You probably already know about the importance of localizing your website. You’ve heard that people prefer to shop in their native language, but there are also additional benefits of localization that you may not be aware of. For example, did you know that localizing your website can also improve your SEO (search engine optimization), bringing you more traffic and more potential customers?
Here are four additional ways localization can improve SEO and give you an upperhand in reaching potential customers.
localization helps you speak the same language as your customers.
Why is this so important? If you know how your customers prefer to speak, you also know how they will search. If you want to be found online, it’s imperative to choose the right search terms. Localization helps you do just that.
Even in countries that speak one main language, search terms can vary for the same services. For example, customers searching for a "lawyer" in the United States might look for a "solicitor" in the United Kingdom. By localizing your website, you can account for these keyword variations and ensure your site gets the organic traffic it needs to grow.
Meanwhile, as voice takes over an ever-increasing share of all searches, it's never been more critical that your site read the way your audience speaks.
localization helps search engine bots understand your site.
To get the most out of website localization, you can’t stop with the visible areas of the site, you also need to optimize “hidden” elements like hreflang tags and language meta tags. If any of that sounds like a foregin language to you, make sure your LSP has multilingual SEO experts on staff to help you get it right.
localization helps your website rank on more than one search engine.
You know Google, but what about Yandex or Baidu? These are country-specific search engines. US-only companies need not worry about them, but you can’t afford to ignore them if you’re doing in business in Russia or China.
As you might have guessed, these local search engines tend to favor local-language content. The more thoroughly you localize your site, the more local-language content it will have, and the better it will look to local search engines.
localization makes your content more relevant.
Localization is more than just translation. It also involves rewriting and redesigning site content so that it appeals to your target market.
The result: improved user engagement and more time spent on your site. While the details of Google’s algorithm remain a closely-guarded secret, there’s some evidence that improving these and related metrics also improve your search rankings.
There's no doubt localizing your site also improve SEO – if it's done right. Here's the caveat: poorly localized websites won't see these benefits. In fact, your rankings may decline.
To unlock all the benefits of localization, including SEO benefits, you need a language services partner that can give you Total Language Confidence. At United Language Group, our team is staffed with experienced linguists and SEO experts to help you optimize SEO for every language and every country you're trying to reach. To learn more, take a look at our global marketing services and contact us about your next website localization project.
