The Internet connects people from all over the world, creating a lively platform where cultures and languages come together.
Around 60% of the world’s websites are in English, but only 25.9% of internet users are native English speakers.
For bloggers, this presents an opportunity to expand the circle of readers by going multilingual.
It may seem overwhelming at first, but it can significantly enhance your blog’s visibility and engagement levels.
Here are some simple guidelines to help you begin.
1. Understand Your Audience
First, let’s define your audience. Understanding your audience is one of the most important factors in creating a successful multilingual blog.
It’s imperative to research and discover which languages are most appropriate for your content and which areas are likely to experience the most growth.
Use analytical tools such as Google Analytics to identify the origin of your current traffic and the languages your readers speak.
This information will help you decide which languages to start with based on their prevalence.
Here’s how to do it:
- Use Google Analytics: Check the demographics and location reports to see where your traffic comes from and what languages your audience uses.
- Survey Your Readers: Conduct surveys or polls to ask your readers directly about their preferred languages.
2. Conduct Competitor Analysis
Look at your competitors who have already adopted a multilingual strategy.
Examine how they organize their content, what languages they use, and how they handle translations.
Manual searches on Google or other search engines can provide a detailed understanding of your competitors’ multilingual strategies.
Using a VPN to change your IP address can help you get search results from different regions. If you are not a user of the VPN service yet, you can find a reliable knowledge in this information source.
Here’s how to the competitor research:
- Manual Search: Use search engines to find competitors in your niche who have multilingual blogs.
- VPN Tools: Use VPN tools to access region-specific content and understand how competitors tailor their content for different audiences.
- Note Best Practices: Take notes on the languages used, the structure of their multilingual content, and any plugins or tools they mention.
3. Choose the Right Translation Method
When doing multilingual SEO, you need use translation services to deliver the best content to your audience in their languages:
When translating your content, you have several options:
- Manual Translation: This method ensures accuracy and cultural sensitivity since professional translators handle the content. However, it can be expensive and time-consuming.
- Automated Translation: Services like Google Translate or DeepL can quickly translate your content at a lower cost, but the results can sometimes be inaccurate or culturally insensitive.
- Hybrid Approach: Combine automated machine translation software with manual editing.. Start with an automated translation, then have a native speaker or professional translator refine it.
Keep this in mind when finding the translation methods:
- Evaluate Costs: Compare the costs of manual vs. automated translation for your budget.
- Test Automated Tools: Try out different automated translation tools to see which offers the best quality.
- Hire Editors: If you opt for a hybrid approach, hire native speakers or professional translators to review automated translations.
4. Implement a Multilingual Plugin
If you use a content management system like WordPress, several plugins can help you manage a multilingual blog. Popular options include WPML, Polylang, and Weglot.
These plugins allow you to create, manage, and present content in multiple languages. They also offer features like language selectors, translation controls, and SEO settings for each language.
Things you need to do when implementing a multilingual plugin:
- Research Plugins: Compare features of WPML, Polylang, and Weglot to find the best fit for your needs.
- Install and Configure: Install your chosen plugin and configure it to support your target languages.
- Test Functionality: Ensure that all language versions of your site are working correctly and that users can easily switch between them.
5. Optimize for Multilingual SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for the success of any multilingual blog. Here are some tips to optimize your content for multiple languages:
- Use Hreflang Tags: These tags help search engines identify the language and region of your content, ensuring it reaches the right audience.
- Create Separate URLs: Use different URLs for each language version of your content. You can use subdomains (e.g., fr.example.com) or subdirectories (e.g., example.com/fr) to differentiate between languages.
- Translate Meta Tags: Ensure all your meta titles, descriptions, and keywords are translated and optimized for the target language.
- Localize Content: Adapt your content to fit the culture and language of your target market. This includes using local proverbs, issues, and examples familiar to your readers.
Here are some steps to optimzing for multilingual SEO:
- Implement Hreflang Tags: Add hreflang tags to your site to indicate language and region.
- Structure URLs: Decide on a URL structure for your multilingual content and implement it.
- Translate SEO Elements: Translate and optimize meta titles, descriptions, and keywords for each language.
6. Monitor and Adapt
Starting a multilingual blog is an ongoing process. Continuously analyze your traffic, interaction, and user comments to identify areas for improvement. Use analytics tools to monitor your results and make informed decisions.
Regularly update your translations and adjust your content to keep it engaging and relevant.
Here’s how to monitor your multilingual SEO performance:
- Use Analytics Tools: Monitor your multilingual content’s performance using tools like Google Analytics.
- Gather Feedback: Encourage readers to provide feedback on your translations and content.
- Update Regularly: Keep your translations up to date and make adjustments based on user feedback and performance data.
Conclusion
Starting a multilingual blog is a way to expand the circle of the target audience and share ideas with people from different countries.
Thus, learning your audience, evaluating competitors, selecting the proper translation techniques, installing multilingual plugins, optimizing for SEO, and regularly assessing your results, it is possible to effectively grow your blog’s readership.
The lack of homogeneity in the audience should be embraced and instead of giving them low quality generic content, give them the best localized content they need.
