8 Tips to translate your SEO optimized content

 

Currently, search engine optimization is almost a mandatory task for those pages that want to increase their visibility on the Internet. However, Spanish websites with high growth aspirations do not have to settle for SEO in their native language. Multilingual marketing is an effective and efficient opportunity to position yourself in other markets, such as English-speaking countries. In the following article, 8 keys to successfully translate SEO optimized content are presented.

The main objective of most businesses is to increase their sales. However, in a world as competitive and interconnected as today, it is necessary to adapt new marketing strategies to remain competitive. For this reason, more and more companies decide to translate the content of their websites into other languages ​​with a larger audience and attractive markets.

 

How to translate SEO optimized content?

With the advancement and magnification of the Internet, it is becoming easier for companies to expand into other markets. However, one of the most frequent mistakes they make is their deficiencies in relation to the content in other languages.

In fact, according to recent studies, it is estimated that English is the most widely used language on the Internet, followed by Chinese, and with at least 52.9% of online content translated into this language.

Against this backdrop, multilingual SEO is the perfect opportunity for small companies and brands to gain a foothold in international trade. In this sense, here are some tips to keep in mind for online content translation.

 

Select the language of the market you want to reach

Within multilingual marketing, it is important to carry out a preliminary investigation of the language of the market where you intend to compete. In this way, efforts will be concentrated in a strategic language. For example, if the website is enjoying exponential growth in Japan, there is no point in translating the page into German or English.

 

Do not use the automatic translator

Some companies, out of ignorance or to save costs, decide to leave their online content in the hands of automatic translators. However, there are two reasons why it is not a good idea. First, these types of translations are not entirely accurate, their quality is low, and they create a bad image and experience for users. On the other hand, the Google search engine penalizes automatic translation.

 

Choose keywords

Keywords play a fundamental role in search engine optimization, so make sure to choose the most appropriate keyword and, in addition, avoid literal translation during content translation. Luckily, Google’s keyword planner is an efficient and free tool for identifying keywords for a particular language.

 

Optimize content

As with content in Spanish, texts translated into other languages ​​must also have technical specifications so that Google can give it the go-ahead. To speed up this process, there is a wide variety of Plugins such as Yoast SEO to verify the optimization of the content.

 

Optimize for other search engines

Google is the most used search engine in the world, but it is not the only one. In other regions of the world, users prefer other search engines, such as Yandex in Russia, Braidu in China or Yahoo in Japan. For this reason, it is important to previously identify the target audience to know their preferences and, around this, to optimize online content for other search engines.

 

URL structure

Once the language on which the content will be translated is identified, it is necessary to choose between three URL structures that allow better segmentation and geographic targeting:

• Subdirectory or subfolder: example.com/uk/
• Subdomain: uk.example.com
• Country domain: example.uk

 

Add Hreflang tag

The Hreflang tag was created by Google in 2011 and is a tool that allows the most popular search engine in the world to know the different language versions that a web page has. The Hreflang attribute prevents content duplication penalties.

 

Create multilingual XML Sitemap

The XML Site Map is precisely a site map that helps search engines navigate the content of the page easily. Luckily, to create a multilanguage sitemap you can now access a variety of plugins that can streamline the process.

In short, to translate content, a series of aspects must be taken into account that determines the success or failure of multilingual marketing. For companies that are just trying to reach international markets, it is advisable to have the advice of SEO professionals.