Do You Make These 8 Multilingual SEO Mistakes

The world is gradually becoming closely knit all thanks to modern technology. Today, unlike a couple of years back, you can take part in international trade from the comfort of your couch. Going international has its many benefits as well as consequences. One of its challenges is the daunting job of rolling out multilingual or multiregional search engine optimization.

If you are dealing with multilingual SEO, then you are managing a complex internet site technique that serves not just one but numerous languages and locations. Fortunate for you, most everything you may need to know about Multilingual SEO is listed in this article. Read on to discover some mistakes to be avoided – like a plague.

SEE ALSO: 7 Small But Effective Search Engines You Must Know

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8 Mistakes To Be Avoided in Multilingual SEO

Thinking that all markets use same keywords
Different markets have different tastes and preferences and just the fact that market A is fond of using certain keywords does not necessarily mean that market B will also use the same. Well, this may seem like an obvious case but the harsh truth is that many of us continue to make this mistakes year in year out. Our advice – If you are planning to roll out SEO for a new market, make sure to do some good research; this will in turn enable you to choose the most appropriate keywords that are in tandem with its needs.

Not doing as the Romans do when you go to Rome – Literary
Yet another common mistake of rolling out multilingual SEO is disregarding your market’s cultures, norms, language sensitivity and nuances. You don’t want to appear too out of touch with the needs of the market by using translation tools to duplicate your content and keywords. We recommend that you hire a local person to help you with research and most importantly to draft your content.

Overlooking other search engines
There are many search engines out there and unlike in America where Google and Yahoo are the dominant duo, the likes of South Korea, China and Russia read from slightly different scripts. For instance, South Korea uses Naver, China Baidu and Russia Yandex. While different search engines have varying indexing procedures, it is important to get acquainted with the modalities of using what the locals use. Make sure to consult an expert on this.

Investing in Geo-target without prioritizing local assurance
Avoid using wholly localized domain while targeting foreign markets. While it may be convenient to use say one .com domain for all your stations, you might end up getting it all wrong especially as far as creating a level of familiarity and assurance amongst customers is concerned. We recommend investing in sub-directory domains for each international market site. If your domestic domain is for instance co.au you should consider acquiring a country-specific TLD.

Not taking time to understand local market trends
If you really want to succeed in multilingual SEO in a foreign nation, then be sure to take time to get acquainted with the way the locals use web and social media. Different regions of the world have different behaviors as far as using internet is concerned. A good example is Korea where blogs are the predominant tool. Remember you have to sing by the tune of the locals at all times.

Not investing in new links
Just that you have rich links back home does not mean that you are going to remain as competitive while trading in the international market. Your job is cut out for you – invest in high quality links. By links we mean links that are valuable in the context of the market you are targeting. Get in touch with local bloggers and webmasters to obtain suitable links.

Using Cookie based language selectors
It is not ideal to use on-site languages selectors that rely on cookies as most search engines, such as Google, cannot read them. So if you were considering using this alternative, kindly scrap it off your list.

Forgetting to update webmaster tools
Last but definitely not least is failing to utilize webmaster tools effectively. Given that these are the tools that help Google understand what language your site is targeting, it is extremely important that you keep updating them so they don’t disappoint you.

Now that you know what to do and what not to do, it is our sincere hope that your multilingual SEO is going to be an exponential success.