Is Language A Google Ranking Factor? - Search Engine Journal

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If your target audience speaks different languages, offering your website content in multiple languages would make sense to provide a better user experience.

But does offering different languages on your website affect organic search rankings?

Can the way you organize your localized pages affect organic search rankings?

The Claim: Language As A Ranking Factor

Your content should be in English if you want to reach English-speaking people.

However, that same English content probably won’t rank well in markets where other languages – including Chinese, Arabic, or Spanish, for instance – dominate.

Businesses that want to reach customers who speak different languages in specific countries can do so by creating content in multiple languages.

So, it seems logical that language plays some role in how Google ranks webpages, right?

Search engines will always do their best to present users with the most relevant results, and they can detect the language in the content. But they also seem to want us to help by organizing localized versions of pages.

Google mentions language in its explanation of how search algorithms work. It states:

“Search settings are also an important indicator of which results you’re likely to find useful, such as if you set a preferred language or opted in...

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