With over 690 million internet users in India, the country is the second-largest online market in the world. Businesses are recognising that this can help them reach a larger audience and increase their revenue.
However, studies also show that more than half of the Internet user base in India is more likely to browse the Internet in their regional language instead of English. This is where multilingual SEO (search engine optimisation) comes into the picture. By optimising your website for multiple Indian languages, you can tap into new markets and customer bases and expand your digital footprint.
Failing to address the linguistic preference of your audience may risk missing out on a significant market opportunity. With a localised approach, you can increase your brand visibility in your target markets. In this blog post, we’ll explore the top 10 multilingual SEO best practices that will help you effectively implement multilingual SEO on your website. But first, let’s understand the basics of multilingual SEO and its importance.
Understanding the Importance of Multilingual SEO
Multilingual SEO involves enhancing the visibility of your website by optimising it to rank effectively in search engines across multiple languages and regions. Unlike regular SEO, which focuses on targeting a single language or market, multilingual SEO goes beyond simple content translation. It also takes into account the linguistic and cultural nuances that influence search behaviour in different linguistic contexts.
As the number of Internet users in India preferring local languages increases, by adopting the right multilingual SEO best practices, you can ensure that your website is discovered in different languages in India. This can lead to broadening your digital reach and increasing your organic traffic. With that being said, let’s explore the top 10 multilingual SEO best practices that you can implement to improve your website rankings for different Indian languages.
SEO Best Practices for Multilingual Websites
1. Choose the Right Languages to Target
The first step in implementing multilingual SEO strategies involves selecting the right languages that you want to target. You need to base your choices depending on your target audience and their search behaviour.
Analyse your target audience demographics, market potential, and their preferences. For instance, if your target audience is in India, you might want to prioritise Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, or any other Indian language depending on the region you’re targeting. One of the best multilingual SEO tips is to conduct thorough market research before you embark on localisation efforts. Remember, effective language targeting is not just about reaching more people, it is also about connecting with them in a way that resonates with them.
2. Conduct Comprehensive Keyword Research in Each Language
One of the biggest challenges that you may face in multilingual SEO is ensuring that all keywords are relevant across the languages you’re targeting.
It’s important to note that direct translations can often fail to capture the nuances and intent of users in different regions, and hence, you won’t be able to capture the nuances of local search behaviours. Each language and region may have unique terms and phrases that users are likely to use when browsing or searching for products or services online.
A keyword working well in English may not have the same relevance in Hindi or Gujarati. For example, a direct translation of “online shopping” may be “ऑनलाइन शॉपिंग” in Hindi, but the user may actually search for “ऑनलाइन खरीदारी.”
Here are 2 multilingual SEO best practices to find the relevant keywords:
- Leverage tools like Google Keywords Planner with location targeting for language-specific keyword research.
- Analyse competitors in the markets you’re targeting
3. Use Hreflang Tags Correctly
One of the most important multilingual SEO tips is to use Hreflang tags correctly, as they inform search engines about the language and regional targeting of your web pages. These tags are crucial for multilingual SEO, as they help search engines service the correct language version of your content to your target audience based on their language preferences and location.
In order to implement hreflang tags correctly, you should:
- Include them in the <head> section of your HTML or in your sitemap
- Use the correct language and country codes
| For example, if you’re targeting Hindi speakers in India, consider using:
hreflang=”hi-IN” |
4. Localise, Don’t Just Translate
Simply translating the content on your website is not enough. Localisation is the key to ensuring your content resonates with your target audience in local regions. This includes adapting your content to fit cultural nuances, local customs, and regional dialects. It also involves adjusting idioms, humour, and references.
Now, picture this, a potato chips brand makes an advertisement for their Diwali offer that shows friends playing ‘taash’ (playing cards) – a very North Indian phenomenon. It may work in the Northern part of the country but might be abhorred in a state like Tamil Nadu as a Diwali ritual.
To streamline the localisation process for your website, you can leverage Reverie’s Anuvadak, a tool for translation and localisation management.
5. Localize Metadata and Tags
Localising your metadata and tags improves your search visibility and click-through rates in different languages. These include:
- Meta titles
- Meta descriptions
- Image alt tags
- Header tags (H1, H2, etc.)
These elements inform search engines about your content and ensure that your website stays visible in regional search results.
For example, you can localise an English meta description like “Discover the best smartphones of 2024” into Hindi as “2024 के सर्वश्रेष्ठ स्मार्टफोन खोजें.” This will improve the relevance of your content and will also appeal to your target audience.
6. Implement Local Link Building Strategies
Backlinks are still one of the SEO best practices, and the same applies to multilingual SEO. A strong backlink profile from reputable local websites can significantly boost your website’s credibility and rankings in local search engines. Here’s how you can implement effective local link-building:
- Contribute guest posts to local publications
- Join and participate in regional business associations
- Collaborate with local influencers and bloggers
Keep in mind that the quality of links matters more than quantity. Build relationships with reputable local websites that are also relevant to your business and industry.
7. Optimise URL Structures for Each Language
The next point in the list of multilingual SEO best practices is your URL structure. It plays a crucial role in multilingual SEO, and there are different ways you can organise your URLs for different languages:
- Subdomains: eg., in.example.com
- Subdirectories: eg., example.com/in/
- Country-code Top-level Domains (ccTLDs): eg., example.in
Irrespective of which method you choose, using a consistent and clear URL structure can boost your user experience and search engine indexing.
8. Leverage Multilingual Sitemaps
Sitemaps help search engines discover and index all your website pages. They guide search engines through your website, facilitating efficient indexing. For multilingual websites, you have to create and submit separate sitemaps for each language version.
For instance, you might have sitemaps like example.com/sitemap-hi.xml for Hindi and example.com/sitemap-ta.xml for Tamil. With clear, language-specific sitemaps, you can ensure that search engines are efficiently crawling and indexing your content. This boosts your overall SEO performance.
9. Optimise Site Speed and Mobile Experience
Did you know that more than 70% of Indian internet users access the web via their mobile devices? Optimising your website for speed and mobile experience is now crucial in a country like India where internet speeds and device references vary widely.
A fast, mobile-friendly website improves user experience while also positively impacting your search engine rankings across all languages.
10. Monitor and Analyse Performance Regularly
The last tip in our list of multilingual SEO best practices is monitoring and analysing the performance. It’s important to understand that multilingual SEO is not a one-time effort. It requires continuous monitoring and analysis to see the success of your SEO strategies.
You can use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track the performance of your website across different languages and regions. This way you can identify areas of improvement and adjust your strategy accordingly for sustained success in local markets.
Simplify Localization with Reverie’s Language Solutions
Implementing these multilingual SEO tips can significantly boost your website’s visibility, traffic, and conversions across linguistically diverse markets. While localisation may look like a complex process, the right tools like Reverie’s suite of language tools can simplify this process.
From Anuvadak for comprehensive website localization to Prabandhak for efficient translation management, Reverie provides you with solutions that can simplify your multilingual SEO journey. To learn more about how Reverie can help you succeed in India’s online vibrant marketplace, contact us or book a demo.
FAQs
How frequently should I monitor my multilingual website’s SEO performance?
It’s advisable to review your analytics data at least monthly for your multilingual website’s SEO performance. This enables you to identify trends and make timely adjustments.
How can I choose the right languages for my website?
Conduct market research and understand your target market demographics and their language preferences. Consider factors such as:
- Market potential
- Audience demographics
- User preferences
What are hreflang tags and why are they important?
Hreflang tags indicate the regional targeting and content language of a webpage. These HTML attributes help search engines serve the right content to users depending on their language preferences and location.
What tools can help with website localization?
Tools like Reverie’s Anuvadak can assist in and streamline the translation and localisation process. It ensures consistency, and cultural relevance, and eases the technical aspects of localisation.
How can I avoid common multilingual SEO mistakes?
Here’s what you can do to avoid common multilingual SEO mistakes:
- Stay informed about multilingual SEO best practices
- Implement hreflang tags properly
- Ensure consistent URL structures
- Regularly audit your website
