One SEO had asked Google’s John Mueller why Google (for a location in the US) sometimes ranks a webpage in a different country/language rather en-US version? In other words, why does Google not always follow the correct page to rank it in the correct country? John’s reply was interesting. He stated,
“Just because you can make multiple country versions doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. “
In simple words, ‘Too many country versions of your webpage is harmful.’ He posted on Twitter,
“It looks like it’s the same page; there’s no real reason for us even to index both versions. In these instances, there is nothing distinctive or unique in these pages and so why are you offering the option of changing the language? I’d recommend using fewer versions as it looks like you have 78 URLs for the same content.”
Colin McDermott shared a small snippet of the language/country selector tool from the site. It is much more than this:
If you've ever worked on a multi-lingual website, you will know there are many things to keep in mind. Sorting out multiple domain names, web server configuration, URL structure, page layout, and especially the content translation are likely to be high on your 'to-do list.
With all that keeping you quite busy, meeting the accessibility requirements for your site may slip to the bottom of the work pile. This shouldn't be the scenario, as making your multi-lingual website accessible to users is easy. As per John Mueller, making too many country versions of your webpage is harmful. Why? The answer lies in How Search Engines Work?
What is a multi-lingual website?
A multi-lingual website is where the content is written in more than one language. The data displayed in different languages is often the same but maybe tailored for different audiences across countries. Booking.com is the best example of a multi-lingual website as its content is available in 35 other languages.
