SEO for multilingual websites

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Optimizing your website for multiple languages ​​can open doors to global markets and give your company international visibility. SEO for multilingual websites makes your online presence known and attractive in different language regions. Dive into the world of multilingual SEO and discover how you can expand your reach and effectively reach new target groups.

The right domain structure
The first step in an international SEO strategy is to find the right domains. Here it is not only a matter of whether one or more domains should be used for the different languages, but also of finding out which ending is most pharmaceutical email lists suitable for the project and how the full URL should be structured . In the following table we present four possible options with their advantages and disadvantages:

URL structure Example Advantages Disadvantages
One geographic domain (ccTLD) per market your-store.es Unambiguous geographic targeting
The location of the server is irrelevant
Simple separation of different web pages Requires more infrastructure
Very strict ccTLD rules and limited availability
Expensive
Subdomains with generic top-level domains (gTLDs) es.your-shop.shop Allows for multiple server locations
Easy separation of different web pages Users cannot recognize the local reference (“es” could refer to the language)
Subdirectories with generic top-level domains (gTLDs) your-shop.shop/en/ Reduced maintenance costs Unique server location
Complicated segmentation of web pages
URL Parameters your-store.shop?loc=en URL-based targeting and therefore complicated
If you plan to offer a website in several languages, you should at least consider the first three options. The last one is included in the table for completeness only, but it is not suitable for internationalizing websites . Google even opposes the use of this procedure, as it does not guarantee clean indexing. Therefore, your choice should be oriented towards the ccTLD, subdomain or subdirectory options, not forgetting that each of them has its strengths and weaknesses.

Geographic domains are not only easy for visitors to register and categorize , but also for search engine tools. They are not tied to a specific server, so accessibility and loading times of different versions of the shop can be optimized by intelligent infrastructure selection. However, this domain model is associated with high costs and a high administrative burden. In addition, each of these separate pages starts without history and without visibility, which makes it difficult to get started.

For those who are just starting out with international SEO, it is therefore recommended to opt for a generic domain, although the variant with subdirectories has the advantage that all pages benefit from the link power and authority of the main domain. At the same time, you are tied to a single server location and page segmentation is somewhat more complex. The combination of a generic top-level domain and a subdomain provides greater flexibility, but it brings with it the aforementioned problem that the resulting pages are not indexed.

In summary
Choosing the right domain structure depends primarily on your financial resources. If you have a limited budget and want to implement international SEO based on the trust of your first page, it is advisable to use a generic top-level domain with subdirectories for each language. If you intend to use the domain for the long term, geographic domains are the most effective solution, although they are more expensive. However, it is advisable to do without URL parameters in any case.

Smart server selection
The server location of international websites was once one of the official evaluation factors in search engines. And while it is no longer decisive that each language variant is stored on its own local server , in the mobile age fast data delivery is more important than ever. Therefore, if you run an online shop, you should keep loading times to a minimum and, in addition to optimising the code, include a good server infrastructure in your international SEO strategy. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) have thus become an increasingly important tool that not only stands out for its performance, but also for its security.

In summary
Although local servers no longer directly affect search engine rankings, it is worth considering them for your web project infrastructure, as long as it is feasible. In some countries such as China, it is mandatory to have a local server to host projects with its geographic domain, although nowadays it is enough to use content delivery networks in many cases.

Comprehensive keyword research
Of course, choosing the right domain structure is something that needs careful thought, and SEO optimization of multilingual websites is a smart and well-founded keyword strategy . Topical keywords draw the attention of search engine crawlers to your site and help you rank higher . When creating multilingual websites, many webmasters often make the mistake of searching for keywords for the original language and using the resulting set as a basis for the other language versions.

This type of literal translation of keywords is much more valuable and user-friendly than that performed by machines, but it limits SEO in e-commerce in many ways. On the one hand, this type of procedure does not go unnoticed by regional search engines such as Baidu . Likewise, it cannot be said that the mere translation of a keyword is relevant in the target language . In fact, even in places where the same language is spoken, there may be slight terminological differences, as in the case of the United Kingdom and the United States. Therefore, there is a risk that both users and search engines will not be able to find the multilingual content offered, even if it is of good quality.