Aug 7 2024
Using AI Tools For Global Websites Operation And Management via @sejournal, @motokohunt

Running and maintaining global websites is not an easy task.

The good news is there are new AI tool solutions available that ease some of the work that goes into website management as well as assisting with SEO efforts.

AI technology is advancing rapidly and has been adopted into different work streams and all areas of marketing.

However, AI is not perfect and still needs refinements and human interaction. But that should not stop us from exploring and testing it out.

Here are ways you can benefit from AI to make your work with global websites more efficient and productive in areas including content, SEO, research, and management.

Global Website Content

Creating relevant content and publishing it on multiple websites in different languages requires plenty of resources. This is one of the big challenges and unavoidable tasks with global websites.

Content Translation and Localization

In the past, I always advised against using machine translation to translate original content to other languages. I hadn’t found any translation tools that produced satisfactory quality output, especially for Asian languages.

I’ve been testing different AI-powered translation tools lately and found their quality to be much improved. However, it is still not the same quality as the work of skilled human translators.

My suggestion is to use the AI tools as “go-between” solutions. Because this is one area where a lack of resources (both manpower and budget) holds the entire project back, I think it’s worth a try.

Text Translation And Localization

Let the AI tools handle the initial translation work. It still needs to be edited by humans, especially if the content covers specific industry knowledge, but at least it is in the correct language.

Before you deploy it site-wide, create the prompt based on several tests.

Prioritize the content (by type, category, dates, etc.) for human editing.

Duplicate Content

Use AI to check for duplicate content in the CMS. You can then decide whether to keep or kill reported content.

Having duplicate content is not necessarily a negative issue. Many global websites have content in the same language but each targeting a different country.

In this case, AI tools can help quickly localize the content for each target country by changing the spelling, currency, measurements, addresses, etc.

Image ALT Text Creation And Translation

The image ALT tag has been overlooked for many years. Many websites don’t use it.

Even if the main site uses it, the regional sites don’t have translated text in ALT tags. There are multiple solutions available now with AI tools baked into the image file management systems.

Some use Google’s Vision API to identify the key elements of an image and create appropriate text for the image to be auto-localized.

User Generated Content (UGC) Translation:

Because of the nature of the UGC, it is a huge challenge to translate the content as it is created.

The machine translation with an AI-powered review process is perhaps the best option out there.

Content Creation

Having content that is designed for the target audience in a specific country/region is one of the keys to a successful business.

You sometimes see a small company beat a large corporation in the online realm because a small business has an advantage in its deeper understanding of its local audience.

With the AI-assisted research project, you could quickly identify content gaps and content that satisfies the local audience’s needs.

Content Topic And Opportunity Research

AI tools can help shorten your local audience research process. It can identify the locally unique search demand and different types of information people look for in different countries or regions.

The research may also be used to identify the content gap between your site and competitor sites and give you an idea for locally unique FAQ content. You may also learn that unpopular items on the main site could perform much better in another country.

Other Ways To Improve Content

Localized Images

Images on websites support the understanding of products, corporate messages, and more. You may want to replace some images with more acceptable ones in some countries.

For example, create images with Asian models for websites targeting Asian countries.

Video Transcription And Translation

Transcribing the videos and translating them are other items I often see on the to-do list, but they are always pushed down on the priority list.

International SEO

In addition to content-related work, AI tools can support other international SEO action items.

From the technical SEO standpoint, AI tools can help in many areas, including the below:

  • Hreflang tag URL mapping review.
  • Tags and codes auto-generation review – language tag, title tag, meta description, canonical tag, etc.
  • Schema markup review.
  • Finding broken or unnecessary codes.

Depending on the size of the websites, these tasks could take many resource hours, especially for multinational and multilingual sites. With the help of AI tools, you can focus on improving the sites rather than finding them.

You can also let the AI tool analyze site crawl reports to find patterns in broken links and broken redirects and even suggest where to set redirects based on relevance and other technical SEO issues across the sites.

Data Analysis And Global Website Management

If you manage global websites or international SEO work, you know how important it is to have the same data points, KPIs, report templates, and best practice guidelines across countries.

