SEO for a company operating in several countries has additional technical complexities on top of local SEO. Getting it right allows you to capture traffic in each relevant market. Getting it wrong can penalise rankings even in the main market.
Architecture decisions
Subdirectories (empresa.com/es/, empresa.com/en/): the most common option and the easiest to implement. Domain authority is shared across languages.
Subdomains (es.empresa.com, en.empresa.com): more separation but authority is not shared as efficiently.
ccTLD (empresa.es, empresa.fr): best for local SEO in each country, but requires building authority from scratch on each domain.
For most businesses, subdirectories are the correct option.
Hreflang: the element with the most errors
The hreflang attribute tells Google which version of a page to show to users of each language or region. Common errors:
- Non-reciprocal hreflang: the ES page points to EN but EN does not point to ES
- Incorrect codes: using "es-ES" when it should be "es" or vice versa
- Hreflang pointing to URLs that redirect or do not exist
- Forgetting x-default for users outside specific markets
A well-implemented hreflang avoids duplicate content between language versions and improves geographical targeting.
Localised content vs translated content
Literal translation: the same content in another language. Sufficient for technical documentation.
Localisation: adaptation of content to the local market. Cultural references, examples, and use cases all change. This is what you need for competitive SEO in each market.
Original content per market: the ideal but most costly option. Each market has its own content that addresses its specific problems.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming that translating URLs is enough without localising the content
- Using Google Translate for SEO (Google detects machine translation and penalises it)
- Forgetting to adapt meta titles and descriptions to local keywords
- Not having a local team that understands the SEO of each market