How is energy produced and sold within the EU?

In the EU, renewable energy accounts for most of the energy generation, followed by fossil fuels and nuclear energy.ĚýĚý

The mix of electricity sources varies significantly among EU member states, with the proportion of electricity from renewable sources ranging from more than 90% to less than 15%. This variation is due to geographical conditions, the availability of natural resources (such as coal or gas deposits), the economic structure of the countries and political decisions (such as whether to develop nuclear energy capacity).

Ěý

Electricity is traded as a commodity, often in energy markets. Each power plant offers its electricity at an individual price that covers its costs.Ěý

Renewable energy development in the Nordic countriesĚý

One region that has become especially known for its renewable energy development is the Nordic countries. The Nordics have become a benchmark for sustainable practices worldwide with diversified green resources including wind, hydro and geothermal energy. Norway has pledged to become carbon-neutral by 2030, and Sweden has set the goal of reaching 100% renewable electricity by 2040. As a result, renewable energy is a sector that will continue to grow and develop in this region. Ěý

Moreover, the Nordic countries’ commitment to innovation and sustainability is supported by robust government policies and substantial investments in research and development. Denmark, for instance, is a global leader in wind energy technology, with wind power contributing significantly to its electricity production. Iceland harnesses its abundant geothermal resources to meet a large portion of its energy needs, providing a model for other countries with similar geothermal potential. The region’s integrated energy market also allows for efficient energy exchange and cooperation among the Nordic countries, further enhancing their collective ability to adopt and implement renewable energy solutions. This collaborative approach not only strengthens the region’s energy security but also positions the Nordics as pioneers in the global transition towards sustainable energy.Ěý

Translation and renewable energy

How do language services play an essential role in renewable energy projects? Well, they can help secure investment, gain regulatory approval and generate trust between stakeholders. When information is more effectively communicated between the many people involved in such projects, issues are efficiently addressed and the entire process can run smoothly. It can even help garner more support for a project as its goals are accurately communicated to the local and international community.Ěý

Additionally, in the globalised energy industry, pioneers like the Nordic countries aim to export their innovative technologies and expertise to encourage other countries to implement them to achieve national and international sustainability goals. During this process, effective communication becomes essential. By accurately translating technical documents, regulatory requirements and marketing materials into multiple languages, translation services facilitate smoother international collaboration, compliance with local regulations, and effective communication with global stakeholders. This linguistic support ensures that Nordic renewable energy advancements can be embraced in diverse markets.Ěý

Multilingual technical communication in the energy sector

In the energy sector, technical manuals, technical drawings, bills of materials, safety guidelines and other technical documents ensure that engineers and technicians have immediate access to and control over the systems they will be using.ĚýĚý

When it comes to international projects, the translation of this documentation must be flawless to mitigate technical risks as any error can have serious consequences, from misinterpretation of instructions to project implementation failures. This also enables effective communication among all team members, who typically come from different countries and speak various languages.ĚýĚý

Depending on the type of project, these are usually some of the documents that need to be translated into other languages.Ěý

• Material safety data sheetsĚý
• Energy safety reportsĚý
• Feasibility studiesĚý
• Health and safety reportsĚý
• Marine ecology studiesĚý
• Wildlife impact assessmentsĚý
• Resource evaluationsĚý
• Employee manualsĚý
• Product manualsĚý
• Sales and marketing materialsĚý
• Survey reportsĚý
• Toxicology reportsĚý
• Projects schedule and milestonesĚý
• Permits and licensesĚý
• Financial analysisĚý
• Net production, including electrical lossesĚý

Compliance with international regulations

Regulatory compliance in energy projects is crucial for ensuring adherence to laws and regulations that govern their development, construction, and operation, from environmental requirements to building permits. Each country has specific standards in the energy sector, so accurately translating these requirements is essential to avoid penalties and ensure compliance.Ěý

Proper document control helps energy companies meet all relevant regulatory requirements and avoid fines. This can include:Ěý

