Hajra Naz
Google has revised its documentation to announce the inclusion of eight additional languages in its translated results feature. This enhancement expands the global reach for publishers, enabling automatic translations into visitors’ native languages.
The Google Translated Results feature in Google Search automatically translates the title link and meta description into the user’s local language. This functionality allows websites published in one language to be accessible to searchers in other languages. The webpage will also automatically translate when a user clicks on a translated result’s link.
According to Google’s documentation on this feature:
“Google does not host any translated pages. Opening a page through a translated result is akin to opening the original search result via Google Translate or using Chrome’s in-browser translation. This ensures that JavaScript on the page is generally supported, along with embedded images and other page features.”
This feature is advantageous for publishers as it expands the accessibility of their websites to a broader audience.
Read more: Don’t Try to Fool Google: Google Says It’s Not a Ranking Factor.
Search Feature Available In More Languages
Google has updated its documentation to announce that its search feature is now accessible in eight additional languages. This enhancement provides automatic access to a wider array of websites for users who speak the following languages:
- Arabic
- Gujarati
- Korean
- Persian
- Thai
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Why Did It Take So Long?
The delay in Google introducing translated search results in languages like Korean, Turkish, and Arabic raised questions, considering their prominence. I consulted Christopher Shin, an international SEO expert (LinkedIn profile), to shed light on this.
Christopher explained that Google faced challenges in South Korea due to the dominance of local platforms like Naver and Kakao (formerly Daum). However, a significant shift occurred as Koreans returning from abroad recognized Google’s advantages over local portals regarding information capabilities.
Moreover, major Korean businesses like Samsung and Hyundai began prioritizing global markets, highlighting Google’s importance for companies domestically.
Naver remains dominant for shopping and reviews, but Google’s strength lies in answering specific queries. Christopher suggested that market prioritization and the complexity of the Korean language, which includes both Hangeul and Hanja characters, contributed to the delayed introduction of Translated Google Search Results.
He noted that while his team initially used Google Translate, they found Naver’s Papago more effective until tools like ChatGPT improved Google’s competitiveness.
Conclusion
2024 has been a challenging year for publishers, marked by developments such as AI Overviews, the 2024 Core Algorithm Update, and issues like missing image thumbnails on recipe blogger sites, casting a shadow over Google’s updates.
However, amidst these challenges, the introduction of support for additional languages in Google’s translated search results offers a significant opportunity for publishers. It opens doors for their content to reach an even broader international audience than before.
