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Translating your website opens it to new markets, but only if people searching in those languages can find it. Search engines need clear signals about which page serves which language and region.
Pick a URL Structure
Each language should have its own URL. The three common options are:
| Structure | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Subdirectory | example.com/pt/ | Easiest to manage, shares domain authority |
| Subdomain | pt.example.com | Separate hosting is possible |
| Country domain | example.pt | Strongest regional signal, most expensive |
Avoid serving different languages on the same URL based on cookies or browser settings. Search engines crawl without either, so they only ever see one version.
Add hreflang Tags
hreflang tells search engines that pages are translations of each other. Every version should list all the others, including itself:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/pricing" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="pt-PT" href="https://example.com/pt/pricing" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/pricing" />
The x-default entry is the page to show when no language matches.
Localize, Do Not Just Translate
People search with different words in different countries. Before translating a key page:
- Research the terms people actually use in the target market.
- Translate titles and meta descriptions, not only the body text.
- Adapt examples, currencies, and units to the region.
A literal translation of your best keyword can have almost no search volume in another language.
Keep the Technical Basics in Order
- List every language version in your XML sitemap.
- Give each page a canonical URL that points to itself, not to the English version.
- Translate image alt text and file names where it makes sense.
- Make sure translated pages are linked from somewhere, such as a language switcher.
Measure Each Market Separately
Track rankings and traffic per language. A page that performs well in English may need different keywords, or simply more time, to rank in a new market.
Multilingual SEO is mostly about clarity: one URL per language, clear signals between versions, and content written for how each audience searches.