• Environmental impact assessments
• Health permit applicationsĚý
• Safety documentsĚý
• Technical specificationsĚý

A robust document control system allows companies to easily access and provide necessary documents to regulators, demonstrating compliance with the law.Ěý

Engage with local communities through energy translation services

A key part of many energy projects is speaking to key stakeholders in the local community where the project will have an impact. This can include residents, landowners, local authorities and businesses. For your project to get off the ground, meet regulations and gain support, you must understand the concerns and interests of these stakeholders.Ěý

However, there can sometimes be a language barrier that prevents transparent communication. By translating informative materials, safety procedures, and legal documents, you can clearly convey the benefits of a project, address community concerns and comply with local regulations. Public meetings and consultations that are supported by translated materials or even interpreters are more inclusive and transparent. Educational programs and workshops that are accessible to everyone can help community members understand the project’s goals and impacts.Ěý

Moreover, translation services aid in establishing effective feedback mechanisms, allowing community members to express their views and for companies to respond appropriately. Regularly translated updates and newsletters maintain ongoing communication, building long-term trust and support. By leveraging translation services, energy companies can foster better relationships with local communities, ensuring the success and sustainability of their projects.Ěý

Selling your energy services to foreign providers

When a company in the energy or civil engineering sector seeks to expand into foreign markets, the precise translation of marketing materials and technical proposals is vital. These documents must be translated and culturally adapted to resonate with the local audience. Poor translation can damage the company’s image and reduce business opportunities. Having translators who are experts in the sector and cultural context can make the difference between winning or losing a contract.Ěý

Achieving energy goals through professional translation

The evolution of energy policy from a primarily national concern to an international imperative reflects a dramatic shift in global dynamics. For the world to reach our communal sustainability goals in the future, the development of revolutionary renewable energy technologies must be shared between countries. In this interconnected landscape, professional translation emerges as a key service for the success of major energy and civil engineering ventures, highlighting the necessity of effective communication in navigating complex international relations.Ěý

The post The role of translation in major energy projects appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.

Content creation is often associated with specific roles within marketing or communications teams. However, the truth is that we all engage with content regularly, whether it’s writing an email to a supplier, preparing slides for a weekly meeting, crafting an end-of-quarter report or compiling documentation for a tender.

In the following article, we’ll demonstrate how ChatGPT4 can be a valuable ally in producing any type of content, enhancing your productivity and safeguarding sensitive information when handling confidential materials.

Create your own ChatGPT

While you can use the regular version of ChatGPT, the first step towards a serious AI-supported content generation strategy is to create your own ChatGPT – a customised version of the same system that can be created by any user who has a paid OpenAI account.

Instead of copying and pasting text from each resource you want ChatGPT to consider when generating a response, here you can upload your own files that will make your content more personalised, consistent and in the right tone of voice.

The documents you upload aren’t shared with anyone outside the system and are used exclusively to assist you with your enquiries. ChatGPT only has access to the files you upload during your session and doesn’t retain any information once the session ends.

Pro Tip: Although the internet is a vast repository of information, not all relevant content is available online. If you have reference materials in physical form, such as academic papers, books or magazines, consider using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to digitise these documents. This method allows you to seamlessly integrate them into your digital database, enhancing both access and efficiency.

Create a PowerPoint presentation with ChatGPT

Once you’ve configured your own version of ChatGPT, you’ll be ready to put it to use. Let’s say that you want to use the data and references you’ve integrated to put together a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming international conference. The next step involves crafting clear and detailed instructions to ensure that ChatGPT fully understands your objectives. The more context and information you include in your initial instructions, the better the outcome. Here’s an example of how you might structure your request:

I want my presentation to emphasise the importance of localisation in global marketing campaigns. For this reason, I have included several specific articles that address this topic, as well as another called “Marketing Myopia” from Harvard Business Review, which I consider an excellent general reference.

Once you’ve selected and uploaded the reference content, the next crucial step is to articulate the prompts you’ll provide to ChatGPT for the task. Don’t underestimate this stage; it’s pivotal for a successful outcome. To ensure a high-quality initial response, it’s essential that you equip the system with ample context and clarity regarding the desired output.

