What is SEO Localization?  

Looking to secure global search engine traffic? To help with your expansion efforts, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with SEO localization.  

In short, SEO localization involves optimizing your website content for different target markets. When executed successfully, you can achieve higher search engine rankings and secure more visits from the right users.  

Expanding into international markets requires more than just translating your website into different languages. SEO localization is about making sure your content resonates with local audiences while remaining discoverable by search engines. That means catering to the search habits, cultural requirements, and user preferences of every market you’re looking to target. 

Why is SEO localization important?  

More traffic, better leads, and increased conversions 

By making your website discoverable in multiple languages, you can significantly increase your reach and boost brand awareness in new markets. 

According to one survey, around 55% of consumers will only buy from websites that offer product information in their native language. If you’re looking to appeal to this 55%, increase traffic, and secure a higher ROI, it makes sense to invest in a localized SEO strategy.  

Furthermore, with your reach extended and brand awareness raised, you’ll enjoy more leads, and ultimately, conversions.  

A cost-effective alternative to paid search  

Securing and maintaining a high SERP (search engine results page ranking) ranking can take time and effort, but aside from the time spent on SEO housekeeping, there’s no real cost involved.  

Even if you have the budget to invest in paid search, it’s best not to rely entirely on paid search to gain trust and traffic in your target market. Investing time and energy into an effective SEO strategy in your target market will help you save costs in the long run while still achieving your website visits, brand awareness, and revenue goals.  

Combat high bounce rates  

If consumers land on your website and find content in a language they don’t understand, it’s likely that you’ll experience a high bounce rate. The average bounce rate for a B2C website is around 45%. However, bounce rates can be as high as 70%. If you want to reduce bounce rates and encourage longer visit times, localized SEO is the way to go. 

Enhance user experience 

Localized content is tailored to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of your target market. This creates a more personalized user experience, which translates into higher engagement rates and customer satisfaction.  

When users find content that speaks their language—literally and figuratively—they are more likely to interact with it, stay longer on your site, and ultimately convert. This includes everything from local idioms and slang to culturally relevant images and examples, making your website feel more relatable and trustworthy to the user.  

By offering a seamless user experience that considers local customs and expectations, you build stronger relationships with your audience, laying the groundwork for long-term success. 

Gain a competitive advantage  

Carving out a piece of a new market can be difficult if you’re struggling against many competitors. A localized website can grant you a significant competitive advantage, making your brand instantly more attractive to would-be customers.  

Localizing your website’s SEO goes beyond using the right keywords; it also includes meta tags, URLs, and even server locations. Higher local search engine rankings directly lead to increased visibility and traffic. For example, if you’re targeting audiences in Japan, hosting your website on a server located in Japan can improve load times and search rankings on local search engines like Yahoo Japan.  

Additionally, localizing meta descriptions and image alt texts can significantly boost your site’s SEO by aligning it more closely with local search criteria. The more localized your approach, the better positioned you are to achieve higher rankings and, as a result, attract more organic traffic from your target regions. 

Best practices: how to localize content for SEO 

Now you know why SEO localization is so important, but how do you do it? Here are some of our top tips: 

• Research your target market’s language, culture, and search behaviors to tailor your localization efforts effectively. 

• Conduct keyword research with tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs, considering local context and colloquial terms. 

• Localize meta titles, descriptions, and URLs to optimize for local search terms and cultural relevance. 

• Use Google Trends and market research to understand popular topics and the broader context of your audience. 

• Incorporate local holidays, festivals, and political climates to make your content relevant and timely. 

Think locally when conducting keyword research  

Keyword research is crucial for any SEO strategy, and localization is no exception. Remember, direct translations of keywords seldom work; always consider the local context. For instance, while “house” may be a common search term in English-speaking countries, the equivalent term in another language might have a completely different connotation or less search volume. 

Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find high search volume terms in your target market. Look for local colloquialisms and long-tail keywords that resonate locally. Focus group studies and interviews with native speakers can provide additional insights into the phrases and terms your target audience uses, ensuring your keywords are relevant and effective. 

To keep up with the competition, you’ll also want to tackle competitor keywords. Location-specific keywords are also crucial when undertaking SEO localization, so give them priority once research gets underway. 

