SEO Website Localization and Multilingual Sites

SEO website localization means creating language versions of a site that rank in each target market: keyword research per language, texts adapted by native-speaking copywriters, hreflang, local formats and a CMS your team can manage in its own language.

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In short

Keywords are researched for each language and country separately.
Texts are adapted by copywriters who write in the target language; machine translation is only a draft.
Technical setup: separate URLs, hreflang with x-default, sitemaps per language, language switcher.
For sites serving consumers in Ukraine, the Ukrainian version is required by law.
In our experience, a small site of up to about 20 pages usually gets a new language version in up to 10 working days.

What is included in SEO localization

Market and keyword research. Queries in the target language and country, which often differ from a direct translation of your current keywords.
Content adaptation. Copy written or edited by native-speaking copywriters: terms, examples, units, currencies, dates and legal details.
Meta and structured data. Titles, descriptions, headings, alt texts and schema.org in each language.
Technical setup. Subfolders such as /en/ or /de/, hreflang tags with x-default, sitemaps per language, a language switcher that keeps the user on the same page.
CMS localization. WPML or Polylang on WordPress, Babel on MODX, Shopify Markets; admin panel in the language of your team.
Publishing. We upload texts and images, or train your team to do it.
Search Console. Indexing and performance checked per language and country.

Ukrainian version: a legal requirement

Under the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language", websites of businesses that serve consumers in Ukraine must have a Ukrainian version, and since 16 July 2021 it must load by default for users in Ukraine. Other language versions are allowed alongside it. For foreign companies entering Ukraine, we prepare the Ukrainian version as a full SEO version, with its own keyword research. For Ukrainian companies entering the EU, UK or North America, we build English and other versions the same way. See also website redesign if the current CMS cannot handle several languages.

How localization goes

Audit. Current site, CMS, markets, priority pages.
Keyword research. Queries per language and country.
Content. Native-speaker copy, meta, images.
Technical setup. URLs, hreflang, sitemaps, switcher.
Publishing and checks. Upload, indexing, Search Console.

SEO Website Localization process: audit, keyword research, content, technical setup, publishing and checks — How localization goes

How long does website localization take?

In our experience, a small site of up to about 20 pages usually gets a new language version in up to 10 working days after the audit, including keyword research and editing. Larger sites and online stores are localized in batches, starting with the pages that bring requests.

Timing depends on the number of pages, the CMS, how much content needs rewriting rather than translating, and how quickly your team reviews the texts.

What affects the cost of localization

We quote after the audit. The main factors:

number of pages and languages;
depth of adaptation: editing a translation or writing new copy;
CMS and whether multilingual support must be added;
product catalogue size;
who publishes the content.

What we need from you

Access to the CMS and Search Console.
Target countries and languages, in order of priority.
Terms and product names that must stay unchanged.
A native speaker on your side for final review, if you have one.

What you get and how we measure it

We measure each language version separately:

impressions and clicks per language and country in Search Console;
correct hreflang with no errors in a crawl;
requests from each language version in GA4;
a glossary for future texts.

Why localization needs an SEO team

The mistakes that stop language versions from ranking:

machine translation published without editing;
keywords translated literally instead of researched;
hreflang errors that make Google show the wrong language;
language versions on URLs that switch by cookie, which Google cannot index.

Working with a Kyiv team remotely

We work remotely with companies in the UK, the EU and North America: video calls, email, Telegram or WhatsApp, and shared documents for plans and reports. Kyiv is on UTC+2 (UTC+3 in summer), so our working day covers most of the UK and EU business day and the morning on the US East Coast. You get one project manager who is responsible for the timeline.

Why clients trust us

More than 10 years in digital. Marketing MIX has been building websites and running marketing for over a decade, with the portfolio to show for it.
Clients outside Ukraine. Our portfolio includes projects for KidSup and Cookiddoo in Canada and MBSoy, an architectural studio in Finland.
One team for the whole chain. Strategy, website, SEO, ads and analytics sit with one team, so nothing gets lost between contractors.
A registered, verifiable company. Our DUNS number is 68-606-2061 and our NCAGE code is A3G3J; both can be checked in the Dun & Bradstreet and NATO NCAGE databases.
A real office in Kyiv. The studio is at 77 Velyka Vasylkivska St., Kyiv, and works remotely with clients in Ukraine and abroad.

FAQ

What is SEO website localization?

Creating language versions of a site that rank in each market: keyword research per language, adapted copy by native-speaking writers, hreflang and local formats.

How is localization different from translation?

Translation changes the words. Localization also adapts keywords, examples, currencies, dates, legal details and technical setup so the page ranks and reads naturally in the target country.