Strengthen the governance of your global website management with AI tools.

Example Tasks

  • Add visualization of data in the performance reports.
  • Competitors analysis in each country and language.
  • Research local regulations.
  • Create visualization of task process and guidelines.
  • Audience analysis to create local personas.

Conclusion

We should embrace technologies such as AI tools to make our work more efficient and cost-effective. However, remember that AI tools are supporting tools and should not completely replace the work of humans.

As mentioned previously, AI tools are not perfect, and you should not let them auto-run. It is important to test the quality of their output prior to deployment.

Because of its dynamic learning capability, you want to test and improve prompts, requirements, etc., especially at the beginning.

Human reviews should be part of the process, and the settings should be updated or modified as needed.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Fah Studio 27/Shutterstock

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Jul 29 2024
Google May Rely Less On Hreflang, Shift To Auto Language Detection via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

In the latest episode of Google’s “Search Off The Record” podcast, a member of the Search Relations team suggested that Google may be moving towards automatically detecting language versions of web pages, potentially reducing the need for manual hreflang annotations.

Google’s Stance On Automatic Language Detection

Gary Illyes, a Google analyst, believes that search engines should rely less on annotations like hreflang and more on automatically learned signals.

Illyes stated during the podcast:

“Ultimately, I would want less and less annotations, site annotations, and more automatically learned things.”

He argued that this approach is more reliable than the current system of manual annotations.

Illyes elaborated on the existing capabilities of Google’s systems:

“Almost ten years ago, we could already do that, and this was what, almost ten years ago.”

Illyes emphasized the potential for improvement in this area:

“If, almost ten years ago, we could already do that quite reliably, then why would we not be able to do it now.”

The Current State Of Hreflang Implementation

The discussion also touched on the current state of hreflang implementation.

According to data cited in the podcast, only about 9% of websites currently use hreflang annotations on their home pages.

This relatively low adoption rate might be a factor in Google’s consideration of alternative methods for detecting language and regional targeting.

Potential Challenges & Overrides

While advocating for automatic detection, Illyes acknowledged that website owners should be able to override automatic detections if necessary.

He conceded, “I think we should have overrides,” recognizing the need for manual control in some situations.

The Future Of Multilingual SEO

While no official changes have been announced, this discussion provides insight into the potential future direction of Google’s approach to multilingual and multi-regional websites.

Stay tuned for any official updates from Google on this topic.

What This Means For You

This potential shift in Google’s language detection and targeting approach could have significant implications for website owners and SEO professionals.

It could reduce the technical burden of implementing hreflang annotations, particularly for large websites with multiple language versions.

The top takeaways from this discussion include the following:

  1. It’s advisable to continue following Google’s current guidelines on implementing hreflang annotations.
  2. Ensure that your multilingual content is high-quality and accurately translated. This will likely remain crucial regardless of how Google detects language versions.
  3. While no immediate changes are planned, be ready to adapt your SEO strategy if Google moves towards more automatic language detection.
  4. If you’re planning a new multilingual site or restructuring an existing one, consider a clear and logical structure that makes language versions obvious, as this may help with automatic detection.

Remember, while automation may increase, having a solid understanding of international SEO principles will remain valuable for optimizing your global web presence.

Listen to the full podcast episode below:

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Jul 29 2024
Google Insights: Can Incorrect Hreflang Tags Hurt SEO? via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

In a recent episode of Google’s Search Off The Record podcast, Gary Illyes, a Google’s Search Relations team member, addressed concerns about incorrect hreflang implementation and its potential impact on SEO.

Hreflang Errors: Less Problematic Than Expected?

During the discussion, Illyes was asked about the consequences of mismatched hreflang annotations and actual page content.

Specifically, he addressed scenarios where a page might be incorrectly labeled as one language while containing content in another.

Illyes stated:

“As far as I remember, I worked on the parsing implementation plus the promotion implementation of hreflang, and back then, it didn’t cause problems.”

