SEO for multilingual sites

With the rapid evolution of the digital world, businesses are increasingly recognizing the significance of reaching a global audience. However, implementing a successful global SEO strategy can be complex and daunting, particularly when navigating the complexity of multiple languages and cultural differences.

Why multilingual SEO matters

According to a report by Common Sense Advisory, 75% of consumers prefer to buy products in their native language, and 60% of global consumers rarely or never buy from English-only websites. This proves that investing in content localization, and the SEO to support it, is a beneficial way to grow your business. Benefits of proper multilingual SEO include:

Expanded customer base and increased revenue
Improved search visibility in local search engines
Reduced bounce rates from language mismatches
Increased time on page through localized content

URL structure strategies

Choose the right URL structure for your multilingual site:

Option 1: subdirectories (recommended)

example.com/en/about
example.com/es/about
example.com/de/about

Pros:

Easy to set up and maintain
Inherits domain authority
Simple analytics tracking

Cons:

Less perceived local relevance

Option 2: subdomains

en.example.com/about
es.example.com/about
de.example.com/about

Pros:

Can be hosted in different locations
Separate from main domain issues

Cons:

Treated as separate sites by Google
Requires building authority for each

Option 3: country-code TLDs (ccTLDs)

example.com/about (default)
example.es/about
example.de/about

Pros:

Strong geographic signal to search engines
High trust from local users

Cons:

Most expensive to maintain
Requires separate SEO efforts per domain

For most businesses, subdirectories offer the best balance of simplicity and SEO benefit. Use ccTLDs only if you have significant resources for each market.

Implementing hreflang tags

Hreflang tags tell search engines which language and regional version of a page to show users based on their location and language preferences.

Basic hreflang syntax

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://example.com/es/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/de/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page" />

Language-region codes

For regional targeting, use language-country codes:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/en-us/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/en-gb/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="https://example.com/es-es/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-mx" href="https://example.com/es-mx/page" />

The x-default tag

Always include an x-default tag for users whose language/region isn’t specifically targeted:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page" />

Implementation with ButterCMS

Create an SEO component that generates hreflang tags dynamically:

// React/Next.js example
function HreflangTags({ currentSlug, locales }) {
  const baseUrl = 'https://example.com';

  return (
    <Head>
      {locales.map(locale => (
        <link
          key={locale}
          rel="alternate"
          hreflang={locale}
          href={`${baseUrl}/${locale}/${currentSlug}`}
        />
      ))}
      <link
        rel="alternate"
        hreflang="x-default"
        href={`${baseUrl}/${currentSlug}`}
      />
    </Head>
  );
}

Content considerations

Keyword research per locale

Not all keywords translate directly. Luis Rodriguez, Head of SEO at Compare the Market, emphasizes: “Not all countries are the same. And I think that applies also to keywords. It will be perhaps simplistic to say that every keyword has an actual replacement in every language. I don’t think that’s the case.” The intent behind keywords can vary significantly depending on the cultural context, leading to different meanings.

Keyword strategy best practices

Research keywords in each target language - Don’t just translate
Understand local search behavior - Different markets use different search patterns
Analyze local competitors - See what terms they rank for
Consider cultural context - Same word may have different connotations

Example:

English: “cheap flights” (acceptable)
German: “günstige Flüge” (cheap) vs “billige Flüge” (low quality connotation)

Meta tags for multilingual content

Title tags

Keep to 50-60 characters
Include target keywords for that locale
Don’t just translate; optimize for local search intent

<!-- English -->
<title>Best CRM Software for Small Business | Brand</title>

<!-- Spanish -->
<title>Mejor Software CRM para Pequeñas Empresas | Brand</title>

<!-- German -->
<title>Beste CRM-Software für kleine Unternehmen | Brand</title>

Meta descriptions

150-160 characters
Include call-to-action appropriate for the culture
Localize, don’t just translate

Open Graph tags

Set locale-specific OG tags for social sharing:

<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
<meta property="og:locale:alternate" content="es_ES" />
<meta property="og:locale:alternate" content="de_DE" />

ButterCMS SEO Component Pattern

Create a reusable SEO component in your ButterCMS Page Types:

Component schema

SEO Component:
├── meta_title (Short Text)
├── meta_description (Long Text)
├── og_image (Media)
├── og_title (Short Text)
├── og_description (Long Text)
├── canonical_url (Short Text) [optional]
├── no_index (Checkbox)
└── structured_data (Long Text/JSON)

Fetching and rendering

// Fetch page with SEO component
const page = await butter.page.retrieve('landing_page', 'home', {
  locale: userLocale
});

const seo = page.data.data.fields.seo_component;

// Render in head
<Head>
  <title>{seo.meta_title}</title>
  <meta name="description" content={seo.meta_description} />

