So, I’d say it’s both yes and no, depending on how you use these platforms.

[OK]: What about tier-three countries? For example, if you have a local business in the United Kingdom, where there are many more websites compared to a smaller country in Eastern Europe, is it acceptable to expand your strategy beyond just targeted countries? In other words, can you use websites from other relevant but less targeted countries, as long as they are relevant to your topic?

[AL]: Ideally, when looking to expand, you should focus on local sites. However, if your brand is mentioned in different countries and languages, that's definitely beneficial. Getting your brand name out there and building authority is valuable, and it won’t be detrimental or negatively impact you. In fact, it can only add positively to your efforts. So, yes, I’d say it’s a good strategy.

[OK]: Yes, it's common to see Canadian websites with many links from the United States. I’m curious about what percentage of U.S. links is acceptable. Naturally, I will first focus on Canadian websites and then consider French-speaking websites in France, or possibly American websites. However, when targeting American sites, I should be very specific with the topic. In sensitive cases like this, it's best to use broad and evergreen topics to demonstrate expertise, rather than using these sites primarily for promoting products or finding new customers.

[AL]: Finally, let’s touch on monitoring and reporting. How can we measure the success of going international, translating content, and all the associated efforts? First, you need to outline your KPIs from day one. Without clear KPIs, you won’t know what success looks like.

You should monitor several factors, as they go hand in hand:

• Rankings: Track where you're ranking in each region and language. This helps gauge your visibility in different markets.
• Search Visibility: Assess how your organic traffic is performing. Is your visibility increasing but your traffic not? Are you appearing for the wrong terms? Check if your strategy or terms are misaligned.
• Impressions, Clicks, and Click-Through Rate (CTR): Analyze how these metrics translate into conversions.
• Engagement on Google Business Profile and Bing Places: Look at how people are finding you through these profiles. Are they clicking to get directions or calling you? This can give you additional insights into your presence and effectiveness.

Think outside the box as well. You might not always see a dramatic increase in traffic, but people could be finding you through various SERP features. Monitoring these aspects will help you get a fuller picture of your success.

[OK]: I have a small question about metrics. What’s your opinion on using UTM links for a new project? When we start, we are usually on a tight budget and want to learn which strategies work best. Sometimes people are hesitant about using UTM links. Should we use them, and how often?

[AL]: Yeah, I tend to use UTM links mostly for Google Business Profile, Google Play, and Bing Places. This way, all your data comes into one central place, whether it's Google Analytics or Google Search Console. You can then track metrics like whether people are clicking 'view website' or if you're appearing in the SERP and getting clicks. You can differentiate this by keyword as well. I recommend using UTM links for these local results.

Regarding keyword tracking, there are many excellent tools available now that go beyond just tracking rankings. For example, tools like SE Ranking allow you to track rankings down to the postcode level, showing how rankings fluctuate within specific areas. It’s crucial to track keywords not just on a global scale but also on a localized level to understand their effectiveness in specific regions.

Visibility is also important to track and benchmark against your goals. Here’s a screenshot from Citrix that illustrates this.

[AL]: Looking at Apple, for example, you can analyze their subfolders to see that, currently, their /d subfolder is outperforming some of the others. We can learn from this by examining what strategies they’ve applied to their German pages compared to their pages in Spain, France, or Portugal. Understanding their success in the market might reveal that competition is much lower, giving them a better share, or that they’ve implemented a robust strategy targeting long-tail keywords or other tactics.

It’s crucial to dig into this data, understand what they’re doing right, and apply these insights to improve your own performance. Whether you’re tracking performance daily, weekly, or monthly, maintaining an overarching view is essential.

Finally, regarding Google Search Console, first-party data is incredibly valuable. A useful strategy that many overlook is creating a domain property. If you’re using subfolders or subdomains, create a domain property and then set up sub-properties. This approach allows you to dive deep into your data much more easily than spending hours filtering it manually.

[OK]: All because it’s easier to use the Search Console data effectively. I totally agree; it can be quite cumbersome. It’s one of the first things I recommend to any business when I come across an issue in Search Console. It's often a key area that needs attention.

[AL]: Exactly. You might also have different stakeholders in various regions asking about performance. You can easily provide them with access to the data and show them how things are going in their specific region. So, yes, I definitely recommend doing that. If you have any more questions, Oleksandra, feel free to ask.

