E-commerce

Most common SEO errors in multilingual e-commerce: how to recognize and avoid them5 min read

10 June 2021

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Most common SEO errors in multilingual e-commerce: how to recognize and avoid them5 min read

Recognizing and avoiding SEO errors in a multilingual e-commerce is a successful online selling prerogative. When you decide to expand your target beyond the borders of your country of origin, you can often run into slips that could harm your business.

SEO errors in multilingual e-commerce

Take as an example an e-commerce that was born for the Italian market, and then expand elsewhere and then turn into multilingual. Having an English-language site is not the key to having an important economic return, there are several variables to take into account.

At the strategy level, to avoid SEO errors in this type of website, we start from understanding search engines. We all know which is the most famous of these, well it is not the most used in the world: it only has a high share of appreciation in European and American markets, but there are many other search engines to consider.

E-commerce: choosing a language

In choosing the language to be used for e-commerce that extends beyond national borders, it is essential to take into account also the countries in which this language is spoken. Consequently, by informing yourself through market analysis, the next step will be to identify the most used search engines from the target foreign market.

This strategic detail helps us to become aware of any competitors, who can jump to the eye on one or other search engine. By crossing the results, we will be able to get a more complete picture of the situation as well as understand how a product is searched through which keywords.

Strategic tools

There are several online tools, managed by experienced online business companies, that allow you to view how a product is searched in the case of multilingual e-commerce. To do this, simply specify the country of production and its spoken language, the keyword related to the product and the country you want to analyze.

Same talk to find competitors: there are many software and tools that offer a panorama of the current market, taking into account the demand for a given product and beyond.

Multilingual e-commerce and keyword

Another element that should not run into SEO errors in multilingual e-commerce is the keyword, or keyword. From an SEO perspective, the choice is the basis of a good ranking in search engines, therefore greater visibility for the business without excluding important market slices for linguistic errors. The keyword, of course, must be repeated in the Title and meta description of the product in order to be able to insert itself in all web searches.

Which to use, in case of expansion of the sale outside the country of origin? To find the right one, it is important to take a step back especially in case you want to place on the US market. There are two types of English: British English and American English, both of which have linguistic differences to consider.

Multilingual e-commerce and keyword

Another element that should not run into SEO errors in multilingual e-commerce is the keyword, or keyword. From an SEO perspective, the choice is the basis of a good ranking in search engines, therefore greater visibility for the business without excluding important market slices for linguistic errors. The keyword, of course, must be repeated in the Title and meta description of the product in order to be able to insert itself in all web searches.

Which to use, in case of expansion of the sale outside the country of origin? To find the right one, it is important to take a step back especially in case you want to place on the US market. There are two types of English: British English and American English, both of which have linguistic differences to consider.

The language spoken in the United States, for example, differs from that spoken in the UK in about 4,000 words and spelling. Same speech for French, being a language spoken in France, Canada and parts of Switzerland, with some differences.

Web localization and URL

With regard to web localization there are two solutions: to fully translate the site or create different versions, thus also differentiating the URL. For example, if the site of our e-commerce was born as a “.it” domain, there will be no visibility outside of Italy unless the user types the full URL. In this case, it is essential to buy a domain “.com” or otherwise international by operating redirects page by page, otherwise you always find yourself on home page.

The “hreflang” tag

To inform the search engine that a site is intended for a language-speaking audience, the “hreflang” tag (for example) comes into play. Whether the site is divided into different folders or domains and subdomains such as .it or .com, this tag makes search engines discoverable as multilingual e-commerce by recipient.

Put simply, the page in Italian must link the page in English and vice versa, to demonstrate the will to position itself correctly on the foreign market. Again, we are not protected from any errors, as hreflang links can be wrong or have conflicts in source code, as well as in the hreflang values entered.

 

 

 

Contents

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