Use your translated keywords to create localized content 

Weaving keywords into content after the fact isn’t advisable. Instead, have your chosen keywords translated and ready to go before localized content is created. Having your keywords prepared will also help you avoid wasting time and resources on crafting content that isn’t going to resonate with your target audience. When you put out relevant and relatable content that’s been carefully curated for your target audience, it’s far more likely to perform well. 

Consider local search behavior  

The way people search and browse varies between countries. For example, in some parts of the world, mobile search accounts for more web traffic than desktop. You’ll also want to consider search engine preferences. Google might be the chosen search engine in the Western world but in China, Baidu dominates the search engine market share. Algorithms vary slightly between search engines, so bear this in mind when creating content. 

Don’t underestimate the power of backlinks  

Backlinks are invaluable for SEO in any respect and can seriously improve your international SEO endeavors. Naturally, you’ll want to secure backlinks from local sites for relevance. You can engage potential backlink opportunities directly or think about utilizing guest posts.  

Use glossaries to maintain consistency  

To help preserve your brand voice, use a glossary to bolster your SEO localization efforts. A good glossary should be an evolving document, so encourage linguists to continuously add to it as they use new keywords and important terms. Glossaries and style guides not only help shape your tone of voice but can also speed up the translation and localization process when creating content later.  

Localize meta tags and URLs 

Effective SEO localization strategies localize every type of content, from imagery and graphics to metadata. Elements like meta titles, descriptions, and URLs play a significant role in search engine rankings and user clicks. Ensure that they are optimized for local search terms and reflect the cultural context of your audience.  

For example, Japanese users may respond more favorably to URLs that include Romanized Japanese words or Katakana, whereas a user in Germany might expect clear and descriptive URLs in German.  

Additionally, culturally relevant meta descriptions can drastically improve click-through rates by making your search listings more appealing and relevant to local users. Ensuring that every touchpoint aligns with local expectations can significantly enhance both your SEO and user engagement.  

What’s the difference between SEO translation and SEO localization? 

Although both are tied to translation, SEO translation and SEO localization are two distinct processes, each with their own unique objectives. Need help making sense of the differences between SEO translation and localization? We’ve got you covered.  

SEO translation 

With SEO translation, you’re essentially translating content from one language into another. The ultimate goal of SEO translation is to ensure that translated content can be comprehended in every target language. The audience for SEO translations is broad, covering entire geographic areas. However, it typically fails to capture regional nuances and local language variations. Another shortfall of SEO translation is that it doesn’t take local search behavior and preferences into account.  

Along with language proficiency, those working on translations also need insight into SEO. Translators must adapt content for a human audience and ensure content caters to search engine algorithms. This means prioritizing SEO elements like keywords, tags, titles, and more.  

SEO localization  

SEO localization is a far more involved process, with content heavily adapted to best fit the cultural requirements and search habits of a target market. In the case of SEO, the aim of localization is to increase local search visibility and improve user experience. While SEO translations focus on a broad audience, SEO localization acknowledges the different demographics that make up a target market. What’s more, local search preferences and algorithms are considered, with content optimized accordingly.  

SEO localization can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Imagine the source content is a marketing campaign, rich in metaphors and colloquialisms. A direct translation of these would only perplex a new audience, so they need to be removed and replaced with something more culturally relevant and relatable. 

Need support with SEO localization?  

If you’re serious about international expansion, don’t make SEO localization an afterthought. When handled effectively, SEO localization can increase traffic, reduce bounce rates, and boost leads and conversions. If you’re working on a limited budget, it’s also a far more effective strategy than throwing money at paid search.  

Keen to climb to the top of the rankings? By prioritizing SEO localization, dominating international SERPs is easier than you think. Local keyword research is massively important when undertaking SEO localization. You’ll need to find relevant keywords and ensure translations are on point before you can even think about creating content for a new market.  

BLEND’s SEO localization and translation services can help you identify local search behavior, conduct keyword research, backlink analysis, and translate your website content with SEO in mind.

To learn more about what BLEND can do for you, get in touch with the team today.  

Liraz Postan

Liraz is an International SEO and Content Expert with over 13 years of experience.

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