Are your customers worldwide able to find you when they search on the web? Possibly not…unless you have an SEO strategy for all your new markets.  

Multilingual SEO is more important than ever in today's global digital environment. It's important to understand the differences between the different kinds of multilingual SEO activities and the sequence in which they need to be completed. 

Let’s dig a little deeper into the ways that a multilingual SEO strategy can improve your web traffic, brand awareness, and revenue in new markets. 

Key activities involved in multilingual SEO

A basic technical SEO audit is the first step in identifying potential technical issues that could negatively impact the functionality and performance of your website (such as slow page speed, inadequate mobile adaptability, and more).

From here, an SEO plan is developed based on the audit's findings. It entails competitor analysis, keyword research, and suggestions for improving on-page content, creating engaging content, building links, and making other improvements to improve your search engine rankings.

The scope of multilingual SEO strategy consulting includes foreign specialists assisting you with the complexities of international SEO. This can mean working with regional marketing experts and offering continuing guidance on localized SEO for various languages.

There's more: multilingual keyword research, management, SEO authoring, and translation. The final outcome? Increased website traffic, allowing foreign visitors to find your solution on their own while they browse the internet. 

The Importance of Multilingual SEO

Businesses and organizations looking to reach a worldwide audience should prioritize multilingual SEO. It improves a website's visibility across several languages and geographical areas, drawing a variety of visitors and extending its market reach. The following are the main justifications for doing multilingual SEO: 

• Increasing Search Engine Visibility: 

Relevant and locally relevant material is given priority by search engines. By ensuring that content shows up in search results for inquiries in multiple languages, multilingual SEO contributes to increased visibility and organic traffic. 

• Increasing Global Reach and Tapping Into New Markets

Businesses can target a variety of linguistic and cultural markets with multilingual SEO, which enables them to reach a larger client base than they could have with a single language. This is especially crucial in areas where many different languages are spoken by the population. 

• Getting a Competitive Edge 

 A lot of businesses restrict their SEO initiatives to a certain language or area. A company might obtain a competitive advantage in unexplored or neglected markets by investing in multilingual SEO. 

Activities Involved in  Multilingual SEO 

Now that you understand the key concepts of multilingual SEO, let’s take a look at how to get the work done.  

• Keyword Localization: 

Researching and utilizing pertinent keywords in each target language is a significant component of multilingual SEO. This is not the same as translating keywords – which can often be a mistake since different words and terms are used in different locales. This entails not only translating keywords but also customizing them to the cultural background and search habits of the local area. 

• Technical Optimization: 

To inform search engines about the language and location of each page, multilingual SEO calls for the use of technical components like hreflang tags. This guarantees that the appropriate content is sent to the right audience and helps avoid problems with duplicate content. 

• URL Structure Management: 

This includes creating a subdomain or subdirectory structure for each language, as well as a clear and orderly URL structure. The multilingual information on the website is easier for visitors and search engines to explore and comprehend because of this layout. 

• Backlink Building in Multiple Languages: 

You may raise your website's authority and search rankings in multiple languages by obtaining backlinks from respectable websites in that language.

• Analytics and Performance Monitoring: 

Tracking traffic, rankings, and user behavior across multiple languages on a regular basis aids in evaluating the efficacy of the SEO strategy and implementing any required changes.

Approaching a multilingual marketing project with Alconost

If that sounds like a lot then we agree: yes, it’s complicated. But there are a few tips for getting it done efficiently.  

Pro tip for multilingual help: Hire local speakers who are in sync with the target country's time zone to provide individualized, case-specific support. If this is too expensive for you, consider automated options such as AI-powered self-help agents or chatbots that can speak multiple languages. Alternatively, create an extensive multilingual knowledge base that includes FAQs, how-to instructions, support documents, and other resources.

Expert advice for multilingual explainer videos: Voice-over translation is one method available for localizing explainer videos. If you can't afford the expense of hiring a professional voice actor for many languages right now, consider localized explainer films with subtitles in multiple languages. One significant benefit? With these subtitles, your message will be heard even if the video is muted—a familiar feeling for those of us who have watched silent videos on social media!

In addition to being easily installed, swiftly produced, and economical, subtitles are also simple to translate into other languages. Yes, SRT translations are really that easy to use when compared to other video localization alternatives! 

Furthermore, subtitle localization is considerably simpler if the subtitles are already in the original language because there is no need to repeat the transcription and synchronization steps. In order to have transcription and synchronization done just once and be able to translate video subtitles into as many languages as necessary,

Natalia Shuhman is an Alconost video marketing specialist.

Encouraging worldwide access to healthcare solutions via customized communication tactics

Effective localization is like a beacon in the healthcare industry, bringing much-needed answers to people who are in need. An actual example would be the Swiss medical technology company Aktiia, which aims to combat hypertension and improve cardiovascular health. 

Aktiia is a Swiss company that offers automated blood pressure monitoring. It was founded in 2018. Their medical technology is transforming the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension by empowering patients and healthcare professionals with insights into blood pressure patterns.  

The team at Aktiia decided to localize their marketing, mailings, and blogs in three important European languages: Italian, French, and German, in order to reach a wider audience. The objective was to stay clear about blood pressure monitoring while relating to different customer groups, speaking in an approachable tone, and avoiding anglicisms that would make things more difficult to grasp.

Alconost used Translation Memory and made sure a constant staff of translators was in place for the duration of the project to maintain a consistent tone of voice. Additionally, localization managers maintained constant contact with the client and asked clarifying questions in order to ensure accuracy when conveying medical jargon, all in an effort to deliver a service free from "communication hypertension." 😉❤️