Multilingual SEO 'offers international boost'

While search engine optimisation (SEO) improves the flow of traffic to a website, multilingual optimisation provides an international boost to an online brand, it has been claimed.

An article written by industry commentator Adrie van der Luijt for SMEweb, an online resource for small and medium firms in Britain, has described websites which only contain English as "lost opportunities".

By converting website content into different languages, it is possible to really widen the scope of a site's SEO, he continued.

Since "most online transactions" begin with a search engine query, this shows the importance of considering overseas language and cultural differences when promoting a business online, Mr van der Luijt noted.

"The short of it is that if your website is in English only, you will overlook 95 per cent of your potential market," he added.

SEO agency Bigmouthmedia states that as 63 per cent of the global online population do not speak English, it is vital that firms market themselves to the widest possible audience by using multilingual tactics.