  {/* Open Graph */}
  <meta property="og:title" content={seo.og_title || seo.meta_title} />
  <meta property="og:description" content={seo.og_description || seo.meta_description} />
  <meta property="og:image" content={seo.og_image} />
  <meta property="og:locale" content={userLocale.replace('-', '_')} />

  {/* Hreflang */}
  {availableLocales.map(locale => (
    <link
      key={locale}
      rel="alternate"
      hreflang={locale}
      href={`${baseUrl}/${locale}/${slug}`}
    />
  ))}

  {/* Canonical */}
  {seo.canonical_url && <link rel="canonical" href={seo.canonical_url} />}

  {/* Robots */}
  {seo.no_index && <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow" />}
</Head>

Technical SEO checklist

Crawling & indexing

Hreflang tags on all localized pages
XML sitemaps for each locale (or combined with hreflang)
Canonical tags pointing to correct locale version
No duplicate content across locales without proper tags
Robots.txt allows crawling of all locale paths

Site structure

Consistent URL structure across locales
Language/region selector accessible from all pages
Internal links use proper locale paths
404 pages exist for each locale

Performance

CDN configured for global delivery
Images optimized for each region (if different)
Core Web Vitals meet standards for all locales

Content

Unique, localized title tags per page per locale
Unique, localized meta descriptions
Proper heading structure (H1, H2, etc.)
Alt text translated/localized for images

Common mistakes to avoid

Poor translation quality

Companies may rely only on automatic translation tools or inexperienced translators, resulting in poor quality translations that can damage the company’s reputation. Solution: Hire professional translators with subject matter expertise and review translations thoroughly for important content.

Ignoring local search behavior

Different markets search differently, both in terms of keywords and search engines used. Solution: Conduct thorough market research and engage with local experts.

Additional common mistakes

Forgetting hreflang on all pages - Every page needs tags, not just the homepage
Incorrect hreflang syntax - Use ISO 639-1 for language, ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 for country
Missing x-default - Always include a fallback
Auto-redirecting based on IP - Let users choose; use hreflang for search engines
Translating URLs literally - Sometimes translated URLs don’t make sense
Duplicate content without tags - Always use canonical or hreflang

Monitoring and analytics

Google Search Console

Set up separate properties for each locale/country
Monitor search performance by country
Check for hreflang errors in International Targeting report
Review indexed pages per locale

Google Analytics

Create views/segments per locale
Track bounce rate by locale
Monitor conversion rates per market
Set up goals specific to each region

Key metrics to track

Metric	Why It Matters
Organic traffic by locale	Growth indicator
Bounce rate by locale	Content relevance
Conversion rate by locale	Market fit
Page speed by region	UX performance
Ranking positions	Visibility

Resources

Building relationships with local SEO communities and leveraging their collective knowledge is invaluable. As Luis Rodriguez advises: “Reaching out and creating a network into the places that we want to be actively working is just something really healthy, not only for the projects or for the companies themselves, but also personally and professionally.”

​SEO for multilingual sites

​Why multilingual SEO matters

​URL structure strategies

​Option 1: subdirectories (recommended)

​Option 2: subdomains

​Option 3: country-code TLDs (ccTLDs)

​Implementing hreflang tags

​Basic hreflang syntax

​Language-region codes

​The x-default tag

​Implementation with ButterCMS

​Content considerations

​Keyword research per locale

​Keyword strategy best practices

​Meta tags for multilingual content

​Title tags

​Meta descriptions

​Open Graph tags

​ButterCMS SEO Component Pattern

​Component schema

​Fetching and rendering

​Technical SEO checklist

​Crawling & indexing

​Site structure

​Performance

​Content

​Common mistakes to avoid

​Poor translation quality

​Ignoring local search behavior

​Additional common mistakes

​Monitoring and analytics

​Google Search Console

​Google Analytics

​Key metrics to track

​Resources

SEO for multilingual sites

Why multilingual SEO matters

URL structure strategies

Option 1: subdirectories (recommended)

Option 2: subdomains

Option 3: country-code TLDs (ccTLDs)

Implementing hreflang tags

Basic hreflang syntax

Language-region codes

The x-default tag

Implementation with ButterCMS

Content considerations

Keyword research per locale

Keyword strategy best practices

Meta tags for multilingual content

Title tags

Meta descriptions

Open Graph tags

ButterCMS SEO Component Pattern

Component schema

Fetching and rendering

Technical SEO checklist

Crawling & indexing

Site structure

Performance

Content

Common mistakes to avoid

Poor translation quality

Ignoring local search behavior

Additional common mistakes

Monitoring and analytics

Google Search Console

Google Analytics

Key metrics to track

Resources