Creating SEO compatibility for multilingual websites involves targeted keyword research, translating and optimizing site pages, building regional backlinks, determining an optimal URL structure, and more. 

However, cookie-cutter SEO only goes so far, especially when a net saturation of e-commerce and B2C sites are already using the same multilingual SEO techniques. 

Expanding reach to more diverse audiences across the globe requires a more focused SEO approach, one that’s innovative and tailored to your specific business needs. 

6 Innovative Techniques in Multilingual SEO for Global Reach

Here are 6 best practices for optimizing your multilingual website’s SEO parameters for global reach. 

1. Use Top-Level Domains for Countries Instead of Languages

A top-level domain (TLD) is the final part of your domain name after the root section, such as .com, .org, or.net. 

For multilingual sites, you can gain better regional reach by optimizing for the targeted country’s TLD rather than its primary language. This is because multiple countries speak the same languages, spreading the SEO reach too far and preventing accurate regional targeting. 

Let’s say you’re optimizing your site for audiences in France. Instead of using the domain mystore.com/fr/, which adds France’s two-letter abbreviation to a global TLD, you would use mystore.fr, which only uses France’s country code TLD (ccTLD). 

This targeted approach would limit reach to France, giving the site a tremendous SEO boost within the country. Ultimately, you’ll have multiple domains for all the regions you are targeting. 

2. Perform Localized Keyword Research

While doing keyword research for your chosen countries, you may be tempted to translate the relevant seed keyword via Google Translate or a similar translator tool. However, this method does not consider the words and phrases more commonly used by native speakers, significantly lowering your chances of ranking in other countries.

The solution is to localize the translation according to the country. You can do this by looking up how the native population says a particular key phrase or using a keyword research tool to see alternative keywords in that language. 

This technique should be used for all types of content, from writing homepage content for country-specific TLDs to uploading YouTube Shorts videos. Implementing keywords how they are used by native speakers will improve your global SEO reach.

This also helps with local link building since local publications and journalists are more likely to link to a site that understands their linguistic usage. 

3. Create Single-Language Web Pages

Using multiple language translations on a single page may seem like a positive user experience, but it will negatively impact your SEO. 

Search engines like Google match the URL to a single language on a page for search engine result page (SERP) listing purposes. So, having multiple languages will both confuse the search engine and cause your site to potentially be delisted. 

A better approach is to create a TLD for each target country and use its localized language for all content on that site. 

4. Check and Analyze Foreign SERPs

A good way to gain an understanding of foreign search habits is to analyze local SERPs in the countries you’re targeting. 

Since language translator tools are not advanced enough to factor in native language practices, you can’t simply trust your own local SERP analysis to apply in other countries via simple translation. 

The best way around this is to use a VPN and set it to the country you’re looking to reach. This will give you an accurate picture of what the native population of that country is searching for, allowing you to create and optimize for better key phrases. 

5. Perform Local Link Building

Link building is an essential part of SEO optimization, and it’s no different for multilingual sites. The only actual difference is that you can yield better results by performing local link building in target regions to get a stronger SEO boost. 

Google and other search engines treat backlinks as positive “votes” in favor of the websites they’re linking back to. However, the catch is that your backlinks must be from websites relevant to your niche and language. 

For example, if you sell beauty products and want to target the French market, earning a link from an accredited and trusted French beauty site would boost your SEO ranking. This will also present your business to potential customers in your niche. Hiring a link building agency is one of the most effective ways to build backlinks for various regions. 

6. Create a Multilingual SEO Strategy

A cohesive SEO strategy will bring every element of your multilingual SEO approach together, allowing you to replicate and scale at will. 

Here are some vital elements of a fundamental SEO strategy for global reach:

Step 1:

Find out which of your target countries generates the majority of your traffic. If you have an existing global reach, start optimizing for the country that has the most visitors to your site first. 

Step 2:

Decide between simply multilingual or fully multinational content for your websites. This decision will depend on your service scale and scope and whether your products/services differ from country to country. If not, focus on creating content in specific languages while keeping the language localized via native translation. 

It’s important to note that multinational content will become multilingual by default. The only distinction is that it’ll be crafted to suit the people of that specific country and cater to their unique needs. 

Step 3:

Implement hreflang attributes on the website to inform search engines of your website’s geographical targeting and location. This helps Google display the correct language-specific version of the website whenever someone from that specific country clicks on your site. 

Step 4:

Set up country-targeting protocols, such as avoiding duplicate content for different countries, changing HTML content based on the country, and adjusting pricing according to the true market rate of your local currency in the target country. 

AI-powered content generation is a good avenue to explore in this regard. Make sure to provide the right prompts in the language you’re trying to optimize for.  

Step 5:

Maintain regional compliance throughout the many versions of your website. Research each target country’s local laws and regulations to ensure you don’t offer anything that is not permitted or illegal. 

Step 6:

Plan out SEO audits in advance to ensure the website stays on track with the SEO strategy. 

Conclusion

Practicing multilingual SEO for a global audience demands innovation beyond the basics. In a marketplace saturated with competitors using similar SEO tactics, standing out requires not just adherence to best practices but also a willingness to explore untapped avenues and leverage unique insights about your target markets.

To truly excel in multilingual SEO, action is key. Start by evaluating your current strategies against the innovative practices shared. Implement changes where gaps are identified, and prioritize ongoing optimization to ensure your efforts align with the shifting online behaviors of your international audience.

The invitation is clear: assess, act, and adapt. By doing so, your business will secure its place on the global stage and set the foundation for sustained growth and connectivity with diverse markets worldwide. 

Featured article credit: Peachaya Tanomsup/Vecteezy.com