For instance:

I specialise in marketing and localisation, particularly in multilingual content. My objective is to craft a PowerPoint presentation for the “Language Matters 2024” Congress.

I’ll be delving into the significance of localisation in international marketing campaigns. I plan to have 5 slides with the following titles:

• Global marketing campaigns
• Addressing international audiences
• The symbiotic relationship between localisation and marketing
• Strategic approaches to localisation
• Localisation options tailored for global marketers

Please create the slide content as specified above, ready for use. Utilise the attached reference material to craft the content. Ensure captivating titles. Vary the structure of each slide: Classic slides with title and text, bullet lists, tables and other strategies to enhance content visualisation. Each slide should have a maximum of 250 characters. The content should be written in British English. Please avoid lengthy texts.

Once I have my instructions prepared (I recommend always writing them first in a separate file), I copy and paste them into the “Create” section of my ChatGPT.

The engine gets to work and produces precisely the type of content I specified. I’ve included some screenshots below of the slides that ChatGPT created.

As we can see, the content generated by ChatGPT in just one minute serves as an excellent foundation for our presentation, although it does have some flaws:

• It produced 7 slides instead of 5.
• The content is rather generic and lacks a personal story.
• The content wasn’t written in British English.

Once you’ve reached this point, you have two options: you can manually review and edit the content yourself or you can extract parts of the result and ask the AI engine to make changes. Human review is crucial to ensure the authenticity of the content, to insert your personal expertise and to customise it as much as possible to the target audience.

When you’re happy with the text on the slides and have written your narrative, you will need to design the visuals for the presentation (there are also AI applications for design generation, but that’s a topic for another time). Once that’s done, you’re all set!

Translate a PowerPoint presentation with ChatGPT

The presentation was such a success that you’ve been invited to deliver the same talk at a conference in Denmark. While you’re fluent in speaking the language – you speak it better than you write it – you’re not equipped to translate the entire presentation on your own. Next, we’ll demonstrate how ChatGPT can significantly aid you in this task.

It’s quite simple: you just need to organise the final content you used for the presentation and ask the system to translate it.

Like the English presentation, this one will also need a round of human editing and review. Ideally, you should seek assistance from a native Danish speaker who is an expert in marketing. If no one in your company can help, you can always turn to a professional language services provider like Sandberg.

Here is a sample of the post-editing work performed by the specialised Danish team here at Sandberg. We always provide a version with tracked changes, allowing you to easily review the modifications made.

Typically, a post-editing service has different levels, ranging from correcting grammatical errors to adapting the text to make it culturally relevant to the target audience.

As demonstrated throughout this article, artificial intelligence can be a valuable ally in content generation. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge that these engines don’t tackle every task flawlessly. To achieve optimal results, it’s essential to:

• Prepare a database relevant to the topic at hand.
• Craft clear and precise instructions to help the engine grasp the nature of the task.
• Conduct meticulous post-editing to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of our content.

We hope this article has been helpful to you!

The post A guide to using ChatGPT in multilingual content production appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.

As a result, the global business community’s embrace of artificial intelligence technology transitioned from a mere trend to a transformative power. The rapid pace left little room for debating AI’s utility, propelling us instead towards leveraging its practical applications for substantial business benefits. highlights this shift, noting that 64% of CEOs report continued pressure from investors, creditors and lenders to fast-track the adoption of generative AI.Ěý

This applies to small and medium-sized enterprises as well, even if they may lack a dedicated technology department. One of the groundbreaking characteristics of the new technology is that setting it up doesn’t require a team of experts. While it’s true that many businesses don’t know how to identify strategic machine-learning opportunities or how to turn them into disrupting products or services, the reality is that thousands of people launch AI engines on their computers every day, weaving the technology into tasks that range from drafting emails and compiling reports to translating texts and crafting presentations. The broadest use of the technology to date has been in content creation processes, as content marketers were among the first to go from just playing around with AI to using AI in their daily work.Ěý

