In a recent Google Search Central YouTube video, Martin Splitt from the Google Search team shared three SEO tips for multilingual websites.
The video focuses on three aspects of website internationalization:
Website structure
Hreflang attributes
Language selection
Here’s what Splitt advises when managing these three components.
1. Website Structure
Splitt discussed three ways to structure websites for international audiences:
Using local top-level domains (e.g., .de, .fr)
Implementing subdomains
Utilizing subdirectories
Splitt explained:
“The most common and recommended ways to deal with International sites is to either use local top level domains like .de or .it or so on, or use subdomains or subdirectories.”
He added that:
“each of these come with their own pros and cons, so make sure to pick carefully and pick whatever works best for your specific case.”
You can see the pros and cons he’s referring to in the screenshot below:
Screenshot from: YouTube.com/GoogleSearchCentral, October 2024.
2. Hreflang Attributes
The second tip revolves around the proper use of hreflang attributes.
These attributes help search engines understand the relationships between different language versions of a page.
Splitt outlined three key points:
Use valid language and country code combinations
Ensure all language variations link to each other
Include self-referential links for each language version
Splitt states:
“First things first, make sure the attributes are valid. Use valid language country code variations. And then make sure that all variations link to each other.
Last but not least, make sure to also include a self-referential link. For example, this German page references itself along with the English and Japanese versions.”
See the screenshot below for the example he’s referring to:
Screenshot from: YouTube.com/GoogleSearchCentral, October 2024.
Here are examples of valid use of attributes compared to an invalid use: