Unlock the world market with English SEO
Why English SEO?
Half the web’s content is in English. The next largest languages take up 5% of the web each.
That makes English the most interesting language for attracting customers outside of your native language. If you’re a native English speaker, it’s the language for attracting the majority of your customers.
Most of the information you’ll find online about SEO focuses on English SEO by default, and most of that information comes out of the US. There are regional differences in English usage that you should be aware of, especially if you’re coming at it from a non-native position.
Regional Overview
The US has the largest number of English speakers, whether native or as a second language, with about 244 million first-language speakers and an additional 55 million who use it as a second language.
Great Britain comes next, with nearly 60 million residents who claim English as their first language. Canada, Australia, and Nigeria round out the top 5 countries with first-language English speakers, each at around 20 million.
English as a second language is also important in accessing international markets. India’s data shows more than 200 million who use the language as a secondary or tertiary language. Pakistan and Nigeria both tally more than 100 million who speak English as a secondary language.
Your English language content may reach more people in different places than you expect.
SEO by Country vs by Language
We’ve looked at English as a single language so far, but there are spelling and vocabulary differences that highlight distinctions between places and customers. Layer on different currencies, tax structures, and even weights and measurements, and adapting to a different audience can be quite the challenge.
Sometimes you can create one English version and dynamically apply pricing and measurement standards based on location. However, it would behoove you to seriously consider where your customers are most likely to come from and start with a focus on one country or economic zone.
Content Building For Businesses with English as a Second Language
Organizations that use English as their language of operation have a slight advantage in international SEO. As English is the most popular language, the costs of creating content are low.
AI and Translation Target Languages
Before AI, companies that didn’t use English as their business language would often translate first to English, then from English into additional target languages. With AI, that approach may no longer be necessary, as scaling content becomes more automated. The more rare the language, or the less often it is encountered by the AI database, the harder it is for AI to deliver a quality translation.
Translation vs Localization vs Transcreation
Translation is the art of staying as close to the original content as possible. This is best for press releases, instruction manuals, medical information, and other items where technical accuracy and adherence to brand standards is critical. Translation is done by a translator who is fully versed in both the original and target language. Usually, they’re a native speaker of the target language, but not always. The translator should always receive a content brief as well as the original content. Because of the skills required, translation is usually the most expensive content strategy.
Localization
Localization allows the translator to adapt the content for the local market. It’s still done by a translator with deep knowledge of the source and target languages in international markets. However, the translator is given a little more wiggle room to adapt to local customers’ preferences. This can be as small as choosing local sports teams for examples, switching from Imperial to metric units of measurement, or putting a slightly different spin on a certain point you’re trying to make. Localization is a good idea when you’re entering new markets and want to really reach potential customers, but want your content to adhere to a strong brand template.
Transcreation as an English SEO Strategy
Transcreation is the least related to your original content. With transcreation, you create a content brief for the writer and allow them to write based off the brief. With the high amount of native speakers available to write content, a transcreation strategy can be both cost-effective and highly targeted. This is especially interesting for non-US companies entering the US market, as US writers will pull in current cultural references that a European or Asian writer may miss.
AI For English Content
As most AI models were built and trained in English, those models are very advanced. Using them for transacreation, where you give the model an outline and let it create the copy, can be the start of a larger content push. However, even English AI models can miss the mark, makeup nonsense, or put together concepts in a way you don’t want. If you’re looking for local references, again, AI can be the start, but a human proofreader can save your company from embarrassing mistakes.
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