[OK]: Thank you so much. This is a really valuable guide, and I hope it will help you all with international SEO by covering some important topics. I also wanted to ask about backlinks and reviews. How can we encourage and motivate our clients to leave reviews on platforms like Trustpilot, Google Maps, and others?

When starting a business and expanding internationally, it’s challenging to get those initial reviews, but they are crucial for any e-commerce business. Could you share some actionable techniques or strategies, or even personal experiences, on how to encourage clients to leave reviews? I believe generating or buying reviews isn't a good practice. Even if Google doesn't recognize the pattern, real customers will. What are some effective ways to obtain genuine reviews?

[AL]: Yes, there are several strategies to encourage reviews. Word of mouth is a key method, but email is often underutilized. Since you have data on who has purchased from you, consider sending a follow-up email once you know the product has been delivered on time and meets their specifications. Offer an incentive, such as a chance to win £50 off their next purchase, to encourage them to leave a review.

While it may not be ideal commercially, email follow-ups are effective. Be specific in your review requests — ask about delivery, product quality, and fit, for example. You can then use this feedback to highlight positive aspects on your product pages, such as "90% of customers said this was the perfect fit" or "Delivered within three days, as approved by 90% of customers."

Additionally, leverage other channels like paid social media. Target customers who have purchased and visited your thank you page with follow-up messages. This approach helps to not only collect reviews but also to maintain customer engagement and strengthen brand relationships. Utilizing every channel effectively will keep your customers engaged and encourage them to return.

[OK]: Especially for local or physical services, such as carpet cleaning, using photos before and after can be a powerful strategy. In my experience working with a carpet cleaning service in Canada, we initially struggled to get customers to provide these photos. To address this, we had our cleaning staff take the photos and ask homeowners if we could use them in our social media strategy. This approach worked well.

I believe it's better to have a smaller number of reviews that are genuinely organic rather than buying reviews. Purchased reviews can lead to penalties from Google over time, so maintaining authenticity is crucial.

Regarding local directories, like Yellow Pages, and more specific ones, such as those for medical services like dental clinics: I think it’s beneficial to focus on these directories, especially when you’re working with a limited budget. Building links through local directories can help establish credibility and improve local SEO.

While guest posting is also valuable, starting with local directories can be a good way to build a foundation. It’s about balancing your efforts and focusing on strategies that provide the most value within your budget.

On a limited budget, what’s your opinion on prioritizing local directories versus other strategies like guest posting? How would you recommend allocating resources to get the best results?

[AL]: To be honest, I always benchmark against the 'link backbone,' using tools we have in-house or others like Ahrefs to see where competitors are getting their links. If many competitors have links on Yelp, for example, it’s worth considering getting a link from there as well. Ideally, though, you should focus on more relevant directories specific to your industry.

Start with these foundational links to build your base, but avoid acquiring a large number of directory links all at once, as this can look suspicious. Build them up gradually and ensure they are natural and contextually relevant.

For example, if you're in the carpet cleaning business, seek out very local and niche directories related to your industry. However, avoid SEO-specific directories that are clearly created just for link building, as these are often not beneficial. Focus on directories that are relevant, niche, and contextually appropriate for your business.

[OK]: We didn’t cover the topic of tree RF link setting in WordPress, but it’s a common question. What’s your opinion on using semi-automated plugins for WordPress?

[AL]: Yeah, I think as long as you're careful with them, and they’re tested to ensure they work as you want them to, semi-automated plugins can be very useful. WordPress is flexible, but sometimes you might encounter issues with custom sites or plugins that don’t integrate well.

I'd recommend thoroughly testing any plugin before using it widely. Avoid going overboard and potentially duplicating your site’s structure unnecessarily. Some solutions work well, while others might not be as effective. So, do your research, test thoroughly, and use plugins that have proven reliability.

[OK]: And just to be sure, always use test domains with a copy of your website when experimenting with plugins. This helps avoid any potential issues that could affect your website’s speed and overall functionality.

Thank you so much for joining us today. If you need any consultation about local SEO, be sure to reach out to Amy. Subscribe to her social channels and follow her company for more insights. I’ll see you in the next episode. Bye for now!