How to internationalise your website: languages, hreflang and structure to rank in several countries

Opening your website to other countries is not just translating. It is preparing the structure so that Google shows the right version to each user, and so that each version makes sense for its market.

1. Language or country: define your goal

• Language: the same language for several countries (Spanish for Spain, Mexico and Colombia).
• Country: content specific to each market, with its own currency, shipping, prices and legislation.

Many companies start by language and later add local pages when there is demand.

2. Choose a URL structure

For most companies, language folders on a single domain is the most balanced option.

3. Hreflang tags

hreflang tells Google which version corresponds to each language and country.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://mysite.com/es/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://mysite.com/en/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://mysite.com/" />

Important rules:

• They must be reciprocal: if version A points to B, B must point to A.
• Each page must include itself.
• Use the correct language codes (es, en) and, if applicable, country codes (es-MX).
• They point to canonical URLs that return 200.

4. Translating is not adapting

An unreviewed machine translation sounds artificial and does not rank well. Adapt:

• Local terms (“presupuesto” in Spain, “cotización” in Mexico).
• Currency, units, date and phone formats.
• Examples, references and cases from the market.
• Shipping conditions, taxes and payment methods.

5. Do not force redirects by IP

Automatically redirecting by the visitor’s country confuses search engines and annoys users. It is better to suggest the language with a notice and let people choose.

6. Local content and authority

• Keywords researched in each language (they are not translated literally).
• Links and mentions from sites in each country.
• Local listings and directories where relevant.

7. Sitemaps and indexing

• One sitemap per language, or a single one with all versions.
• Check hreflang errors in Search Console.
• Avoid mixing languages within the same page.

Common mistakes

• Hreflang without reciprocity.
• Translating only the menu and leaving the body in the original language.
• Duplicating near-identical pages for countries with the same language without real differences.
• Switching language with JavaScript without separate URLs.

Where to start

1. Choose one or two markets with demand and less competition.
2. Prepare the URL structure from the start.
3. Translate and adapt the pages that convert best.
4. Measure and expand.

If your business wants to sell abroad, we help you prepare it.