Balancing innovation with the human touch

From the outset, the language services industry has been at the forefront of developing multilingual Gen AI solutions that offer:Ěý

• Authoring helpĚý
• Content variation by target audienceĚý
• Tone inconsistency checksĚýĚý
• Content classificationĚý
• Term extractionĚýĚý
• Language quality assessmentĚý

At Sandberg, we’ve embarked on our own artificial intelligence journey. For our clients’ baseline translation needs, our machine translation engines still outperform other language learning model (LLM) options, but the GenAI launch prompted us to investigate AI’s potential for content creation in our marketing team and for our own internal documentation needs.Ěý

The results to date have been nothing short of spectacular, even though every instance of the content generation process has still required substantial human involvement. Humans play a pivotal role in generating new ideas and seeking out high-quality references for content. And they have a crucial role at the end of the process, refining the machine-generated output, rearranging the text for better coherence and adjusting the language to align with the brand. For us, this final step is nothing new, thanks to our many years of experience in machine translation post-editing.

Without the human touch, maintaining Sandberg’s unique tone of voice would not have been possible. This is what brings us to our core statement: in the era of artificial intelligence-powered machines, the human element is vital to crafting content, products or services that enrich and redefine human experiences. When almost everything we know will be sourced by our inorganic colleagues, the human element stands as a key value differentiator for brands aiming to connect with their stakeholders at a deeper level.Ěý

Generative human creativity

Let’s be honest: the cost of human touch and authenticity is prohibitive for many companies. The time-saving benefits offered by AI are undeniable. Yet, the challenge isn’t in using artificial intelligence; it’s in identifying each use case and determining the most effective workflows. The indiscriminate application of artificial intelligence in content creation is precisely why our LinkedIn feeds are now saturated with posts that mirror each other. This type of content lacks the unique ability to differentiate or spark interest in a brand.

The capabilities of tools such as ChatGPT, Hey Gen or Copilot are crucial in enhancing the efficiency of documentation, technical writing, legal and marketing teams. But how does a company ensure consistency, maintain specific terminology and preserve the tone of voice in its content when different teams employ different tools? And what happens when the content spans multiple languages? It’s fundamental that outputs such as corporate reports, marketing campaigns, organisational policies or legal documentation undergo human scrutiny and editing. This human-in-the-loop step upholds the brand’s consistency and ensures accuracy and adherence to ethical guidelines. This is where Sandberg comes in to offer professional help to businesses that are turning to artificial intelligence to enhance their content creation processes.

Solutions for content creators using AI

The solution we typically recommend to our clients starts with a process where they leverage an AI engine to generate content. Our team then refines the output, employing terminology databases, style guides and any documents containing instructions that offer insights into the target audience, market or the specific stage of the customer journey associated with the content.Ěý

This is a process we’ve seen successfully implemented at numerous companies. To build a seamless workflow, we organise an initial meeting between our team and the client’s teams. It’s crucial to discuss the technologies involved, to understand the brand identity and to address all the project management aspects, including reference documents and timelines.Ěý

The process can be applied to any monolingual content the client produces with the help of AI, and the output can then also be translated into further languages.Ěý

Other solutions for companies using AI

Although marketers were among the first to adopt AI, the technology’s applications extend well beyond content creation. Many companies are now leveraging AI to process data more efficiently.Ěý

One scenario where Sandberg offers customised support involves data annotation solutions, especially when the data is in languages not native to the client’s organisation. Our team manages the data tagging process to ensure that the client’s machine learning model can effectively recognise the data.Ěý

Other scenarios in the training of natural language processing models where our expertise has emerged as a critical helping hand for businesses include training AI-powered devices. Such training may require human-produced or human-checked content like voice recordings, video collections, text input or prompt design.ĚýĚý

Amongst the many challenges around artificial intelligence, the most serious one is that it’s perceived as a one-push button – a technology that promises to deliver correct answers reliably while hiding the process that produces them. Or just a swift path to cost reduction via automation.Ěý

To avoid the pitfalls of this approach, it’s essential to understand that value extends beyond the end product and encompasses the process itself. A “black box” system offers limited control capabilities that significantly hinder essential aspects such as traceability, creativity and ethical judgement. The best verifiable results are achieved when AI is used to augment, rather than replace, the skills and expertise of humans.