However, he also noted that his direct experience with this was from around 2016, adding the following:

“That’s a few years back… since then, we changed so many things that I would have to check whether it causes problems.”

Language Demotion & Country Promotion

Providing further context, Illyes explained Google’s approach to language and country relevance:

“When I spelled out LDCP, I said the language demotion country promotion. So, for example, if someone is searching in German and your page is in English, then you would get a negative demotion in the search results.”

This suggests that while incorrect hreflang implementation might not directly cause problems, the actual language of the content still plays a vital role in search relevance.

Exceptions To Language Matching

Interestingly, Illyes pointed out that there are exceptions to strict language matching:

“It’s less relevant to the query to the person unless you are searching for something like ‘how do you spell banana’… Because then it doesn’t really matter… well no it does… it still matters but… because you’re searching for something in English, so we would think okay you want some page that explains how to spell banana in English, not German.”

What This Means For You

Understanding how Google handles hreflang and language mismatches can help inform international SEO strategies.

While Google’s systems appear to be somewhat forgiving of hreflang errors, the actual language of the content remains a key factor in search relevance.

Here are the top takeaways:

  1. While incorrect hreflang implementation may not directly penalize your site, it’s still best practice to ensure your annotations accurately reflect your content.
  2. The actual language of your content appears to be more important than hreflang annotations for search relevance.
  3. For specific queries, like spelling or language-learning topics, Google may be more flexible in presenting content in various languages.

As Illyes noted, Google’s systems have changed over time. Continue to monitor official Google documentation and announcements for the most up-to-date best practices in international SEO.

Listen to the full podcast episode below:

Featured Image: Longfin Media/Shutterstock

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Jun 25 2024
How To Leverage Trust To Boost Your International Expansion via @sejournal, @gemmafontane

E-E-A-T is a mix of factors that help Google determine if the content is relevant and helpful for users in order to prioritize it in their search results.

In recent articles, we covered how to leverage Experience, Authority, and Expertise to boost a company’s international strategy.

However, there is still one very important area to cover within the E-E-A-T family: Trust. Although it is the last one we approached, it is certainly not the least important. Quite the contrary.

As Google’s search quality rater guidelines indicate, Trust, which considers the extent to which the page is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable, is the most important member at the center of E-E-A-T.

No matter how experienced, expert, or authoritative a website is, if it is untrustworthy, it will have low E-E-A-T.

trust-eeat-235Image from Google’s search quality rater guidelines, May 2024

Showing trust is incredibly relevant for “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics. These are the ones that can have a significant impact on an individual’s or society’s health, finances, safety, security, knowledge, or well-being.

But what happens when we want to create international strategies? How can we leverage E-E-A-T to boost our international expansion and especially show that we are honest and reliable to users from all around the world?

Let’s discover some detailed actions that can be implemented to achieve these international results.

How To Show Trust To Users From All Around The World

Accessibility And Usability

One of the first steps in trying to sell a product or service internationally is to ensure that users in each region can properly access the site.

This means the website must be fast, secure, display correctly, and be usable for them. It should allow users to easily search for relevant information and purchase the product or service.

International Brand Name

Beyond making the site accessible, it is also highly recommended that consumers can find the brand easily.

Whenever possible, it is advisable to have an “international” brand or domain name that is easy to remember, spell, and look for online for users from any country worldwide, even though they don’t speak the local language.

Localization: The Key Element To Show Trust

Localization is fundamental to demonstrating to users from different regions around the world that your site is reliable and trustworthy. Each country, language, or region has its singularities.

We cannot try to sell our product with the same message and strategies to users from all target markets, as we won’t transmit enough confidence for them to see that we are the most expert, experienced, and authoritative website in our sector.

For this, when we want to sell internationally, it is very important to:

  • Analyze the languages spoken in each region to evaluate how and if it is a priority to include them on the website.
  • Transcribe, not just translate. The knowledge users have about our products or services may differ in each region. Therefore, it is key to adapt the message to each market.
  • Make sure that the language is displayed by default when users search for it from their location. That’s why it is very important a proper translation, and also an hreflang configuration on the site.
  • Understand the local buying habits of the product or service in the region and the cultural customs with its use.
  • Study how users search for products or services to define the best type of content to create: text, videos (e.g., tutorials or how-to’s), images (e.g., demonstrating and teaching the product’s use).

