Google's crawler hits your French page and finds English hreflang tags pointing to a URL that 404s. Your buyer in Madrid searches a phrase native speakers actually use — but your keyword research came from a machine translator, so you ranked for nothing. Multilingual SEO is the technical and linguistic infrastructure that makes your site legible to search engines and humans across borders. It's hreflang validation that catches bidirectional errors before they hemorrhage traffic. It's keyword research with native speakers who know what high-intent queries look like in their market. It's Next.js i18n routing, locale-specific schema, and edge caching rules so your German pages load as fast in Berlin as your English ones do in Boston. Your business doesn't stop at one language — your rankings shouldn't either.
Waar projecten falen
Compliance
Hreflang Architecture
Locale-Specific Keyword Research
International URL Strategy
Technical Crawl Optimization
Content Localization Audit
Cross-Border Performance Monitoring
Wat we bouwen
Eliminate hreflang conflicts that send the wrong language version to the wrong region
Replace machine-translated keywords with native research from speakers in each target market
Fix URL structures that confuse crawlers about which locale each page serves
Stop ranking without converting because content isn't localized for regional intent
Correct missing geo-targeting configs that let Google guess your audience incorrectly
Prevent duplicate content penalties caused by contradictory or malformed language signals
Ons proces
International SEO Audit
Locale Strategy & Keyword Research
Technical Implementation
Content Localization & On-Page SEO
Monitoring & Iteration
Veelgestelde vragen
What is hreflang and why does it matter for multilingual SEO?
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and regional version of a page to serve to which audience. Without it, Google might show your French page to German users, or decide your UK and US English pages are duplicates and penalize both. Done right, it prevents cannibalization and makes sure the right content reaches the right people.
Should I use subdirectories, subdomains, or ccTLDs for international SEO?
Subdirectories (example.com/fr/) consolidate domain authority and are the easiest to manage — that's why they're our default recommendation. Subdomains (fr.example.com) give you more server flexibility but split link equity. ccTLDs (example.fr) send the strongest geo-targeting signal but mean separate SEO work for each domain. For most businesses, subdirectories make the most sense unless you've got dedicated regional operations that genuinely justify the extra overhead.
How is multilingual keyword research different from translating English keywords?
Direct translation misses how people actually search. German users compound words in ways that change search behavior entirely. Spanish speakers in Mexico use different terms than those in Spain. Japanese search patterns differ structurally from English ones. We work with native speakers and regional search data to find the terms your actual audience uses — not what a dictionary would suggest.
How long does it take to see results from international SEO?
Technical fixes like hreflang corrections and geo-targeting usually produce indexation improvements within 2–4 weeks. Ranking gains from locale-specific keyword work typically follow within 3–6 months, depending on market competitiveness. Sites with existing domain authority tend to gain traction faster than brand new domains.
Can you optimize an existing translated site or do we need to rebuild?
Most translated sites don't need a full rebuild. We audit your existing hreflang tags, URL structure, metadata, and content localization quality, then fix what's broken. That usually means correcting malformed hreflang annotations, adding missing language variants to sitemaps, and optimizing translated metadata for local search intent. It's rarely as drastic as starting over.
Do you handle the actual translation and content creation?
We handle SEO strategy, technical implementation, and the content optimization framework. For translation itself, we partner with professional localization teams or work alongside your existing translators — whichever you prefer. Either way, we provide keyword-optimized briefs, glossaries, and metadata templates so the output actually ranks, not just reads correctly.
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We'll audit your international setup and deliver a quote within 24 hours.
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Whether it's a migration, a new build, or an SEO challenge — the Social Animal team would love to hear from you.