The post Generative AI: The new frontier of exponential growth? appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.

Language prioritisation is unquestionably a key element in any such user experience. If a user searches for something and Google displays results in different languages, they might assume that there is something amiss in the function of the search engine itself. To identify the user’s language, Google relies on several factors such as past search results, browser settings and geolocation, to name just a few.Ěý

For those of us who work in SEO, marketing or localisation, it’s important to consider that before actually deciding where to rank a page, Google first conducts a real-time analysis on the user’s query to determine their preferred language. In other words, if your website is only available in English, it is unlikely to appear in search results in most other countries around the world.Ěý

Now, if you have decided to invest time and money in translating your content into other languages, this blog sets out a series of technical aspects that may improve the localisation of your website.

URL structureĚý

The way you structure URLs for your multilingual website can help the user to quickly identify which language they’re using. For instance, if they are browsing the Swedish version of your website, your URL might look something like this…Ěý

• www.yourwebsite.com/se/productsĚý
• se.yourwebsite.com/productsĚýĚý

… and you can simply switch to alternative URLs to let users know they are in the German version instead.Ěý

• www.yourwebsite.com/de/productsĚý
• de.yourwebsite.com/productsĚý Ěý

The first of these examples used to indicate the language of your website is known as a subdirectory, while the second is called a subdomain. Each method has its own pros and cons, and both ways are widely used across the web.Ěý

Don’t let Google index automated translations 

As you have probably seen, Google Chrome has a translation function that allows users to machine translate a page into almost any language. The question is, can Google index these automated translations? 

The short answer is yes. This doesn’t mean that your site is being translated all the time, though, because Google will only run this function under very specific circumstances: 

…If there aren’t enough high-quality and relevant results for a query in the user’s language, Google Search results can include results from pages in other languages, with the title and snippet translated to the language of the user… 

Ultimately, when a user clicks on that search result, it will send them to a machine-translated version of your page. But do you really want to present this raw content to potential users? 

At Sandberg, we believe that good content is vital to creating confidence in a brand, which is why we recommend blocking Google from indexing automated translations. 

How can you do so? You can instruct your web master to add a directive called the “notranslate” attribute that looks like this: <html lang=”en” class=”notranslate”>. Implementing this on your website will mean that Google cannot automatically translate your pages. 

hreflang tag 

The hreflang tag is an HTML attribute and another key component in technical SEO localisation. You can use this tag to tell Google how a webpage should be geographically and linguistically targeted. 

A hreflang tag is built using the following variables: 

The tag should always follow the following format: 

{language}-{extlangtag}-{script}-{region}-{variant}-{extension} 

The most popular formulation of this attribute contains just two variables: 

{language}-{region} 

When implemented correctly, it should look something like this: 

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://yourwebsite.co.uk" /> 
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://yourwebsite.com" /> 
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de-de" href="https://yourwebsite.de" /> 

As it is easy to make mistakes when implementing hreflang tags on your site, we recommend using this trusty  

Which homepage for your international users? 

This question is particularly pertinent for big companies operating across multiple countries and languages. In this context, most companies have already localised their website into multiple languages, so the decision here relates to what exactly you should present to a potential user. 

If a user based in the US opens Google and enters apple.com, does that necessarily mean they want to see the US English version of this webpage? It’s possible that they are local but actually require the Spanish or Chinese version, or perhaps they are a tourist looking for information in a language from further afield. 

