Is Language a Ranking Factor in Google Search Result Or Not?

Posted on the 26 December 2021 by Gaurav Kumar @vhowtodo
Should you use different languages on your website? Can different languages improve your Google search ranking? Is Google consider language as a ranking factor?

Today, we will discuss and clear the doubts.

Some websites use multiple languages to target people based on their language.

But is it necessary to use different languages to improve organic search ranking?

To understand the answer, first, you need to understand the connection between Google search ranking and languages.
You are writing content in English to target English-speaking people.

Claim: Language is a Google Ranking Factor

You may not rank better against the queries in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or any other language.

But English is not the only language.

Because those businesses are targeting non-English-speaking customers.

  1. You can use hreflang to tell search engines about the country and target language. <link "rel=alternate" href="https://www.eaxmple.com" hreflang="en-us">
  2. Or, you can use a meta tag to declare country and language. <meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en-us">
  3. Another way is to use the country-specific domain to tell the search engines about your target country. For example, you can use example.it to tell that website is Italian.
  4. You can even use sub-directories to publish content based on different languages.

It seems ideal to use multiple languages to target a wider audience and improve search ranking.

Google has published a detailed guide about using multilingual sites in their advanced SEO section in Google Search Console. It will tell you if you should use and how you should use languages using meta tags, url structures and HTML tags.

Evidence: Languages is a Ranking Factor

Understand that Google display result based on the searcher's interest. For example, if the person uses English as a language in India, Google will display the results for English speakers in India.

Sites are using following methods to declare language:

Google has not officially confirmed language as a ranking factor.

Conclusion: language is Probably a Ranking factor

Your settings should display your target country and location.

But you will see how Google wants you to use language in your website. In addition, you will find the use of languages in their Advanced SEO documentation.

This is why major businesses are using different languages to target people living in different countries.

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