For example, when we look for the keywords “Tió de Nadal” or “Caga Tió” – which have the same meaning – a local Christmas tradition celebrated in Catalonia, Spain, the results and the type of message we have to create are for local users.

Surely, this type of search will have an informational purpose, but it can also be transactional since the tradition is already well-known in the country.

tio de nadal: Google search resultsScreenshot from search for [tio de nadal], Google, May 2024

On the other hand, if we search for the same in the United States, the keyword will have a more informational aim since users are not so used to the tradition, and with this type of search, what they want to discover is more information about this custom, before seeing transactional results.

So, the type of content will be more descriptive.

Ssearch for caga tio: GoogleScreenshot from search for [caga tio], Google, May 2024

For all these reasons, it is essential to geolocate content in each region in order to transmit sufficient confidence to potential customers.

Transmit That You Are The Safest Site

One of the main factors that can make selling on an international scale difficult is failing to demonstrate that the website is sufficiently secure.

We must remember that when a user buys one of our products, they will not be able to make physical claims regarding legal aspects, reimbursements, etc. Therefore, it is essential to accurately and properly communicate all aspects related to payment methods and shipping so users know that we are a reliable, safe, and trustworthy site.

To achieve this, it is highly recommended to:

  • Include the currency of each country on the product page.
  • Incorporate the most common payment methods used in each country. Whether it is by credit card, Bizum, or PayPal, we should include not only the payment methods we are accustomed to but also those familiar to users in the target region.
  • Detail the shipping system. From delivery time to return conditions, shipping company, and tracking code, we must provide all necessary information to instill confidence in a person who may live thousands of miles from where the products are located.
Credit card option on websiteScreenshot from author, May 2024

Tell Who You Are With A Detailed “About Us” Page

For companies with a local focus, explaining who they are is very important. When selling on an international scale, it becomes essential.

We have to consider that the user who wants to buy our product or service may not have any prior knowledge of the business, the product we sell, or who we are.

That’s why we need to create a highly detailed “About Us” page, including information such as:

  • Company location and origins, with images or videos.
  • The manufacturing process and product creation details.
  • Detailed information about the team members, including links to other platforms, if possible, such as social networks.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter through awards, certifications, quality seals, etc.
  • Include ratings and opinions from third parties.
About us pageScreenshot from author, May 2024

Reliable Customer Service

Finally, to encourage users to purchase a product or service on an international website, it is essential to demonstrate that there is reliable customer service.

We need to communicate that there are real people behind the website.

To show reliable customer service on a site, some actions we can take include:

  • Include a FAQ page with a focus on international questions, such as those regarding international shipping.
  • Provide direct and human contact options. Whether via chat, WhatsApp, phone, or email, offering users the opportunity to get their questions or doubts answered quickly by a human representative will help build confidence.
  • Include your location. Link it with Google My Business, complete with a detailed profile including images and information.
  • Display reviews of your customer service on your site so users can see the experiences of others.
FAQs about international deliveryScreenshot from author, May 2024

Link To Other Platforms And Sites

Finally, another action we can implement to build trust with users from around the world is to show them that we have profiles on other social networks and demonstrate how others talk about us.

To do this, we can:

  • Create and link to other social network profiles.
  • Get mentions from local influencers or sector leaders.
  • Get featured on local relevant websites.
  • Get listed on relevant directories in our sector.
Caga Tio YouTube videoScreenshot from YouTube, May 2024

Leverage Trust To Boost International Strategies

Trust is very important for YMYL topics.

However, we shouldn’t forget how important it is in other sectors or sites, such as for when we want to sell internationally.

Showing that a site is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable is also a key element in building trust with users worldwide – along with showcasing that we have experience, authority, and expertise related to our sector, products, and service.

More resources: 

Featured Image: BRO.vector/Shutterstock

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