Ultimately, you’ll need to decide how to handle language selection and recognition for your homepage. There are different ways of formulating this very important page on your website: 

1. Show all users the same content 

2. Let users choose their preferred country/language 

3. Serve the content based on their location/language settings 

Showing the same content globally 

If you open a private browser and go to you will be redirected to Apple’s international homepage. But as you can see, their site is intelligent enough to detect where you’re from and suggest a more appropriate version for you. 

Letting the user choose their preferred language/country 

If you go for this option, a country/language selector will be presented on your homepage for the user to choose which content they want to see. 

Serving content based on the user’s settings 

The third option involves serving content to your users depending on their location and language settings.  If you open a browser and go to , you’ll most probably be automatically redirected to the local version of that site.

In this article, we’ve dived into the depths of website localisation, demonstrating how language recognition plays an essential role in the structural framework of an international website. 

Just as your tongue can become twisted when you speak multiple languages, the same could happen to your website if you don’t consider this technical side of SEO. 

If you’re about to send your web content for translation or have already built a global website but are unsure of how it performs across languages and regions, we recommend double-checking the points we’ve listed with a localisation expert. 

The post Understanding Google and language recognition to leverage website localisation appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.

The post How to approach a website localisation project: A step-by-step guide appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.

Visibility is only one aspect of boosting your online presence, however. Finding the right balance for content that ranks highly on search engines but is also engaging, visually appealing and business-focused is a team effort, involving SEO experts, digital marketers, content specialists and managers.

If your website’s only in one language, then your work is more or less done. But what if your website is in multiple languages for different markets, or if you’re targeting English speakers from different countries? If that’s the case, then you can add a localisation specialist to the list of professionals above.

In this article, we’ll look at how to localise your search engine strategy if you’re planning to expand your business, using examples from the English-speaking world and the Nordic region.

Regional variations within the same language

The amount of SEO effort you need to put into your website depends primarily on the volume of content you create, although it depends on your business strategy too. It’s one thing selling products or services for English-speaking people in the US, but a whole different beast if your target market includes the UK too.

Let’s take the example of fictional online clothing retailer “YourStyle”. It’s important to rank highly for the word pantsĚýin the US and trousers in the UK (the word pantsĚýin the UK typically refers to underwear). Like SEO, localisation is also about understanding the user’s intent – in this case purely from a language perspective.

To check whether you’ve made the right wording choice, it’s always useful to double-check on a search engine. A good way to do this is with a VPN, which allows you to simulate an internet connection in any country. The image below shows a search for pants on the US version of Google:

You can confirm trousersĚýis indeed the word you need to target the British market just by looking at the results Google offers. In both examples, Google offers images of the right product and links to retailers that searchers can click through to make a purchase.

SEO across multiple languages

Let’s return to YourStyle, our fictional clothing retailer. They’re looking to expand to new markets after a successful launch in the UK. Market research finds that consumers in the Nordic countries have significant spending power and represent the next big opportunity for YourStyle.

A common strategic mistake when entering the Nordic market is to assume that English will do – after all many Nordic people speak excellent English. The reality is that growing your business in this region requires you to build up an online presence in the local languages: Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish. If YourStyle really wants to truly penetrate this market, the old adage of speaking the language of your customers undoubtedly applies.

Here are some tips for properly localising your SEO strategy.

1. Think topics first, keywords second

There’s now broad consensus that individual keywords on your website aren’t what rank you highly: it’s about producing the best content with a dynamic range of terms and contexts on a specific topic. As SEO shifts towards this topic-based model, it’s important to define before defining your keywords.

In essence, the topic-cluster model – popularised by – is a way of organising content on your website so that search engines know you’re an authority on that specific subject. The model is built around a central pillar page (which acts as a “content hub” for a single topic) and multiple content pages on the same topic that link back to the pillar page and to each other.

If you’ve already built your content with the topic-cluster methodology in your source language, then you’re off to a good start. The question then becomes one of which pages to localise. Many companies choose to translate only their pillar pages, which may seem like an obvious move as that’s where most conversions take place. But this doesn’t help your overall multilingual SEO strategy. The right approach is to translate all the pages in the cluster and replicate your SEO efforts in your source language in your target one.

