When carrying out website localization, you should have an SEO strategy in place right from the start. If you include search engine optimization in the translation process, you’ll save time and resources, as you won’t have to make significant changes to rank higher in search results once your website goes live. Most experts in the language service industry call this international SEO. 

International SEO includes all the techniques necessary for optimizing your website to help search engines identify which countries you target with every translated version of your website.

So, how do you make sure that your multilingual content is optimized for search engines in every language? Luckily, linguists are the go-to people for SEO, thanks to their writing skills. They can make your content appealing for both your target public and the local search engines. Let’s take a closer look at how translators can help you with international SEO. 

1) Translators Are Aware of Keyword Variations in Different Languages

As you know by now, keywords are an essential element of any SEO strategy. When going international, you need to make sure that you target the right terms and phrases in every market to ensure traffic.  

International SEO doesn’t mean taking your English keywords and translating them into foreign languages. This approach can narrow your reach significantly, leaving many business opportunities off the table. You need to go further and consider keyword variations because terms and phrases have a different impact in every language that you target. 

To a certain extent, search habits on Google (and other search engines) vary with every country, as people have different interests and cultural backgrounds. They also have different ways to refer to products, based on local habits, which makes it hard to target a large number of multilingual internet users with a single keyword. 

To target broad audiences, you need to do keyword research for every language. This way, you’ll understand what exact words locals use online and what terms are more likely to rank higher based on search volume. 

Translators can incorporate the right keywords in the content during the localization process. It’s easy for linguists, as they’re already used to working with specific terminology and know how to integrate every word naturally in the text to make sure that not only algorithms but also human readers understand what your content is about.

2) Linguists Know How to Handle LSI Keywords

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are related terms that help search engines get a deeper understanding of your content. In simple words, they include synonyms of your target keywords and other terms or phrases that are somehow related to them. These words help algorithms figure out the exact topics you discuss on every page. 

For example, if you’re targeting the keyword “remote work,” some LSI keywords could be “work from home,” “remote jobs,” “remote companies,” “distance jobs,” or even “digital nomad jobs.”

Translators can integrate many different terms into a single piece of content following the original texts. They won’t just pick random terms from the dictionary, but use the right word for every context to make sure that your messages sound natural in the target language and respect logic and grammar rules. 

3) Quality Content Generates Engagement

Another way translators can help you with international SEO is by delivering well-written content. Human translations have the right flow and are catchy, thanks to translators’ abilities to create context and retain attention. This is not something that machine translation can deliver on its own.   

People like content that’s well-produced, regardless of the language they speak. Give them that, and you’ll have them reading one page after another, which will improve time on page and reduce bounce rates–metrics that are known to improve SEO. 

On the other hand, if you publish poorly-translated content, people will leave your website after a few seconds, damaging your international SEO. For search engines, this is a clue that you don’t offer relevant information, as readers aren’t satisfied with what they’ve read. As a consequence, they’ll push down your website in search results, which means lower levels of traffic, lower conversion rates, and overall fewer revenues.

4) Voice Search Can Boost International SEO

With the rise of Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Xiaomi, voice search is more popular than ever before. Estimations say that 50% of queries will soon be made using voice search, so the trend is to optimize your website to be easily found online by smart speakers. 

When doing your keywords research, make sure you include phrases that recall conversational tones and direct questions. These are harder to integrate naturally in web content, but it’s not something a skilled translator can’t do.

Just make sure to inform the translation team about the purpose of each piece and the target audience. Also, mention that you’re looking for a conversational tone, especially when you target languages that have multiple levels of formality, such as Korean or Japanese. This way, linguists can create quality content that nails your brand’s voice and meets the expectations of the local public, without being offensive. 

5) Translators Create Catchy Titles and Metadata

Another way translators can help you boost international SEO is by adding value to your titles, descriptions, and metadata. If they can create intrigue besides showing a keyword in the right place, you’re more likely to have your website visited by people who search for information online. 

More than half of all Google searches don’t end with one click. You need to go the extra mile and create copy that encourages people to read more than what’s in the featured snippet. 

When you do website localization, you need to work with translators who understand how people’s search habits change and what convinces each audience to click and keep reading. 

You need a team of experts–linguists, local SEO specialists, and marketers–to build a localized website with your audience in mind. This way, you increase your return on investment and build a solid reputation in local markets. 

Translators and localization experts know how to make your website appealing for both local audiences and website crawlers, whether you’re optimizing for Google, Yandex, Baidu, or other search engines. So, make sure you include international SEO in your localization strategy right from the start to increase your chances of being found online and get relevant local traffic to your website.