2.ĚýOn-page keyword planning

Once you’ve got a clear understanding of which topics you want to become an authority on, you can start planning and analysing on-page keywords. If you’ve done your research properly, you will have chosen your keywords in your source language using the following criteria:

Search volume:ĚýSearch volume is a measure of the total number of searches made through a search engine expressed as the average monthly volume over the previous 12-month period. Search volume data is a crucial, fundamental element of your SEO strategy. If you’re localising your website from English into the Nordic languages, you can expect search volume to be lower: the combined population of the Nordic countries is around 24 million. On the contrary, if you’re localising in the other direction (into English), search volume can increase exponentially. But search volume alone says nothing if you don’t use it together with other metrics such as keyword difficulty.

Source: Google Keyword Planner

Keyword difficulty: Determining the difficulty of a specific keyword requires understanding the level of competition. What pages are currently at the top of the rankings? What kind of content are they offering? Can you offer something better? SEO experts usually take a look at SERP (search engine result pages) history to know if competition at the top is too tight or if there a window of opportunity.

It might seem logical that if you can’t offer better content than those top pages, then that keyword is probably too difficult for you. That might be the case for English – but not for your other locales. The top results in your different locales are unlikely to feature the same sites as they do in English. It’s worth bearing in mind that , so naturally there’s a great deal more competition for English keywords. Analysing the SERP history for translations of your keywords can open up opportunities to shoot to the top of the rankings more quickly.

Search intent: Your webpage might be perfectly optimised and still not rank as highly as you want it to. Sometimes it’s not just about getting the core parts of SEO right, but also about understanding users’ search intent, i.e. what exactly it is they’re trying to achieve with their search.

What does this mean in practice? Google is now capable of evaluating your website’s user experience and uses this data to tweak its rankings. Let’s imagine you have two pages – both perfectly optimised – but one offers a free trial while the other doesn’t. It’s highly likely that the page with a free trial will rank more highly over time. , SEMrush addresses this topic in detail.

It’s vital to remember that search intent and user experience can be as culturally relative as language. In some countries, it’s not realistic to expect every customer to enter their credit card details to start a free trial. In the Nordic countries, a good strategy is to not overburden your pages with triggers and banners: a minimalistic approach that embraces negative space is likely to be more effective.

3.ĚýText expansion and contraction

There are some technical aspects to search engine optimisation. One example is the character limit for SEO attributes like title tags or meta descriptions – Google typically displays the first 50–60 characters of a title tag and 155–160 for the meta description.

Even if you’ve done an excellent job with your keywords in English, one of the issues you need to consider when translating the text from English into other languages is text expansion and contraction. These are two common concepts in translation and refer to the phenomenon of text getting longer or shorter when translated into a different language. When text is translated from English into Nordic languages, it usually becomes a bit longer and could potentially exceed the recommended limits for these SEO attributes.

Below, we show how a and can expand and contract. These are our examples in English:

Title tag: The best e-commerce platform for small businesses (49 characters)

Meta description: We’re not just an e-commerce app – we’re the best e-commerce platform that has everything you need to sell online, on social media or face-to-face. (147 characters)

And here is the example translated into Swedish and Finnish:

Here the Swedish actually used slightly fewer characters than the English, whereas Finnish needed more.

Key points

Generally speaking, the key to a successful multilingual SEO strategy boils down to two things: content volume and language diversity.

• Ensure your SEO architecture in your source language is well structured before starting to localise it. Review Hubspot’s topic cluster theory to check whether you’re on the right track.
• When picking content for translation, try to choose pillar pages and pillar content from the same clusters to increase your chances of ranking highly in your target languages.
• Remember keyword difficulty varies by language, and thus the chances of you ranking at the very top of the search results.
• Optimise traditional SEO elements and localise your keywords with search volume and character length in mind.
• Partner with localisation specialists to make sure your keywords are translated with an understanding of how search intent works in the target culture.

The post A beginner’s guide to multilingual SEO appeared first on saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝.